Cookin' With Coal

Sunny Boy wrote: ↑

Sat. Aug. 24, 2019 6:27 am

Thanks for the link to Field Company.

In reading their instructions for seasoning a new pan, I see they recommend using grapeseed oil. I have to agree about what they say about flaxseed oil.

I found a small cast iron pan just the right size for frying eggs or cooking a few hotdogs for a sandwich. I striped it to bare metal using oven cleaner, then ground and sanded it smooth. Then I used flaxseed oil to season it. After a few coatings and baking in the oven, it looked wonderful. It had a hard, high shine surface like a well polished shoe......
....... that almost completely flaked off the first few times I used the pan.

I striped it to bare cast iron again, re-seasoned it using vegetable oil, and it's ok now.

Paul

I’ve often wondered how avocado oil would work for seasoning a pan since it has the highest smoke content of any cooking oil at 500*F...of course you’d want it to have the same properties as the grape seed oil so it would better adhere to the pan.

All I’ve ever used was lard for my pans as it gives a nice black finish. I’ve found though that with newer less smooth Lodge skillets that if you’re not careful and get the pan too hot it too will flake off which tells me it’s staying on the surface and not going into the pan. Never tried anything else but the lard and vegetable oil.

Just FYI...I just heard that Lodge has bought out one of the newer companies...Finex. I liked their skillets ,but not their round spring handle design. I think it would be much too slippery when cooking. Finex as well as a few other new companies sure are proud of their work though...some steep prices.

I’m not sure why anyone would really have to machine a new Fields skillet smooth since they already come as smooth as the old Griswold skillets or dang near it...that can be seen from visiting their website. They are the smoothest skillet made of the new companies offering them.

If your friend is improving on that, then the skillet that was almost like glass would be like glass now.

No offense intended, as I don’t know the man, but is he really re-finishing these for $10, or is he just buying them and re-selling them? It was the “teaming up with Tomahawk foundry” that threw me off. I’m not saying they can’t be improved upon, just don’t think they need it, and if they do then the work seems cheap and would be a bargain for what he’s doing to them. Can you get any before and after photo’s? For $10 I wouldn’t attempt to smooth out any skillet of my own since it’s such a messy job and time consuming by hand.

Edit:
Just re-read the part where you said he was buying them and re-finishing them. I’d still like to see before and after picks if he has any...just because he has to be taking an already superb skillet and making it over-the-top outstanding.

Some of this has been covered way back in this thread. Lodge says it uses flaxseed oil to pre-season their iron wear.

If the coil wire handles of the Finex pans work as well as stove lid lifters, those round spring handles stay surprisingly cool - enough that you wouldn't need to use a pot holder like an all cast iron pan. And, unlike a plastic handled pan, I can see an advantage if you want to put the pan into a very hot oven to finish cooking/browning, or use the pan over an open-flame camp fire. And it can certainly take more abuse then the plastic handles.

Paul

Just went to Lodge website...then “All about seasoning” section.

They use soybean oil to season, and for home use recommend that, or vegetable oil, melted shortening, or their spray they sell... which is canola oil. That said, I’m not so sure they care what we use, nor are they sure what they prefer...at least it seems that way to me.

A little tough to read 150+ pages in one morning...but I’m trying.

Just spoke with my father who is better friends with him than I am, my dad says they are seconds, not sure how he is getting them but I guess he is getting them rather cheap then doctoring them up.
Maybe the seconds have a rougher surface?
I should have looked into them a little closer and had some facts before placing my 2c. I still like it however by looking at their website mine don’t look much if any smoother than a new one.
He had some other stuff cast from tomahawk, something for a jotel and some early fireplace tools.
I guess I got had lol

I don’t think you got had...you have a skillet...made smooth as new...that will last a lifetime...for about the same price. No harm no foul. Nothing wrong with posting what you did. Everyone was patient, we all learned something, so that’s a win for everyone.

I started reading this thread because I’d like to have a stove like this. Coal burning, of course...then I assume I can also burn wood.

Are they cheaper to buy than a base heater? That’s essentially what they are, right?

Every time the wife and I go to Cracker Barrel we can’t stop looking at the stove.

In like condition, a good, basic coal range runs close to the cost of a good base heater,.... unless the range has more optional features added, such as a water reservoir tank (like mine), or gas side car (like Dana's), or roll top verses mantel shelf (Like Randy's), etc. Those rather rare add-ons can drive the price up quite a bit.

