Question ?

I am looking for what some discribe as a grain cooker ? or some call it a rendering pot ?? It's a large steel pot ( about a half inch thick ) that sit's on top of a steel ring that is about three feet or so tall and it's main purpose ( the ring ) is to make the fire under it so that what ever you into the pot heats up ( it has a door for putting in wood ,and a smoke stack ) .I know there used to be a lot around and unfortunatly around here they have all gone for scrape steel it seems .Has anyone heard of something like this ? Been looking for a few years and when does come up it disappears quickly .( if in the wrong location the please move to the correct one mod's )

Sounds like it's something you could get a welder/fabricator to whip up for you - or if you can find an older farmer who welds, he may know exactly what you're talking about, and could make you one lickety split!

Is this the sort of thing you mean?

Looks neat, I never heard of them before.

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authenticfarm wrote:Sounds like it's something you could get a welder/fabricator to whip up for you - or if you can find an older farmer who welds, he may know exactly what you're talking about, and could make you one lickety split!

........Nope ! It is a cast pot that we used on the farm to render the pork lard in ,and sometimes to cook up some grain for the pigs .It held about fifteen to twenty gallons of material ( lard etc ) and it used to be on every farm yard .It goes back to the early 50's or 60's .I have seen people use the pot as a flower container ( total waste ) and you could even use them at butcher time to boil water for feathering chickens etc .Someone has one sitting in the back of a farm yard somewhere ! Just need to find one .

Fowler wrote:Is this the sort of thing you mean?

Looks neat, I never heard of them before.

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.....not it ,but very interesting ? It sort of has the idea ,just what I am looking at doesn't have such a Nice Look to it .I can order one brand new from the Amish ,but the cost is way to high .

prairie dog wrote:

authenticfarm wrote:Sounds like it's something you could get a welder/fabricator to whip up for you - or if you can find an older farmer who welds, he may know exactly what you're talking about, and could make you one lickety split!

........Nope ! It is a cast pot that we used on the farm to render the pork lard in ,and sometimes to cook up some grain for the pigs .It held about fifteen to twenty gallons of material ( lard etc ) and it used to be on every farm yard .It goes back to the early 50's or 60's .I have seen people use the pot as a flower container ( total waste ) and you could even use them at butcher time to boil water for feathering chickens etc .Someone has one sitting in the back of a farm yard somewhere ! Just need to find one .

Most welders cannot weld cast and make it last. Also when welded cast heats the weld that has been made usually fails as it looses the little strength it does have. Hubby has welded cast pieces for farmers and they usually only make it as a temp fix until the part comes in.

Is there a website with a pic of what you would like?

prairie dog wrote:Nope ! It is a cast pot that we used on the farm to render the pork lard in ,and sometimes to cook up some grain for the pigs .It held about fifteen to twenty gallons of material ( lard etc ) and it used to be on every farm yard .It goes back to the early 50's or 60's .I have seen people use the pot as a flower container ( total waste ) and you could even use them at butcher time to boil water for feathering chickens etc .Someone has one sitting in the back of a farm yard somewhere ! Just need to find one .

Ah, first you said steel, now you say cast. I was sidetracked by the metal choice.

So ... basically a cauldron that sits on top of a fire pot?

authenticfarm wrote:

prairie dog wrote:Nope ! It is a cast pot that we used on the farm to render the pork lard in ,and sometimes to cook up some grain for the pigs .It held about fifteen to twenty gallons of material ( lard etc ) and it used to be on every farm yard .It goes back to the early 50's or 60's .I have seen people use the pot as a flower container ( total waste ) and you could even use them at butcher time to boil water for feathering chickens etc .Someone has one sitting in the back of a farm yard somewhere ! Just need to find one .

Ah, first you said steel, now you say cast. I was sidetracked by the metal choice.

So ... basically a cauldron that sits on top of a fire pot?

....that would be about right I guess .I'll have to look in the Amish catalog ( Lehmans ) and see what they call it........sorry about the miss print on my behalf ,they were cast and are very heavy .

Are you looking for a large dutch oven? When we lived in South Africa it was called a "Kafir Pot". It is a large cast iron pot either on three legs or sat on a 3 legged pole like thing also made of cast iron with a chain that held the pot. I thought that I saw something like that at Home Hardware but not for a few years. Our South African butcher in VNorth Van had something like that but not as big as you would like. Sorry...I don't know where you can get one close to you.

I remember it as a rendering pot ,and everyone that butchered pigs had one to boil down the lard ,cook the liver sausage ,ribs etc in ,best known were the crackles that you made in them .Lehmans a Amish store in the USA still makes them in a cast iron form ,but at the weight and cost as I said it's just not in my budget.I'll continue looking ...........someone has one out there .In the Lehmans cataloge they have them and there they call them the "" sugaring Kettles "" but theres have legs on them ,which wouldn't matter ,but if you look on there site you will have a idea as to what It sort of looks like .Weight is in the #250LBS area and that one is way to expencive ..