Dutch Oven Cleaning

[Uncle Russ]

How, exactly do you assure that someone won't fry up a really tasty mess of lead flavored catfish in that nice ol' cast iron frying pan they found in the shed at Grampa's house?

Good point, you're right, there's NO guarantees whatsoever!

At least, no more so than I can guarantee that any old, used, iron pot has not been used for melting lead, or whatever,  at some point in it's life....very much like the one I was thinking about cleaning up right now.

Kinda takes the fun outta buying any previously used iron pot, wouldn't ya say?

I don't think it's going to change my mind very much on their use for casting, but me and my kin may have to totally quit eating.

Uncle Russ...

[Shadow Hawk]

My question would be, does the lead really "soak in" to the cast iron?  and as for cleaning  the pots my dad  just trough them in a big fire(not garbage just brush) and left them till they cooled and they where good as new. he did have to sandblast one that was rusted too bad.

[Kermit]

Years ago a friend got totally repulsed by his CI frypan. He figured it might be a total loss, so what the heck, throw it in the woodstove. He did, right after breakfast. When he next peeked, the whole thing was glowing a nice red. He thought it was over, and kept feeding the fire all day. Next morning it was still in one piece, so he took it out, blew the dust off (on the porch!), and seasoned it anew.

I've done the same thing with good results.

Now all you need is a woodstove. Go get you one. It won't stink up the house like the oven cleaning cycle might.

[Fletcher]

By gum iffen ya heated it to cherry read, I reckon that would get the lead out  

[Kermit]

Just remember to remove things like wire bails and wood handles!!!

[huntinguy]

Years ago a friend got totally repulsed by his CI frypan. He figured it might be a total loss, so what the heck, throw it in the woodstove. He did, right after breakfast. When he next peeked, the whole thing was glowing a nice red. He thought it was over, and kept feeding the fire all day. Next morning it was still in one piece, so he took it out, blew the dust off (on the porch!), and seasoned it anew.

I've done the same thing with good results.

Now all you need is a woodstove. Go get you one. It won't stink up the house like the oven cleaning cycle might.

Friend of mine has done the same thing using an acetylene torch, Cherry red and slow cool.

[Butler Ford]

There will be no "seasoning" in a pot used for melting lead, so an old pot with no burned on fats would be suspect without knowledge of history.

[Three Hawks]

I have been mocked and reviled on several boards because of my concern about lead and other base metals in cast iron pots used for melting and alloying soft metals.  Scrap lead and wheelweights are known to contain cadmium, copper, arsenic, zinc, selenium and other toxic base metals often in the form of oxides and some salts of these metals.

I would like to know, for sure, from someone who actually can prove it one way or the other if these metals insinuate themselves into the iron, and if so, can they be removed thoroughly enough to be food safe.

Not  "I'm sure",  "Stands to reason", or "I reckon".   I'd like to KNOW.   Until I do, I won't cook in or knowingly eat out of any iron that I do not know the provenance of.  

I'm 65 and 260 lbs,  so it would take quite a lot more of something nasty to do me dirt, but how much would it take to make a 30 lb., six year old girl deathly sick?   Who among us is willing to risk that cute little granddaughter he thinks the world of?  

Scaredy cat ol'

Three Hawks