Pans go up and down all the time. The best thing to do is when you see a pan you"truly" want, make an offer then! I usually take 30% off of any price, and if some I know to be way high, I'll explain it's a crazy price then offer 50% less. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it don't. Don't be afraid to walk away from pans, they come out of the attics and basements all the time.
I'll tell ya, for camping and cooking, you can go wrong with an old Lodge or BSR. I found a #12 old Lodge in a flea market for $20.00 last Sept and it's been the best thing cooking at camp I got. I have several Griswolds I cook with in the house and one of my favorites is a #8 Wagner, it's truly a "glass bottom" skillet! . I have so much patina/seasoning on that, eggs just slide out of it.
Yeah! Weird duck OK ... Both names on a dutch oven. It was during the buy out transformation of Wagner. I found that in a mom and pop flea market in New Hampshire....
One site I read said the double logo pans are considered "taboo" among collectors. I think they are cool though. I don't think there's a huge market around here for cast iron so it seems antique stores aren't pricing stuff nearly as much as eBay is. Seems like the collectors are the ones wheeling and dealing it too. Here's another gem from yesterday....but for $140 I passed. Price tag was actually $200.
Yup! "But find one"! They were only made two years... Taboo, maybe but we'll see down the road... Here's a nickel plate "ERIE" #10 I got for $6.00
It's an eBay price is what it is. As for the Wagner/Griswold double name pans the only one I've seen in person was a corn cob pan! I thought it was cool.
If you notice how cruddy these pans are, they all came back to life with just soaking in oven cleaner. But, the electrolysis tank is still the best way. The little'r pan is a Wagner #8 and came out very nice.
You need a manual charger. An automatic will never stop cycling and basiclly do nothing. I use a small 10 amp and it works wonderful. low and slow is the best. I'll dig for pics of mine and post.
You don’t need a manual charger although they are easier. If you have an automatic charger you can use it along with a battery and jumper cables. Use the jumper cables to hook the battery to the electrodes and then hook the charger to the battery. The charger will cycle on and off but the battery will keep your voltage steady enough in the 12-14.5 range. You don’t need anything big or expensive. A lawn mower battery or whatever you have or can get cheap will work fine.
Here's my basic set up, Very easy. I now use a split positive, it seems to work a little better but both work just fine. Some scrap metal, $5.00 tub and a battery charger, your in business. Make sure you use a cup of washing soda in the water, it gives you the electrolytes boost!
You have never done it with a battery because you have a manual charger. If you want to use a modern automatic charger with digital gizmos because that is what you own, then you can use a battery to make it work without having to buy a new charger.
I see your point about not buying a new charger! I actually own 4 chargers, two are low amps, 1/2A -2amp for ATV's and I also have a boat battery tender/charger. Yes, you can used a dead battery for your application, only issue I see is it may slow the process down a bit. Here's a pic of my last pan getting done, I couldn't find my 10 amp charger at first, so I used the big boy initially. Just a bit over kill!
