While I have some time on my hands, decided to dust off the gear and
brew a batch. I was horrified (to put it very nicely) to find my
'sealable' oil drain pan had been leaking into my brewpot! Now, there
is about a half inch of used motor oil sitting in it. I've gotten a
bag of kitty litter to get the bulk of the oil out. Anybody have any
recommendations on how to completely eliminate the rest of the
film/residue that'll be left? It's a nice 10 gallon pot I'd rather
not have to replace.

Thanks

"Rob (remove Q's to reply)" <Qmuttley@Qxtra.Qco.Qnz> wrote in message
news:7tO6c.2435$u%1.360737@news02.tsnz.net...[color=blue]
> BKBooth wrote:[color=green]
> > Simple Green is a pretty good degreaser
> > <BBoucher@waterboy.com> wrote in message
> > news:er3k50hagl2cr3f0cmuu7h9gol6donmubj@4ax.com...
> >[color=darkred]
> >>While I have some time on my hands, decided to dust off the gear[/color][/color][/color]
and[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> >>brew a batch. I was horrified (to put it very nicely) to find my
> >>'sealable' oil drain pan had been leaking into my brewpot! Now,[/color][/color][/color]
there[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> >>is about a half inch of used motor oil sitting in it. I've gotten a
> >>bag of kitty litter to get the bulk of the oil out. Anybody have[/color][/color][/color]
any[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> >>recommendations on how to completely eliminate the rest of the
> >>film/residue that'll be left? It's a nice 10 gallon pot I'd rather
> >>not have to replace.
> >>
> >>Thanks[/color]
> >
> >
> >[/color]
> Hi
>
> I'm no expert, but motor oil has some really toxic sh@& in it like[/color]
heavy[color=blue]
> metals. You may want to really think about reusing this pot...[/color]

Where would the heavy metals come from?

In the past, there was lead in the gasoline. Now, most of what you'll
find in used oil is organic. The black stuff is fine particles of
carbon -- soot, in other words.

Sure, you want to clean it all out. There isn't anything in it that's
so nasty that it'll contaminate the wort even if you can't see any
traces on the pot.


Ray

"Rob (remove Q's to reply)" <Qmuttley@Qxtra.Qco.Qnz> wrote in message
news:7tO6c.2435$u%> I'm no expert, but motor oil has some really toxic sh@&
in it like heavy[color=blue]
> metals. You may want to really think about reusing this pot...
>
> Cheers
> Rob[/color]

What? Motor Oil will have waste from gasoline, a by product of the base
oil.

You will also get by products from engine wear. Most piston rings are coated
with chromium, a toxic metal.

Hadn't even thought about the possibilty of anything toxic. Was just
worried there might be a film left or other nasties in the metal that
would leech into the brew.

Somebody else suggested that salt water would draw the oil out. I had
never heard that. Any of you ever heard that?

I have both Simple Green and dish soap. Guess i'l start the washings
and see how it turns out.

"Dan Rock" <danrock@wowway.com> wrote in message
news:-sadnbpGcZT70MHd4p2dnA@wideopenwest.com...[color=blue]
> You will also get by products from engine wear. Most piston rings are[/color]
coated[color=blue]
> with chromium, a toxic metal.[/color]

Chromium is toxic? Funny... I take chromium supplements.

Seriously, though, if there are any toxic metals in the oil, they will
be in trace amounts. If you clean the oil out of the pot, there will
be, at the very most, a trace of oil. A trace of a trace isn't going to
be even detectable.

If you're really worried about it, clean the pot, then boil some water
in it. Boil it for a long time so it'll have plenty of time to pick up
and concentrate anything that might be left on the pot. Then, send a
sample to a lab.

While you're at it, send a sample straight from the supply as a control.
If you find anything in the boiled water, I would be willing to bet that
it's in the supply, too.

If you're still worried, I'll be happy to take the pot off of your
hands. I'll put it to good use. :-)



Ray

On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 15:24:19 -0500, "Ray Drouillard"
<cosmicNospam@comcast.net> wrote:
[color=blue]
>
>"Dan Rock" <danrock@wowway.com> wrote in message
>news:-sadnbpGcZT70MHd4p2dnA@wideopenwest.com...[color=green]
>> You will also get by products from engine wear. Most piston rings are[/color]
>coated[color=green]
>> with chromium, a toxic metal.[/color]
>
>Chromium is toxic? Funny... I take chromium supplements.[/color]

Let's be serious. The chromium you take in medication supplements is
different than that in an engine.

Think about Nitro. Used in a person it can stop chest pain/angina by
dilating cardiac blood vessels. In a slightly different formulation,
it can be used to blow holes in solid rock.

"NobodyMan" <none@none.net> wrote in message
news:71ip50hb6579u93jdm45lkq1md07pcrfp9@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 15:24:19 -0500, "Ray Drouillard"
> <cosmicNospam@comcast.net> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >
> >"Dan Rock" <danrock@wowway.com> wrote in message
> >news:-sadnbpGcZT70MHd4p2dnA@wideopenwest.com...[color=darkred]
> >> You will also get by products from engine wear. Most piston rings are[/color]
> >coated[color=darkred]
> >> with chromium, a toxic metal.[/color]
> >
> >Chromium is toxic? Funny... I take chromium supplements.[/color]
>
> Let's be serious. The chromium you take in medication supplements is
> different than that in an engine.
>
> Think about Nitro. Used in a person it can stop chest pain/angina by
> dilating cardiac blood vessels. In a slightly different formulation,
> it can be used to blow holes in solid rock.[/color]

Ummmm, no. Nitroglycerin (also called glyceryl trinitrate) is a powerful
explosive and an important ingredient of most forms of dynamite. However, is
also used with nitrocellulose in some propellants, especially for rockets
and missiles, and it is employed as a vasodilator in the easing of cardiac
pain. It does this because it dilates blood vessels by relaxing the smooth
muscles surrounding them, thereby increasing blood flow. The formulation of
the explosive and the heart medication is the same, just the concentration
is different. Medical nitroglycerin is simply diluted to make it
nonexplosive. In the mid 1800's people who handled pure nitroglycerin
reported their faces would get flushed and their heart would pound. That is
how William Murrell of Westminster Hospital in London knew to look to
diluted nitroglycerin as a long lasting remedy for angina. In fact most
chemicals used for medicine are the same chemicals used for other purposes.

