Cast iron grates found on shore - Advice needed

[gsker]

Hi guys!

I just found two abandoned street drainage grates at the beach near my place.

These are made by ACO. After some research, they appear to be made of 65-45-12 cast iron (product sheet).

Composition according to spec would be:

Carbon*	3.50–3.90%
Silicon*	2.25–3.00%
Manganese	0.15–0.35%
Sulfur	0.025% Max
Phosphorus	0.05% Max

Would anyone here know cast iron well enough to tell if they would be safe to refurbish as cooking or firebox grates?

Thanks for your advice.

[FireMan]

In my completely uneducated opinion, what with a fair amount of crap people cook with, my guess would be they would be OK, cuz of the carbon and they are tough.

[Donw]

I just went down a rabbit hole researching ductile iron and then into it being used to manufacture cookware. Basically, strong, expensive and harder to season. Firebox definitely but may need roughening of the surface if you want to season it for direct food cooking like a grate. Good luck.

[gsker]

I looked up a bit more too. I uploaded a comparison chart for cast iron types, grey being the normal cookware stuff.
This kind of ductile just has a bit more carbon and silicon, and has undergone a different casting process. I also learned normal cookware stuff is usually made out of whatever scraps they find around.
I am going to give it a good cleanup and give it a try. If i do not die, i will report back!

[RonB]

A blacksmithing forum may be able to offer some good info.

[FireMan]

So, since it’s startin to look like I has to be a “smithy” to really know what’s best fer cookin, just what are all the other cast iron grates made of?

[Huskee]

Aluminum prolly

[dpearce]

That looks like a good candidate for electrolysis. Least it'll let you know what kind of buildup is deposited there.

[FireMan]

Oooh, that could be an interesting find.

[gsker]

I think it is mostly rust, and not a lot of it considering these things have been submerged in atlantic water and then exposed to air twice a day for about a year.