Bulk Cleaning with electrolysis (FRANKENTANK)

[Frankentank]

Hello Everyone,

  I have been reading your forum for about two years now mainly under cleaning. I am a antique dealer in Mobile, Alabama and sell a lot of cast iron locally. But the amount of work to clean the qty. I sell was killing me.
  I just want to pipe in and say that you can clean cast iron with electro in bulk if you have a need to. When I first read about setting up a electro unit on your forum I thouth it was a great idea. But the more I read the more I thought it would not work out for me. But someone told me they had read somewhere on your site that you could clean more than one piece at a time. So I started thinking and dreaming of a way to get it done.
  First I got lucky and found a 200 gal stainless steel tank (4' wide X 4' deep X 4' high) at a very good price. Then I started gathering all of other material that I had dreamed up and put it all together. This was in june of 2005 and I have had very good luck. I am using a 40 amp charger and running at 20 amps when loaded (16 skillets at a time). Yes I can clean up to 16 pieces at a time less if some are larger pieces like D/O or fish fryer. From what I have read on your site I can't clean them as fast as some of your units. Fully loaded running 20 amps it takes about 24 hrs, the bad ones may take longer. This unit cleaned over 600 pieces of cast iron in 2007 for me and will clean more this year. I have included a couple of pictures hope they inspire others like me to go for BIG.
  Well I would if I knew how it gives me a message that pics are too large?
Thank you for all the information
Terry Boone

[Sandy Glenn]

Terry, We'd all love to see pictures of your set-up.  If they're too large to post here, please email them to me (jpeg format) and I'll try to size them down and upload them here.  I sent you a PM with my email address.  Sandy

[Sandy Glenn]

Terry sent me three pictures.  I'll post them one at a time

[Sandy Glenn]

Second photo

[Sandy Glenn]

Last photo... and thanks for sharing this with us, Terry.  That's some set-up!

[Dwayne Henson]

Now that's a set up! Perry if your barrel ever gets crusty you could send it to Terry for a cleaning. ;D

[C. Perry Rapier]

Now that's a set up! Perry if your barrel ever gets crusty you could send it to Terry for a cleaning. ;D

Dwayne, now thats a sweet idea. He has good one L on a setup there, I'll give him that. Some of you may not recall but there was a former member who had a big cleaning tank also, it was a long watering tank and he had it lined with SS, it could clean several pieces at a time.

Also Dwayne, I know his cleaner could clean my cleaner. But I suppose you knew that if you put in a sacrifice piece and reverse the cables, that the tank will clean itself.  ;)

[Greg Stahl]

wow that is one heck of a nice setup!!

[C. Perry Rapier]

wow that is one heck of a nice setup!!

Greg, that setup looks like something out of Frankenstein for sure.

[C. B. Williams]

SEE, Size does matter!!! 8-)

[Will Person]

Dang!!!!   I got a John Deere block that I need cleaned up.   I bet that thing could do it no problem!!!!!



Will 8-)

[Mike Bohannon]

Talk about mass production!! Terry thanks for sharing  your setup.  Mike

[Frankentank]

Hi Perry

   You are right I could clean with a scrap piece but I don't have to. The center board has (2) 4" stainless pipes hanging which I reverse cables to and then remove it and hose off. That makes clean-up quick and easy just like cleaning the iron.

Terry

[fliccer]

I am also impressed with the tank, but equally curious about your buying/selling..... You say you had 600 pieces of cast iron COOKWARE that you cleaned last year? How many pieces do you buy and sell per year?

[Frankentank]

Hi John

  I sell on average 10-15 pieces of cast iron cookware per week. But most of  the iron I sell is common no name MADE IN USA (only). As far as buying goes it depends on what my wife or I find. I have also bought out two other dealers stock in the last year so I have alot of back stock. My market here is for mainly good old common skillets, chicken fryers & dutch ovens. Griswold has some following here but Wagner is very hard to sell for more than common. I don't find alot of Griswold here, I guess it didn't like the south. Don't get me wrong I do have and sell alot of good name branded iron but it's not my high seller.

Terry

[Al Andrews]

Terry, is there any way for you to list any Wagner you have?  I have some holes in my collection of early Wagner.

Al

[fatfutures]

Well now... this just shows me how I can clean several pieces at once! YEAH! My tanks aren't real wide but, they are nice and long!Depending on the size of the piece, I'm sure I can get 4-7 items in quite easily.

Question... any danger of this overloading my charger???

[castironsasquatch]

Michelle, I normally clean about 4 pieces at a time in my ss barrel. I have a 40 amp charger, but at times, especially when the pieces are large and aren't very dirty to start with, the needle will go WAY past 40. This makes the water so hot, that at times I have to shut the charger off for a couple of hours before I can put my hands in there, lol [smiley=kaioken.gif]. But as far as ruining the charger, I don't know, but mine still works fine :).

[fatfutures]

Thanks Eric!

I've got two ss hydro-therapy tubs, nice and long... I'll have to work out some sort of set up for mutliple pieces.

[Frankentank]

Hi Michelle:

  I adjust ph+ to keep amps at 20 when I set up my tank with a full load of iron. Some times with larger pieces it will try run to high but I add water and move iron further from sides to lower amps. It sounds like you could do the same with your tanks but only in a single line.

  If anyone would like info. please ask I like sharing.

Terry