CT Cast Iron Hoarder

J

James_M

New member
I enjoy going to tag sales and flea markets along with antique stores etc. A few years ago i figured since im going to these places i might as well start picking up some cast iron for personal use and to flip to get me what i want for a discounted price. I figured i would just collect 1 thing never really realizing that 50-150 year old cast iron can be hard to find at times.i also figured i would find a direction and stick to it but that hasnt worked out so far. Over the last 4 years ive collected a few hundred pieces and ive resold some to go out and buy more. I never really cared for gate marked stuff but my opinion of that has changed recently . I really like my erie - vollrath and my piqua smiley pans. I have developed a real liking for the hammered CI as well. The bsr and Griswold stuff doesnt do to much for me anymore since it seems to be everywhere by comparison.

I just recently had some success with cleaning with lye which im new at.i tried electrolysis but didnt have any luck.i was told maybe i didnt have enough steel in the tank to attract the crap off the pans since i tried 4 types of battery chargers.
 
James,
It's funny how our tastes change over time when collecting this stuff. I have always leaned towards Lodge raised number skillets, but recently I've had fun finding a couple of Favorites, several Martins, and have even started looking at Red Mountain series of BSR.

As for your e-tank, if it was working you would know if. In mine the bubbles flow off of the CI like smoke rising from a fire. In the beginning, I had four pieces of rebar in a five falling bucket, strung together with copper wire. Then one day it dawned on me, the heat shields (or whatever they're called) over two of the burners on my gas grill were going to waste, because those two burners didn't even work anymore! So, I took them out of my girl and put them in the bucket, connecting them to the rebar with more copper wire. That dang thing is really working great now!
 
James_M said:
I enjoy going to tag sales and flea markets along with antique stores etc. A few years ago i figured since im going to these places i might as well start picking up some cast iron for personal use and to flip to get me what i want for a discounted price. I figured i would just collect 1 thing never really realizing that 50-150 year old cast iron can be hard to find at times.i also figured i would find a direction and stick to it but that hasnt worked out so far. Over the last 4 years ive collected a few hundred pieces and ive resold some to go out and buy more. I never really cared for gate marked stuff but my opinion of that has changed recently . I really like my erie - vollrath and my piqua smiley pans. I have developed a real liking for the hammered CI as well. The bsr and Griswold stuff doesnt do to much for me anymore since it seems to be everywhere by comparison.

I just recently had some success with cleaning with lye which im new at.i tried electrolysis but didnt have any luck.i was told maybe i didnt have enough steel in the tank to attract the crap off the pans since i tried 4 types of battery chargers.
Click to expand...
James, do you have any pictures of your e-tank setup? What did you use for anodes? I probably can't help since I'm setting up my first attempt, but the other forum members may be able to offer suggestions after seeing what you have.
 
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