Top Vent Pretty Rusted

UPinSMOKE

Talk about a faux paux, somehow or other, my top vent got left outside for a fews weeks and now it is pretty rusty. (I usually store it inside the egg between cooks, still using the ceramic cap when finished cooking and rust has never been a problem in over 8 years of use. 

 The daisy wheel is not rusted shut, but this vent needs some help to become functional again. 

 Any ideas on the best way to clean it up? After I do so, I'll cover it in Crisco and put inside a 250 degree oven for an hour or so to 'season' it again, just like I do with my cast iron skillets. 

 I have seen the stainless steel top vents for the Egg, but I am partial to my daisy wheel since I've had it so long and I know how to use it very well.

 Any suggestions on the best way to clear off the majority of the rust before re-seasoning it would be very much appreciated!

  Cheers!

    UpInSmoke!

    aka Pat  :-)

tarheelmatt

Torch it, scuff it up with a brush, and paint.  Or do what I do, leave it.  Adds character.  Like a skinny chef.  

Gunnar

Or drop a hint for a SS Vent for father's day.....

lousubcap

Treat it like reseasoning cast iron.  Clean it up-coat with oil and get back to keeping in the BGE as it shuts down.

tonyled

wire brush, then spray it with pam after the first 4-5 cooks and put it in your closed egg during cool down

Darby_Crenshaw

no need to paint.  IIRC, was never painted to begin with.

DieselkW

I would take it apart, save the screws and washers and the little wire handle, and cook it to about 400ºf dome temp for an hour, or until tender.

Cool it off, and scrape the rust off - it should come off very easy. Rinse it and dry it really well. Coat it in Crisco or lard or any oil you have a lot of.

Put it back on the Egg for another hour. Cool it off and reassemble.

tgs2401

tonyled said:

wire brush, then spray it with pam after the first 4-5 cooks and put it in your closed egg during cool down

Yes. Clean off the rust with a wire brush, then apply oil (I like to use olive oil) to reseason it. I put mine in the oven at 4oo degrees for two hours to finish it off.

blasting

tgs2401 said: (I like to use olive oil) to reseason it. 

Why do you like olive oil for this?

DieselkW

Olive oil is fine, if that's what you have the most of. It's kind of expensive for daisy wheel seasoning. I use Crisco for my iron grid, the daisy wheel, and the exterior of frying pans because it sticks where I put it at room temp, then I can smear it to get a thin layer.

My very best iron fryers and dutch ovens get flax seed oil on the food side. Talk about expensive, but it gives me a great seasoned surface to cook on.

Skiddymarker

Have a compressor? Check out Harbor Freight for a blaster and some nut shell medium. Everyone needs a small blaster. To oil I dip mine in the deep fryer right before I change the oil. 

UPinSMOKE

This has to be one of the best forums on the planet! 
Thanks to everyone who replied!
I will tackle the rusty daisy wheel today and will take a 'before' and 'after' pic of it (if I can figure out how to upload them here) ;-)

 Cheers to all!

 UpinSmoke :-)

tonyled

here is mine at 4-5 years old with the wire brush and pam method

UPinSMOKE

With the collective wisdom offered here, I now have a vent/daisy wheel that looks almost brand new!

 The 'prep' work took only about 40 minutes. I took the two screws out and dismantled the vent into its four pieces, then took a wire wheel, attached to a portable drill, and got rid of the majority of the rust. I then just rinsed them all off very well with hot soapy water and dried everything off.

 A good coating of Crisco was applied while the oven preheated to 300 degrees and after 90 minutes, it was all done (after a one hour cool-down). 

 I took some before and after pix and as soon as I offload them from my camera, reduce them in size I'll then try to figure out how to post them here.  :-)

 Again, a big thank you to all who offered advice. (And yes, after seeing that stainless steel vent it was hard to re-do this one) but since i know how to use this in concert with the lower vent to keep the Egg at it's optimal temps, I'll stick with this original piece of equipment. 

 Oh, for the stainless steel screws and the two washers and handle, I used an old electric toothbrush (the vibrating kind), hot soapy water and now they look nearly new too! 

 Cheers!

        Pat

UPinSMOKE

Here are a few pics of the "reclaimed" vent/daisy wheel I did this morning with a lot of help from folks here!

 Thanks again, y'all!

 Well, as you can see, my uploads did not take. I fear they may be too big and I could not see how to delete this post and re-do it. I was able to delete the large black blocks that appeared instead of the pictures, but alas, haven't found the "correct way" to post them yet.

 I'll try later on tonight. (I have also looked around the forum for instructions on how to upload pics but no joy yet (do y'all use Photobucket or the like?) Just so you know, I do not use any other social media (FB, TWI, Pin, etc). :-)

 If I cannot figure it out, just look at tonyled's picture right above this post. Mine looks just a little 'shinier' than his vent does!  Thanks, Tony!  :-)

          Pat

lousubcap

All's well that ends well.