Tent Stove and galvinised steel question.

[Badger74]

I have always liked the idea of having a wood burning tent stove but have no cash to buy one; so I found some steel trays at work for the main body and after a couple of hours came up with this.


Tent Stove by chrstphrferg, on Flickr

The threaded bar for the legs needs to be thicker and I whant to improve the door.

BUT

The problem being, the trays are galvinised and the question is, how would I know when its burnt off?

Thanks

 

[Shewie]

Galv fumes are really nasty mate so be careful if you go down that route

Can your stove be dismantled? If it can I'd be tempted to use one of those wire brush drill attachments, get it outside and wear a mask though

 

[Badger74]

Thanks Rich.

Its designed to be flat packed so I'll give that ago next weekend.

 

[moss]

cynide.............don*t burn zinc man!!!!

 

[mrcharly]

The legs either need to be substantially thicker, or cross-braced. The cross-bracing could use wire.

You need to sort the zinc and stability issues, plus I'd be wary of a flat-packable stove like that in a confined space. Solid fuel stoves need lots of intake air or they will leak co2 and CO.

The headline on that newspaper could be prophetic if you don't manage to sort these things out.

 

[davek]

In industrial applications, yadda, yadda, you have what is called "zinc fever" from welding galvanized stuff, etc.

I've gotten it, from melting "pot metal" (zinc, usually) from belt buckles and such thinking I could use it like pewter. You get no symptoms right away and then feel like you have the flu hours later, that evening. The next day you feel better. There are descriptions of this in MSDS sheets (material safety data sheets, sheets) required in factories in the states.

It can suposedly kill you, cause more permanent harm in large doses, nasty stuff.

That being said, if it was me I'd throw the parts on a large hot fire outside till the fire died and wire brush them with a mask (and shower after).

 

[shaggystu]

.......That being said, if it was me I'd throw the parts on a large hot fire outside till the fire died and wire brush them with a mask (and shower after).

that's exactly what i'd do too, but please be careful, zinc poisining is bad, really really bad

stuart

 

[ged]

I'd burn the trays in a fire as has been suggested, then leave them out in the rain for a couple of weeks. The burning will open up pores in the zinc and the rain will then get in and turn the whole thing into a big, slow chemical reaction which will eat away at the zinc. Most of it will probably brush off fairly easily after that treatment.

Alternatively now you're getting the idea of what you need from a stove start again with some stainless, it will last a lot longer and you'll have none of the (very valid) worries about galvanized steel.

The fumes from burning galvanized steel are pretty easy to detect, they're absolutely ghastly. Clouds of white smoke, and a stink, and weird, sulphurous looking stuff on the metal. Not at all like carbon monoxide that you get when burning carbon-containing fuels, and which is more or less undetectable by a human until it's dangerously late.

Unfortunately with your stove you'll have both of them to worry about.

 

[Laurentius]

Galv fumes are really nasty mate so be careful if you go down that route

Can your stove be dismantled? If it can I'd be tempted to use one of those wire brush drill attachments, get it outside and wear a mask though

I don't know whether anyone can recall the old gas "coppers" which were basically a galvanised tub with a gas burner underneath that you connected to the gas tap in the washhouse. They stunk to high heaven, yet they were standard issue in many council houses up to the 1950's I believe.

 

[ged]

I don't know whether anyone can recall the old gas "coppers" which were basically a galvanised tub with a gas burner underneath that you connected to the gas tap in the washhouse. They stunk to high heaven, yet they were standard issue in many council houses up to the 1950's I believe.

Fortunately they were usually full of water when the gas was lit, so the galvanizing wouldn't get hot enough to burn off.

 

[Badger74]

Thanks for all the advice. I do intend another longer hotter burn before they go anywear near an enclosed space before use.

That said, all the 'bucket bbq's' and the garden burning bins claim to be galvinised. Are they a different form?

 

[ged]

... all the 'bucket bbq's' and the garden burning bins claim to be galvinised. Are they a different form?

Nope. I have a galvanized thingy from B&Q which clearly stated on the packaging that it is not to be used for cooking.

I think the main problem is breathing the fumes. I don't know how harmful it would be to eat zinc compounds and perhaps a tiny bit of cyanide on your food (marzipan, anyone?) but it's not something I'd want to risk.

 

[Junglist]

I'm an electroplater by trade, zinc fever will mostly feel like you've got a bad cold, even brushing it off after the fire can give you it due to the flakes so wear a mask.
If you don't fancy doing that, stick it in something acidic, vinegar might be strong enough neat but if you can get your hands on something stronger than that, it will do the trick in no time.

 

[nitrambur]

I'm confused, galvanisation is basically electroplating with zinc, sure one of the electrolytes used is zinc cyanide, but isn't it just the zinc that's deposited? The cyanide would be a hazard to the plater not the end user.

 

[Junglist]

I'm confused, galvanisation is basically electroplating with zinc, sure one of the electrolytes used is zinc cyanide, but isn't it just the zinc that's deposited? The cyanide would be a hazard to the plater not the end user.

Yeah you're right it is a form of zinc plating.
Not all plating uses cyanide, not all galv plating use cyanide.
It is used as a electrolite to make the bath more conductive as water isn't conductive enough for electroplating.
it's also used to make the ph more alkali.
Cyanide is also used in some hot tin baths to plate items like pots and pans and whisks used for food prep, so there is no issue to the end user.
Zinc oxide is the main issue and can give you metal fume fever, but not if you're sticking it on a fire outside and your not sitting over the fire breathing in all the smoke.
It's more of an issue with welders where they are not in well ventelated area and are leaning over the galv welding to it.
It's more hazardous to the plater for sure, he has to handle it and parts dipped in it, but cyanide accidents in plating are rare as platers handle it with great care, wearing full ppe.
Basically, if you're burning it on a fire outside, and not sitting over it you're ok, no cyanide, just zinc oxide, and not enough outdoors to harm you if you put it on and don't sit over the fire.