Is brass safe in an oven?

[kebwi]

I'm only referring to bolts/nuts/screws used to hold custom peels to their handles or possibly to close and hold together a door. The peels and door will primarily be either steel or aluminum of course.

So the brass I'm referring to is small (just bolts) and in the case of peels (but not the door) won't be exposed for long durations.

Since brass is a zinc alloy, I'm unsure whether it is to be avoided for the standard no-zinc reasons.

Thoughts?

[egalecki]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

Your peels shouldn't be in there long enough for it to be a problem. I wouldn't use them on the door, though. I'd go for stainless on the door.

[kebwi]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

Ah, I just liked the look of the brass, but aesthetics are never worth a cost in safety. I'll look for stainless steel.

[metalmaster]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

brass melts at about 1650 degrees , I think you will be fine using it.

[kebwi]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

Well that's good, since upon closer inspection at HD, all the "standard" bolts and such are zinc anyway, probably worse than the brass w.r.t. my concern that brass contains zinc. What kind of bolt do you guys use for your doors? I didn't see anything nonzinc at HD in the bolt isle, not on the main display at any rate

[david s]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

Yes brass does contain zinc, but it's probably safer than cooking stop signs.

[egalecki]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

Lowe's has stainless bolts. I haven't looked at HD for that kind of thing.

[dmun]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

Ordinary brass contains up to five percent lead to make it free cutting. This, and the thirty five percent zinc, would keep it out of my oven. Besides, it's going to quickly turn chocolate brown at oven temperatures, so the aesthetic argument doesn't really apply.

Stainless fasteners should be readily available. This is a place where an old-fashioned hardware store is useful. There's also this thing called the internet...

[kebwi]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

Lead, huh. Didn't realize that. Wikipedia confirms it though. Well, guess I'll replace them then.

[Wiley]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

"Since brass is a zinc alloy, I'm unsure whether it is to be avoided for the standard no-zinc reasons."


What's going on here? What is the problem with brass bolts? are you trying to vaporize the bolts and snorting the fumes? How long are your peels in the WFO and exposed to heat?

I think we have gone off the deep end here. Water has flowed thru galvanized pipes for years and it is not considered "deadly". Oh, and for those who don't know galvanized means coated in ZINC.

Please advise. Of and for those advocating stainless steel have you checked into the toxicity of chromium?

Wiley

[kebwi]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

All right, all right, all right. I'm not trying to start an argument. I appreciate everyone's opinions about these things. It is true that the bolts holding a pizza peel together won't be in the oven for long periods of time. Many issues have come up. One of the most significant distinctions worth making is between components of a pizza peel and components of a door. We should probably take concerns pretty seriously with regard to doors. Peels perhaps less so.

dmun made an excellent point though about aesthetics as well. My beautiful brass bolts won't last a day anyway so any motivation on that part was ill-thought on my part. It is an open question whether standard zinc bolts (What are they: Solid zinc, a zinc alloy, or zinc-plated?) are more or less harmful than brass. As for whether it matters on a peel due to the brief exposure times, I simply don't know. I will take it all into consideration and act with neither blatant disregard nor obsessive insanity.

Thank you very much. I'm now going to go eat something laden with partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup.

Cheers!

[metalmaster]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

the wood you burn probably has lead in it from all of the years of leaded gas:

[david s]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

It is the fumes inhaled that come from the zinc as it melts that are poisonous, but zinc melts at 420 C Don't know what the story is when its alloyed into brass.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

RE: STAINLESS STEEL


Stainless steel cookware as a significant source of nickel, chromium, and iron.
Kuligowski J, Halperin KM.

Division of Science, Engineering and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University at Erie, 16563.

Stainless steels are widely used materials in food preparation and in home and commercial cookware. Stainless is readily attacked by organic acids, particularly at cooking temperatures; hence iron, chromium, and nickel should be released from the material into the food. Nickel is implicated in numerous health problems, notably allergic contact dermatitis. Conversely, chromium and iron are essential nutrients for which stainless could be a useful source. Home cookware was examined by atomic absorption spectroscopy: seven different stainless utensils as well as cast iron, mild steel, aluminum and enamelled steel. The materials were exposed to mildly acidic conditions at boiling temperature. Nickel was a major corrosion product from stainless steel utensils; chromium and iron were also detected. It is recommended that nickel-sensitive patients switch to a material other than stainless, and that the stainless steel cookware industry seriously consider switching to a non-nickel formulation

According to who you ask it looks like nothing is really SAFE........
My point,,,, anything in moderation... hopefully should be okay..

[egalecki]

Re: Is brass safe in an oven?

When I recommended stainless for the door bolts, it was because this is an outdoor appliance, and I figured he was thinking about brass for its looks. As Dmun mentioned, the pretty brass won't stay that way in the heat- and I have always had better luck with stainless bolts on things that get hot than regular bolts. I like to be able to get them off without them snapping and stripping if I have to get them off for some reason. And they look nicer than galvanized, I think.

I don't think that the bolts on your oven door are going to be a big source of food contamination unless you are using it in a very unusual way... They can, however, be a source of frustration if they break, rust or otherwise fail.