AUSTRALIA'S ORIGINAL AND BEST CAMP OVEN AND OUTDOOR COOKING CAMPING AND LIFESTYLE FORUM - What to do when you are fortunate enough to have one of these??

Mar 5^th, 2014 at 6:52pm

grump Offline
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I discovered that my luck was in today. I bought a CO and it had this extra feature......

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Reply #1 - Mar 5^th, 2014 at 7:00pm

Smokeydk Offline
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Bugga

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Reply #2 - Mar 5^th, 2014 at 7:09pm

TBF Offline
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Not a happy collector. Angry

Did it come via post ?

Aart

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Reply #3 - Mar 5^th, 2014 at 7:19pm

grump Offline
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It came by personal delivery in a salt bag.
I had my concerns when I observed how casual she handled it ( just a bag of old cast iron y'know)
Gave it the ring test and a lookover with the old eyes. Nothing stood out and it rang clean; still does.
I'm thinking I'll determine how far the crack has traveled and drill there. That should stop its progress then I will season it. The crack looks to be an inch long
What do you reckon??

Anybody got a home-brew crack-test method they want to share?

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Reply #4 - Mar 5^th, 2014 at 7:32pm

Chally Offline
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I feel your pain as I have been in the same situation. Sad

Sorry I can't help regarding the best course of action.

Jeff

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Reply #5 - Mar 6^th, 2014 at 10:05am

Stump Jump Offline
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grump wrote on Mar 5^th, 2014 at 7:19pm:

It came by personal delivery in a salt bag.
I had my concerns when I observed how casual she handled it ( just a bag of old cast iron y'know)
Gave it the ring test and a lookover with the old eyes. Nothing stood out and it rang clean; still does.
I'm thinking I'll determine how far the crack has traveled and drill there. That should stop its progress then I will season it. The crack looks to be an inch long
What do you reckon??

Anybody got a home-brew crack-test method they want to share?

It's really hard to guard against purchasing cast ironware with very fine hair line cracks, particularly if it is bought sight unseen over the internet. It has certainly happened to me with a Kenrick saucepan I purchased a while back and I really feel for you Grump.

Most of my camp oven purchases these days tend to be restricted to junk shops, flea markets, swap meets and the like; where I have plenty of time to closely scrutinise the goods prior to purchase. Also the prices tend to be far more reasonable than those found on Ebay or Trademe.

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Reply #6 - Mar 7^th, 2014 at 6:42am

2Blackys Offline
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I purchased a camp oven in the USA a few years ago and had it posted back to South Australia. When I came home it was here and the first thing I did was check it for travel damage, and looked OK.

When I stared the seasoning process I noticed a very fine "weep" mark on the outside going nearly to the base. Yes it was a very, very fine crack about 3" long.

I took it to a very good engineer and boiler maker friend of mine to see if it could be welded up.

He said to me to leave it, use it as it is, and after time it will seal itself. He also went on to say his son in law borrowed one of his camp ovens to use up Coopers Creek several years earlier, and it was returned cracked, and all he did was use it and it sealed itself OK.

I did the same with mine,just use it and the crack has sealed up , and I would not even know where it was now.

I do not use it when travelling, but it's used home here all the time.

I would not drill it, just use it and I hope your worries seal up as Joes and mine did.

Good Luck

Gaz

"Never trust a man with a tidy shed!"

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Reply #7 - Mar 7^th, 2014 at 7:35am

Seamus Offline
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My son has his own engineering business here and says that whilst it can be done, it is quite a difficult and precise job welding these sorts of cracks in cast iron.

I showed him the comments about leaving it to heal up itself and he agreed that it was probably best to go that way, particularly if it was only a fine crack.

However you would need a very experienced welder if you chose that option.

Cheers

Seamus

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Reply #8 - Mar 7^th, 2014 at 11:14am

Stump Jump Offline
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I would have to agree with the others, that it would be best to ignore the hairline crack and use and enjoy the camp oven. I have been regularly using my Kenrick saucepan with a much longer hairline crack than yours for nearly 10 years now. It never leaked and the crack hasn't lengthened or opened up

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Reply #9 - Mar 7^th, 2014 at 4:54pm

grump Offline
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Thank you all for your empathy, experience and wisdom.
I sought advice from an engineering friend and thought long and hard on what has been advised from the wisemen of COCIA.
If I was to drill the crack it would always be a CO with a hole Grin

. Drilling a hole that was small enough to be considered discreet would be problematic in that it may not pick up the very end of the crack.
I am listening to the experience of Stump, Seamus and gaz.
Today I put it through two seasoning sessions and it looks a treat; best of all, no crack movement Cool

I'll post up some images of it when it arrived and post electro.
Tomorrow I will take some shots in good light to show you the end result.

Once again, a huge thanks to the COCIA brotherhood.

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