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Helenka
08-01-2010, 12:54 PM
..a pickle tank? I use a pyrox dish on our oven, but the rings have gotten a tad rusty, plus I am not so keen on fiddling with pickle in the kitchen and rather have a safer solution.
Would a slow cooker do the trick?

Dragonsmagic
08-01-2010, 01:06 PM
Hello,

Answer to your question YES! And defo cheaper alternative :)
I got a slow cooker from argos for £9 the other day, after advice from my teacher and looking on the forum the slow cooker option is used by lots of us. Go for one with a ceramic insert apparently they're better x

Di Sandland
08-01-2010, 01:26 PM
You can also use safer alternatives to sulpuric acid based pickles. Alum springs to mind - its used in foodstuffs and as a dye mordant. I think you can get it from winemaking shops.

Helenka
08-01-2010, 02:21 PM
Thanks so much for both your advice. We have a slow cooker- but I'd rather get a smaller one just for pickle. Will look into the pickle alternatives too. Come summer I will hopefully do more silversmithing again.

Petal
08-01-2010, 04:16 PM
Another tip is to put the pickle in a pyrex bowl and float that in some water in a slow cooker on the keep warm setting. You use less pickle and it still does the job :Y:

Hart-Star
08-01-2010, 04:20 PM
I use a Slow Cooker and just in case anyone wants to pop any food into it I spent a few minutes to fashion the letters ACID out of white masking tape and stuck them on the lid.

Mind you, it would be quite nice to have some food cooking away while working on the bench, so perhaps a second slow cooker / coffee machine would be in order.

WitchfordSilver
08-01-2010, 08:55 PM
I was a plastic pot with homemade heating and temp control.

Di Sandland
08-01-2010, 09:34 PM
I was a plastic pot with homemade heating and temp control.

Was you Neil? And what caused you to change so dramatically?

Dano
09-01-2010, 05:29 PM
Hello,

Answer to your question YES! And defo cheaper alternative :)
I got a slow cooker from argos for £9 the other day, after advice from my teacher and looking on the forum the slow cooker option is used by lots of us. Go for one with a ceramic insert apparently they're better x

go for one with a ceramic insert because if you use one with a steel iinner everything you make will come out pink, also no iron or steel tongs! ferric metal + pickle = NOOOOOOO

i dunno if this applies to alum pickle or citric acid though

WitchfordSilver
09-01-2010, 07:05 PM
Was you Neil? And what caused you to change so dramatically?

I think it was my hormones:(|

Dennis
12-01-2010, 09:38 PM
..a pickle tank? I use a pyrox dish on our oven, but the rings have gotten a tad rusty, plus I am not so keen on fiddling with pickle in the kitchen and rather have a safer solution.
Would a slow cooker do the trick?

Yes I use a slow cooker quite successfully, but the water does need toppig up every day, it is quite slow to heat up, and the metal around the glass lid gets corroded. They start at about £20, but it is worth getting one to accomodate you longest pieces. Dennis

agent_44
12-01-2010, 10:36 PM
I use a Slow Cooker and don't find it needs topping up that regularly. If you give the metal rim on the lid a wipe now and again, it prevents/slows down the corrosion. Mines a few years old and is fine. You could always see about stripping off the metal rim, I have thought about it but not tried so don't know how easily it will come off. If you look in Argos you should get one for not much more than a tenner, maybe even cheaper in the January sales.

mizgeorge
12-01-2010, 10:56 PM
I just put a bit of electrical tape round the metal rim. It stretches more than enough to enclose it completely. I also don't need to top up very often at all, but I only use the 'keep warm' setting.

MuranoSilver
12-01-2010, 11:28 PM
I only use the keep warm setting too. :)

lynnm
13-01-2010, 05:51 AM
Was you Neil? And what caused you to change so dramatically?

I think it was my hormones

Oh that did make me laugh! great way to start the day! :D
I'm still using my slow cooker type chocolate fondue for my pickle, great size!

daisychain
16-01-2010, 06:13 PM
Have a look in charity shops and at car boot sales for slow cookers - I got mine for a couple of pounds at a car boot sale and it does a wonderful job! It's one without a ceramic insert, but I just put the pickle in a pyrex dish and put the dish in water in the slow cooker.

david_bedwell
09-02-2010, 02:13 PM
I use a Team electric hob which I bought some time ago on ebay to heat my pyrex. Mine is double and is useful as a plate warmer when we entertain. Single ones are available.

Cathy at the Beach
30-03-2010, 07:16 PM
I use a coffee cup warmer with a old pickle jar on it. I thought the pickle label was a nice touch. Its small, but so far I haven't had anything too big for it. I do have to keep topping it up due to evapouration

lynnm
31-03-2010, 03:10 AM
I use a chocolate fondue. It's the same as a slow cooker but it's much smaller ( .5 litre I think) and it works really well

Lindyloo
31-03-2010, 08:38 PM
Argos are doing a special on slow cookers at the moment.

ShinyLauren
16-04-2010, 03:04 PM
I bought a mini slow cooker from Ebay with high and low settings. It has a removable ceramic pot and works perfectly.

Patstone
03-05-2010, 04:42 PM
I have just started jewellery making and I wondered if a baby bottle warmer with a jam jar in would do the trick without getting too hot.

mizgeorge
03-05-2010, 05:24 PM
Baby bottle warmers work just fine. A lot of jewellers use them very successfully for smaller pieces.

Jayne
04-05-2010, 09:08 AM
I was the fool that bought a proper pickling unit #-o Ah, I was young and reckless - it was my Georgie Best moment ;-)
If I knew then what I know now I'd do the baby bottle warmer + jam jar - safe & cheap.
J x

FVT
09-05-2010, 02:22 PM
I've just bought a bottle warmer in the hope it will be warm enough...not had a chance to try it yet, unsure whether it makes much difference if I use a plastic versus glass container for the pickle? Any suggestions please?

Daved
18-10-2010, 04:26 PM
I have found the blue pickle pot to be a bit of an expensive pain as it has shorted out three times so far and I am reluctant to effect repairs again. The unit is put together with sticky backed foil and bare wires and doesn't inspire confidence, especially for the price.

Bought a slow cooker from amazon for £7.85 with free delivery. It has a metal rim on the lid which I taped up with a few wraps of electricians tape, this also managed to effect quite a good seal and stops the contents from evaporating too quickly. It's also a good idea to tape over the area where the ceramic dish meets the meal container to avoid drips falling into the metal base and corroding. It does mean that you have to remove the tape when emptying and cleaning but is easily replaced.

Word of caution.....
Important to only use the warming setting. I've taped over the dial so as to avoid knocking this onto the high setting as overheating the pickle is something to be very wary of.

Dave

altjewellery
16-02-2011, 07:01 PM
Try doing a search for 'Rival Little Dipper' on EBay. These mini slow cookers turn up now & again. They hold probably a pint or so max, heat up quick & get quite hot. They have a ceramic liner (not removeable) & are ideal for pickle solutions.

There were plenty cheap on Amazon for a while but I can't see them now.

I use one of these with citric acid pickle solution & it works well.

Nick

lilia
16-02-2011, 08:53 PM
I use a slow cooker, which I bought from Argos Christmas clearance sale for £7. I found it extremely useful and use it everyday. The pickle gets quite hot, but you mustn't forget to put it on, as it takes a while to warm up.

medusa
17-02-2011, 04:05 PM
mine's a sauce warmer. it's like a mini slow cooker but there is no temp control, it gets to I'd guess about 60 degrees and stays there. the ceramic insert is black though, which means I don't know what colour the pickle is.