Randy478 Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Well summer is coming here in the south and my question is for anyone who has an outdoor forge set up, have you had problems with mosquitos laying eggs in your quinch tank? Didn't know if it would be ok to use the cakes you put in standing water to kill the eggs or if the iron in the water from quinching steel would keep them out or not. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks, Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad Creek Blacksmith Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I live in Northern Ohio and we don't have any problems, if you use it enough that water is going to get a little warm.....not boiling. You can still place screening over it with a cut down innertube tube tire offa bike if your still worried about it. good luck. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewed Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I use Mosquito-Dunks in my quench tank. Doesn't seem to affect anything. Then again, I'm not good enough to know when to use salt vs water vs oil vs eye of newt for my quenching. I did get a pond scum thing once after using this, but a bleach bomb + a dump and rinse took care of that problem and it hasn't come back so I don't think it was related to the Mosquito-Dunks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Try a couple squirts of dish washer liquid.................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fciron Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 The mosquito larvae are air breathers, so the dishwashing liquid breaks the surface tension and drowns them. I'm usually not that organized, so if I have a tank full of wigglers I put a hefty squirt of WD40 over the top. I always have some of that in the shop and the oil smothers the little buggers. I bet there's even some biodegradable vegetable oil I could use if I checked the kitchen. (Oh, once I'm in the kitchen I can borrow some dish soap.) I have also used the mosquito cakes with no ill results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I live in east central Illinois and we do have skeeters in the summer. But, so far, I have never had any problem with larvae in my quench tank. If the problem ever does come up, I now know what to do about it. Thanks for the tips everyone. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I generally don't use a quench tank; just let stuff normalize on the desert sand. When I do plan on using one to localize a heat or cool the end of stock so I can hold it with my hand I get haul a 5 gallon bucket of water out and at the end of the day pour it on the tree that shades the shop. Using A-36 instead of 1018 or wrought iron makes quenching a bit more perilous and the normalization just fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son_of_bluegrass Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 I've heard that stirring the water every day or so will discourage mosquitoes from laying eggs. They like still, stagnate water for breeding purposes so it may work. ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Countryboy39067 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Any kind of oil or dish soap works. If you want to keep pure water in the tub. Sink a deepwell or aquarium aerator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Garlic oil works very well on mosquito larva. Just think how good the shop will smell too. I'm thinking it's a win win and I don't even have a mosquito problem in the quench tank. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I have a hard time just keeping water in the slack tub in summer when it is 100-115 everyday for 3 months. Even the winters are dry, and low in humidity. I haven't seen a skeeter since I moved here back in 05-love it. Back home in upper CA, my Dad would put some goldfish in the rain water barrels to control skeeters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I'd end up with fried fish!:blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I get mice in my slack tub. Smells pretty bad. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I get mice in my slack tub. Smells pretty bad. We were getting mice in the water buckets in the goat barn till we got a good barn cat. It used to really bum Buran the Great Pyreneese Mountain Dog out. The cat killing his mice really caused him a dilema. Livestock guardian dogs will guard ANYTHING. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 your slack tub is thawed out? We were getting mice in the water buckets in the goat barn till we got a good barn cat. It used to really bum Buran the Great Pyreneese Mountain Dog out. The cat killing his mice really caused him a dilema. Livestock guardian dogs will guard ANYTHING. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Dean Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I haven't seen a skeeter since I moved here back in 05-love it. If you'll buy the air fare I'll get em to the airport. Heard a couple of them argueing on wether or not to carry me back to their place or to eat me where I stood. Knew right then to get outta there! I have a Dr.Pepper can in my tub and haven't seen larva there in years. No dish soap, no oil, no nothing else just the alum can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I don't understand your problem, when I was finished my slack tub was so fouled that I dumped it, no skeeter problem. I mostly keep the bucket of water there for me to cool my hand in not for heat treatment or anything like that. I would cool metal sure but not like it was for heat treating, just so I could handle it better. I'm sorry if I offend but I could never under stand having a tub so big it took two men and a small boy to tip it over to change the water. Heck, that's to much like work :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Yep, same here. My slack tub is about 18" long, and made out of half of a 10" pipe cut lengthwise with some ends welded on. It has legs that get it up to the proper height to scoop water for fire control in the coal forge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Countryboy39067 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Mine is a 55 gal drum with the top half removed. It may be overkill but it serves a purpose when other non-smiths start commenting on how they think I should do things. Give one loud mouth a good dunkin' and they tend to concur quietly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy478 Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 Well i did find mosquito larvae in my slack tub. I just added some dish washing detergent and it's been a week or so and no larvae or skeeters hanging around the slack tub. Seems to work so far. Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZIG Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Would a shot of bleach work as well or pine soil? ? Even. Turpentine? Cause I live on the Tennessee river and sure I've added to the problem, by not decon my slack bucket. Guess anything would work. I'm sure Copenhagen spit ain't working as good as my guest think. They like to spit in a wooden barrel full of water. Once I told them not to. Lol They do it to aggravate me. On it. Till I steam It up while they are fixing to spit again. That usually stops that little game. But, I thought about using those disc. Hard for me to tell from where I live. But mines inside a big shop. That remains closed up unless I'm out there. Sorry for the rambling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I'd think bleach would cause the iron to rust faster but I don't know. On the other hand I don't think I'd mess with skeeters at all if they chewed Copenhagen, they can spit anywhere so long as it isn't on me! Seriously though, I've found a couple drops of oil of most any kind works really well for non-super skeeters. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 I just don't like to leave standing water, besides mosquitoes, at least out here, it tends to attract honey bees of the "killer" type that need to carry droplets of water back to their hive for cooling purposes. I no longer leave a water basin outside for the dogs because of the bee stings they get from it being covered with bees. This spring alone I have had to have four hives destroyed on my property alone and my neighbor on the left three and the one on the right has had one. It has been a busy bee year so if I had a forge and a slack tub them little blood suckers mosquitoes would be the least of my worries, it would be all the danged killer bees looking for water! Mosquitoes out here carry West Nile Virus, Western EquineEncephalitiss, all not good things to get into your blood so why give them a place to lay eggs and hatch out? In other part of the country there are other nasty diseases such as West Nile Virus,Westernn and Eastern Equine, La Crosse and St. LouisEncephalitiss, Yellow Fever(yes it is still around but rare) and now a few rare cases of Dengue Fever in the deep South. So why not just dump the slack tub and not worry about it being a place of habitation formosquitoe wigglers? Unless you are relying on asolarr still for your water all you need to do is run a hose or carry a couple of buckets water over to re-fill it and then you have nice fresh water to start your session at the forge. Who wants to stick their hand in a slack tub with week old Copenhagen in it? :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Uh yeah, if disease is an issue dumping the slack tub IS the only reasonable answer. Frosty the Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeman Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I generally don't use a quench tank; just let stuff normalize on the desert sand. When I do plan on using one to localize a heat or cool the end of stock so I can hold it with my hand I get haul a 5 gallon bucket of water out and at the end of the day pour it on the tree that shades the shop. Using A-36 instead of 1018 or wrought iron makes quenching a bit more perilous and the normalization just fine! I just spotted this. I'm curious, what's perilous about quenching A-36 as opposed to other types of steel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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