Blichmann Engineering Burner Rusting...

Hey All,

The cast iron burner on my Blichmann Engineering Burner is rusting a little bit. I was wondering if I should do anything or just ignore it. I was considering some high temperature paint, but wasn't sure. Thoughts?

-Eric

The paint on mine has flaked, but I haven't seen rust yet.

If you stripped the remaining paint off well, I don't see why high temp paint wouldn't be alright. Rust is definitely a bad thing over time.

Stephonovich said:

The paint on mine has flaked, but I haven't seen rust yet.

If you stripped the remaining paint off well, I don't see why high temp paint wouldn't be alright. Rust is definitely a bad thing over time.

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Stripping is the annoying part. I don't really feel like sand blasting it. I was wondering if I could just paint over it... or if there is a better way to strip it.

Spray some vinegar on it, that should take off the rust.

EFaden said:

Stripping is the annoying part. I don't really feel like sand blasting it. I was wondering if I could just paint over it... or if there is a better way to strip it.

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Don't waste your time painting over rust - the rust will just push the paint off the burner. The only solution is to strip the burner & re-paint.

But it is cast iron - why bother?

thargrav said:

Don't waste your time painting over rust - the rust will just push the paint off the burner. The only solution is to strip the burner & re-paint.

But it is cast iron - why bother?

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I just wanted to make sure it won't affect the life of the burner.

Cast iron will slowly rust away from the outside and from the the inside. The paint makes it look pretty when it's new. The best thing you can do to extend the life of your burner is keep it inside when you are not using it.

I agree with thargrav - the best thing is to keep it covered. The high temp paints (black or aluminum) will eventually lift and the rust will reappear. Although it will take a LONG time to cause enough corrosion to change the performance though. While it isn't likely to change the performance, I do get the desire to keep it pretty looking. I'll see about other surface treatments but need to keep costs in line. They are expensive already and I don't want to make it more pricey.

Functionally effective gets you ceramic coating.
Cost effective is still out there waiting to be discovered.

As already mentioned, indoor storage will prolong burner life. I store my rig indoors, stood up on one end to minimize footprint in the brewery section of my home. It's definitely a conversation piece at that point

I've read of folks who swear oiling the burners after they've cooled down will inhibit rust. Obviously they burn the oil off next session before topping the burners with pots...

Cheers!