"NobodyMan" <none@none.net> wrote in message
news:71ip50hb6579u93jdm45lkq1md07pcrfp9@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 15:24:19 -0500, "Ray Drouillard"
> <cosmicNospam@comcast.net> wrote:
>[color=green]
> >
> >"Dan Rock" <danrock@wowway.com> wrote in message
> >news:-sadnbpGcZT70MHd4p2dnA@wideopenwest.com...[color=darkred]
> >> You will also get by products from engine wear. Most piston rings[/color][/color][/color]
are[color=blue][color=green]
> >coated[color=darkred]
> >> with chromium, a toxic metal.[/color]
> >
> >Chromium is toxic? Funny... I take chromium supplements.[/color]
>
> Let's be serious. The chromium you take in medication supplements is
> different than that in an engine.
>
> Think about Nitro. Used in a person it can stop chest pain/angina by
> dilating cardiac blood vessels. In a slightly different formulation,
> it can be used to blow holes in solid rock.
>[/color]

As D. Taylor pointed out, medical nitro is the same as the explosive
stuff.

As far as the metals... the truth is that you can chew pure lead or
swallow mercury without raising your blood level of the metal in
question by very much. It essentially passes right through.

The compounds, on the other hand, are a different story. That's one of
the problems with tetraethyl-lead (the stuff used in leaded gas).

Most of the nasty stuff in oil is soot, some acids from the little bit
of sulfur and chlorine that's in gasoline, and the like. You might also
find a tiny amount of lead from the bearings that are used in some
engines. Still, the engines are carefully designed to avoid shedding
their guts. If they did, they wouldn't last very long. Chrome rings
are used because chromium is very hard and doesn't wear out. (By the
way, chrome rings are very rare in production cars. Cast iron is
generally used. Molybdenum is also on occasion.)

So, an oil pan full of used motor oil that has been in the car for ten
or fifteen thousand miles might have a tiny bit of metal in it, but not
enough to cause any problems -- even if you extracted it all and ate it.

If you happen to swallow a drop of motor oil, you are not going to get a
detectable amount of anything nasty -- except for the hydrocarbons
themselves.

If you carefully scrub everything off of the pot, then put boil five
gallons of wort in it -- well, I really doubt if anyone has made an
instrument that will detect the tiny amounts that make it into the beer.


Ray

On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 23:44:21 +0000, D Taylor wrote:

[color=blue]
> "NobodyMan" <none@none.net> wrote in message
> news:71ip50hb6579u93jdm45lkq1md07pcrfp9@4ax.com...[color=green]
>> On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 15:24:19 -0500, "Ray Drouillard"
>> <cosmicNospam@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>>[color=darkred]
>> >"Dan Rock" <danrock@wowway.com> wrote in message
>> >news:-sadnbpGcZT70MHd4p2dnA@wideopenwest.com...
>> >> You will also get by products from engine wear. Most piston rings
>> >> are
>> >coated
>> >> with chromium, a toxic metal.
>> >
>> >Chromium is toxic? Funny... I take chromium supplements.[/color]
>>
>> Let's be serious. The chromium you take in medication supplements is
>> different than that in an engine.
>>
>> Think about Nitro. Used in a person it can stop chest pain/angina by
>> dilating cardiac blood vessels. In a slightly different formulation,
>> it can be used to blow holes in solid rock.[/color]
>
> Ummmm, no. Nitroglycerin (also called glyceryl trinitrate) is a
> powerful explosive and an important ingredient of most forms of
> dynamite. However, is also used with nitrocellulose in some propellants,
> especially for rockets and missiles, and it is employed as a vasodilator
> in the easing of cardiac pain. It does this because it dilates blood
> vessels by relaxing the smooth muscles surrounding them, thereby
> increasing blood flow. The formulation of the explosive and the heart
> medication is the same, just the concentration is different. Medical
> nitroglycerin is simply diluted to make it nonexplosive. In the mid
> 1800's people who handled pure nitroglycerin reported their faces would
> get flushed and their heart would pound. That is how William Murrell of
> Westminster Hospital in London knew to look to diluted nitroglycerin as
> a long lasting remedy for angina. In fact most chemicals used for
> medicine are the same chemicals used for other purposes.[/color]

In any case, nobody here can guarantee the cooking pot will be absolutely
safe to use. I personally would just clean it out with detergent and hot
water, with maybe a wipe-down with a rag soaked in alcohol and a final
rinse... Or buy a new pot!
One possible test might be to fill it with water and let it simmer for a
half-hour or so to see if any oily film floats to the top or any noticable
odor lingers. In any case, only BBoucher can make that decision, and I'm
not going to urge him in either direction. I don't want to bear any part
of the blame if some family member develops cancer 20 years from now.

Karl S.

--
I'm still waiting for someone to WTFM!