so i stopped at the feed store yesterday and snagged 5 gallons of molasses. my options for locations to set the mix are: 1. inside the house; room temp 2. in my shop, which is around 50 - 70 degrees, depending on whether i'm working in it or not. even if i work for a few hours, most of the time it'll be down around 55 - 65. at least until it warms up outside. 3. in the barn (actually this is shop #2, it's just easier for me to differentiate by calling one the shop and the other the barn), which is unheated. even so it never freezes out there. i put a milk jug of water on the floor when i first moved here to see if it freezes. it's been sitting there through 4 winters and hasn't frozen yet. so even though it doesn't freeze, it's not very warm either. i bet it's down in the 30's - 50's most of the winter. these are my options. i'll be using a plastic 5 gallon bucket with a tight sealing lid for the first experiment. i can take it outside to open/check (y'all say it doesn't smell very purty, huh?) what are your suggestions? is the lid ok, or does it need to be open? time isn't a factor.
atch, as with most reactions of this sort, heat is good. more heat = more reaction... as for the lid question, i'm not sure, but the guy i know who has been removing rust with molasses for years has lids on his big drums... can't remember if they're on tight or not, but i think they are (to stop shit getting in there)...
Mike: aka: atch, I think that it works best when it is warmer. I had some outside in the early spring two years ago and it was a slow process. Then I recently started a new batch and it is in the laundry room in a closed bucket and it cleaned up a spoon pedal assembly in about a week. I cleaned the pedal off every day also. I have noticed when it is warmer it grows a crust on the top that you need to clean out before you do it again. Good luck, you will be amazed at how well it cleans stuff. Chris Nelson Kansas
will less heat just result in longer reaction time or will it not take the rust off? i guess that really is my question, although i failed to say so originally.
I think that it slows the reaction time when it is cooler. Oh yea, I have mine in a big bucket with the lid on it. It does get a bit of a smell to it.
I did an experiment using a coffee can on a hot plate and a coffee can at room temp. I dropped 2 rusty 56 Safari bumper bolts in each can and made the mix identical. I covered each can and put the heated one on low heat. It removed the rust from the bolts about 30% faster....2 weeks heated versus 3 weeks unheated to strip the rust off the bolts. If you keep it inside, definetely cover it. Not sure you'd want to completely seal it tho. I'd think a pin hole would release any pressure that may build. Be advised: Bees love the smell of this shit, I don't. Mine's been out beside my garage for over a year. I'm afraid to open the lid!
whoa! pressure? not seal it? anyone got any specific info on this? i put it in a tightly sealed 5 gallon bucket in the house. am i gonna be sorry?
That bubbling and mess on the top releases some gas so I wouldnt seal it tight. If it will be in a low temp area then mix it maybe 3:1 to get a bit more reaction and stir it daily. Up here I dont even bother trying in the winter as I always leave the drums outside. Stench can get intense when really warm.
FWIW, I kept mine in a casserol baking dish and did my upper windshield hinges for my 35 ford PU in it. Did it during the winter (yes this winter about 6 weeks ago). Average temp about 40 degrees F. I mixed it 50/50 with boiling water. I put the hinges in there for the first two weeks, and didnt get much result. Puled them out, and it had cleaned them to bare metal in a few places, but not everywhere. Took them in the kitchen, and cleaned the oily residue (I thought I had cleaned them good enough, but obivisouly not) using dish soap and a toothbrush. Put them back in for two more weeks, and it really made the difference! Worked pretty good, stunk like hell. Gave the whole garage a sickening sweet smell. I still ended up using a wire wheel on them because they were pitted after the rust was ate away. It did release the stuck bolts in them enough that pliars twisted them out, where they kept twisting out of the vise grips before the soaking. Now I got a moldy dish of sweet smelly stuff on my shelf!
[ QUOTE ] whoa! pressure? not seal it? anyone got any specific info on this? i put it in a tightly sealed 5 gallon bucket in the house. am i gonna be sorry? [/ QUOTE ] A little story. ABout 10 years ago, my cousin was working maintenance at a cigar manufacturer. A guy there was moving some of the barrels or molasses used for flavoring some of the tobacco. He used a pry bar to pop the lid at which time the cannister exploded, ripping a whole in the guys chest. Fortuantely my cousin knew emergency medicine and was able to save the man. Now granted the barrels were sitting for a year+, but there's no telling how quickly a batch will ferment or decay, producing pressure. Just be careful, tap the drum and listen to the resonance, even full the unpressurized won't have a deep a thunk as the pressurized
well, i didn't banish the molasses to the garage, where it would have been much cooler. i left the sealed plastic 5 gallon bucket on the dryer, probably the warmest place in the house. after 4 days the lid started to puff upwards. i let off all the pressure and kept an eye on it. the next day it was puffed up again, so i used the smallest drill bit i own and drilled a hole in the lid. the hole is enough to let the pressure equalize, but not enough air moves through the hole to make a stink in the laundry room. at least so far. it's been sitting there for 7 days now. if anything changes i'll let you know.
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