the molasses tub

[olev]

Gday,
Thought I'd share a pic of my molasses tub. Its worked very well.
I had to keep the shed door closed as Fido kept drinking it.
It started fermenting and stunk like s#*t. Damned dog must have cast iron guts.
The things a person does to restore a bike.
cheers

[RichardL]

OK, I give up. What is it for?

Again, I think you are not referring to our member, "fido."

Richard L.

[LJ.]

The clue Richard is that he is Australian! It must be some wacky brew he's making up. They dont just drink Fosters y'know. 

I think 'our' Fido will have to explain his board name as its nothing to do with dogs, I do remember him explaining his name at the East Midland BSAOC camp a couple of years ago but I have since forgotten. So come on in Fido and put us outta our misery! 

[RichardL]

LJ,

With your clue, I went to the Austraian Google site to look for "molasses tub." As it turns out, it appears that molasses works as a paint and rust stripper. Well, this is a new one to me, and I took my first auto-shop class about 45 years ago.

Here's one post from another site:

I've been playing around with the molasses for a few months now, throw it in and forget about it for a month or so, then wash it off.

Olev, please tell us more.

Richard L.

[fido]

LJ, It's derived from Phidom, which in turn is derived from my Trading name, Phils Domestics. I advise people with electrical appliance problems on a site called UKWhitegoods. I'm Phidom on there and variations on that have kind of stuck. On MSN Messenger I'm Phiyedough, as they already had a fido.

[RichardL]

Ah! The good news is you needn't take it personally when Olev refers to Fido drinking from the molasses tub. (OK, I know I'm stretching the humor beyond actually being funny.)

[Brian]

I suppose someone has to put you all out of your misery.

You mix molasses at about 10.1 (10 parts water to 1 part molasses) and it works as an excellent rust remover. Not much good on paint but works really well on rust. Its really good on things that are hard to get at, like barrels for instance. You submerge the item in the tub and leave it for 3 or 4 weeks and the rust turns into a sludge that you can hose off. I have found it works better if slightly warm, sit the tub in the sun ( for the benefit of you poms the sun is a big yellow thing up in the sky) if possible. One note though, do not put alloy in it, only steel, it disolves alloy. 

As for us colonials and our drinking habits, if its liquid and contains alcohol then there's a fair chance we will drink it.

[olev]

Mollases is a thick black goo similar to treacle or syrup and is also made from cane sugar.
The mollases used for my tub is used as a food supplement for livestock and is purchased in bulk from a produce store. It costs about 15 bucks for 20 litres. They tell me it has to be this type of mollases. The processed stuff doesn't work. Brian is right. Its great for rust and no good for painted surfaces. I mix it up as 1 part mollases to 2 parts water which is probably why it stinks so much. I'll try Brians ratio next time.
I don't think it effects alloy at all. I threw in a piece of a villiers gearbox to test it and after a week there was no difference. Some unkind people may say the soup rejected the villiers. I'll see if there is any before and after pics about. I think the stuff is fantastic - so does Fido.
The crank in the pics was left to stew for 1 week, hosed off and wiped with an oily rag.
cheers

[Brian]

Olev, the 10. 1 ratio was what I was told to use when I first was told about it. It worked ok for me like that but may be better stronger. The same person also told me never to put alloy in it as it would disolve it but I never tried to see what would happen. Its usefull stuff though, isnt it.

[bsa-bill]

Must have something to do with sugar ( obvious remark I suppose as it's molasses ) but we used to throw rusty stuff into the tanks at the bottom of silage pits, these tanks caught the effluent that came off the silage which was mostly sugar from the grass sap, and I would think more than a tad nitrogen from the fertilizer.
Mostly the rusty stuff (old pails and similar) came out clean.

All the best - Bill 

[a10 gf]

  this was good reading, and the result on the crank is impressive. edit... very impressive!

[olev]

an online auction for a single 330ml bottle of magic potion.
This elixer tastes like the finest shiraz or kirup syrup. It restores hair, fixes bunions and cures warts. Used as a deoderant it tames rashes and attracts females of all ages. A teaspoon added to your bike's oil stops tyre wear completely and removes rust from your flywheels.
I could go on!!!
It doesn't have a name yet. "Fido's Revenge' springs to mind. Perhaps a competition with a free bottle for the winner.
cheers

[bsa-bill]

WOW must be potent stuff if you need a press to keep it in the bottle
 

All the best - Bill