pig iron ballast

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flydutchman

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I am recent new owner of a hillyard 4 tonner. Much of the restoration work was completed by previous owner but I need to draw some of keel bolts for peace of mind. Have pulled out all ballast and scrubbed away ochre filth from bilges. I would like to coat ballast and have been given a few suggestions. Rust convertor, epoxy, paint , bitumen, galvanising and hot plastic dipping are just a few. I know this plastic stuff from makers mark bourbon bottle. Who has surmounted this problem? Thank you.
 
It is insurmountable.

Replace with lead. Takes less space and generates no mess. Cost is less than you would imagine.
 
You have shamed me with your post... I have been putting off doing something about the pig ballast in my 8-tonner for too long.
My excuse is that to get all the ballast out will mean lifting all the floors, something I don't want to tackle until I rebuild all the internal layout.
The cunning plan, though is to clean the pigs in a cement mixer with a bucket or two of dry sand. Epoxy tar would be the most effective seal, but it would work out expensive. An option would be a good coating of waxoyl. Once cool it shouldn't be too sticky and would be self-repairing.
In an ideal world the best solution would be to replace the iron with lead, but without a few church roofs to play with, that's not going to happen.
 
How about bagged sand from a builder's merchant, if you've enough room, as it's not so heavy. Thing is, it lays where put with few air gaps. The bags bio degrade, so need to be put in more robust bags. Tie them up and leave a loop to hoist in and out.
 
I have successfully cleaned pig iron by putting it in a very hot bonfire. The rust flakes off and all that's needed when it's cooled is a quick going over with a wire brush. Epoxy tar works well.

Having gone over to lead though I wouldn't consider anything else. It's not that dear when you condsider the effort needed to maintain iron. I bought 25 kg ingots and cut them to length with a brick bolster and sledge hammer.
 
Worth thinking about.
I cadged left-overs from a big tub to do the bilge plates three years ago... it goes off very hard, almost glassy.
I can't use any for a few months as the boat will stay in the water until March at the earliest but I guess half a tub would be ok 'till then.

I will source prices and pm you.
 
I used Synthaprufe, a sort of chlorinated rubber tar used for waterproofing cellars.
It lasted for years and stays slightly flexible. I don't think it's still available under that name as it was a National Coal Board Product, but a builders merchant can probably suggest a similiar product.
 
It's got to be lead really. So much cleaner. Don't let it rest in anything iron because the iron will corrode quite quickly. An easier way of cutting the lead ingots is to use a hand circular saw . Yes it really does work remarkably easily, and doesn't blunt the blade much, be carefull.
 
You can dissolve the rust by immersing the pigs in a garbage-can full of 10% solution of Molasses. I don't understand the chemistry of it, but it works! Leave it to soak for a week or so, and you'll be able to hose the rust off the pigs. I would then heat them up to thoroughly dry them, and then dip them into a bituminous emulsion which you should be able to get from an asphalt-laying company. Lay them out for the emulsion to "crack" and turn into bitumen. Cast iron, I was told, is too porous to galvanise properlywithout it being shot-blasted first. [There's another way to get rid of the rust!]
Peter.
 
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