BTW, ranges are base heaters - just with a smaller firebox. However, the base heaters can't beat a good range's heat extracting ability. Even the small ones like my Sunny Glenwood have much longer internal flues and more surface area than my GW #6 base heater. My Sunny, with it's water reservoir has about 50% more heat extracting surface area than the GW #6. If it had twice the firebox size (25 lbs of nut coal verses 50 pounds for the GW #6) it would blow the GW 6 and it's competing sized base heaters away. Even the bigger GW#8 can't extract as much heat before the exhaust gets to the pipe collar, like my range can. So, based on keeping the most heat inside the house, the range wins.

But, most ranges are still less expensive than many of the top base burners (mica stoves).

Paul

Well hoytman, when your ready for one let me know I have probably over 100 stoves and 65 or so ranges ranging from large to small most of which can run coal, like Paul mentioned the range is much better at extracting heat than even he glenwood 8 base heater I have, just a simple ir gun can quickly verify our claims and you can eat from it as well.
As far as the pan like I said I’m still happy with it, so I guess your right I wasn’t had.

Problem for me is hearth size. Just don’t know if there’s room for #6 or #8, let alone a kitchen stove. I could tear out the hearth, but it’s currently 40”-42” deep and 7’ wide...with 4” of concrete and rock both floor and wall. Not sure how close I can set any to the wall.

Of course I could turn the #6 or #8 sideways.

I heat 1700 sft for most the winter with a range. Wheen get few days in row under 20f it needs lil help so start the anthramax up ( cant stand the thing). M

My hearth is 6ft deep and lil better than 7 ft long. Waiting on more free bricks so wall has curregated roofin sideways till get more bricks

Clearances can be further reduced by adding heat shields, not only to the walls, but around the stove and pipe also. The National fire code pages posted on this site give the materials and distances they allow.

BTW, masonry products, such as brick, stone or tile, do not allow much clearance reduction in the Fire Codes because, even though they are fire proof, they are considered a heat conductor, not an insulator. Creating air gaps that cause convection cooling, and insulating materials such as rock wool, give the most reduction.

By mounting a sheet metal box with two inches of rock wool inside, as a heat shield on the back of my range, I could get the code 36 inch clearance down to within 9 inches of the wall, by code. However, I moved it back out some to make cleaning behind it easier.

Paul

Sunny Boy wrote: ↑

Sat. Aug. 24, 2019 6:27 am

Thanks for the link to Field Company.

In reading their instructions for seasoning a new pan, I see they recommend using grapeseed oil. I have to agree about what they say about flaxseed oil.

I found a small cast iron pan just the right size for frying eggs or cooking a few hotdogs for a sandwich. I striped it to bare metal using oven cleaner, then ground and sanded it smooth. Then I used flaxseed oil to season it. After a few coatings and baking in the oven, it looked wonderful. It had a hard, high shine surface like a well polished shoe......
....... that almost completely flaked off the first few times I used the pan.

I striped it to bare cast iron again, re-seasoned it using vegetable oil, and it's ok now.

Paul

Sunny, my flax-seasoned pans have held their finish longer than the traditional Crisco (soybean oil, often called vegetable oil). I am amazed yours flaked off. I generally use low to medium heat with skillets, and always wipe them with a very thin coat after use (and heat them to encourage soaking up the oil). One way to strip a skillet bare like new is to set it on hot coals for a few hours--maybe you used higher heat than I do (or a campfire?), but I have never used that method to remove polymer coating (traditional seasoning).

My mother never seasoned skillets--she would scrub them with steel wool after every use to keep them like new. Of course, that meant she had to use plenty of grease each time she used them. But she had a coffee can of bacon drippings on the stove for that, and her Southern cooking never spared the fat.

I've had pans buckle the bottom by over heating them hot enough to burn off the old seasoning, so I never use that method.

I stripped that small pan to bare iron by soaking it with oven cleaner inside a plastic bag over night. That has worked well for other pans I've stripped and re-seasoned.

Then it was well washed and scrubbed with hot water and dried before it could surface rust. Then the inside was ground and sanded smoother. Then washed and dried again before starting the coatings of flaxseed.

I must say, the shine several coats of flaxseed gave it looked impressive. But it was not as non-stick as pans I've done with plain vegetable oil. And it flaked off during cooking, even with oil or butter added when pre-heating the pan. I re-did the same stripping process and seasoned it with vegetable oil and it's fine now.

Paul

I am not certain if there’s any clearance behind my wall. Was put in around 1978, and I doubt it has the proper clearance. I may be able to take. Trim board down at the ceiling to take peek though.

We have 1300 sq. ft. here, so not sure what would work for us. Saving cooking propane in the winter would be a plus.