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Lead testing yixing pots

by MarshalN » Aug 11th 08 10:18 pm

Ok, I asked this question in another thread, but since I buried it in the 20th or something reply, not everybody will see it...

There is always some chatter about using lead test kits on yixing pots. So here goes -- how many people have actually found lead in their yixing pots using those testing kits? I'm curious. If you have, please post a reply here. If you have used them and have found nothing, please reply as well.

Thanks!

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by Smells_Familiar » Aug 12th 08 7:58 pm

I've tested only one of my pots. It is the 125ml "brown sphere" pot that I got from YSLLC a while back. I used a swab wetted with reagent type of test and the results showed no signs of leachable lead.

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by Salsero » Aug 12th 08 9:53 pm

Smells_Familiar wrote: I've tested only one of my pots. ... no signs of leachable lead.
Where did you get your kit and how much did it cost?

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by betta » Aug 13th 08 5:53 am

I've tested all of my pots obtained from the local here and they have no lead in the GC spectrum. I found many organics which most likely are proteins and substances with benzene rings and fats from the hot water brewed in the pot. Hope no shoe polish :mrgreen:

The pots from YLL sourcing and 5000friend were already gone, I have no chance to test them, but the one from YLL could be 'thight' to pass the heavy metal test, especially if the test is done by brewing in acidic liquid (like you idea before) as it has a visible piece of metal buried in it.

One interesting info, I heard from one other member here (can't write the username without permission), the pots (don't know whether they're new or vintage pots) from 5000friend also pass the commercial lead test kit :lol:

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by Salsero » Aug 13th 08 6:43 am

Thanks for that contribution, Betta.

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by Smells_Familiar » Aug 13th 08 1:25 pm

Salsero wrote:
Smells_Familiar wrote: I've tested only one of my pots. ... no signs of leachable lead.
Where did you get your kit and how much did it cost?
I got it from Lowe's. It's made by a company called Homax and is called "Household Lead Check". It came with two swabs "tests" per package and each can be used twice, within a period of two minutes, as long as lead isn't detected during the first use. I think was about $8, but I'm not sure. I've bought a few of these kits to test paint on some of my son's toys, and I can say that a positive result is possible. We've thrown out a number of toys due to positive test results, and it pisses me off. If I ever meet a person responsible for knowingly painting kid's toys with lead paint, I will rip their face off. Literally rip it off! :P

Anyways, I think lead test kits can usually be found in your local hardware store. Next time I buy, I may opt for a more general heavy metal test and buy online...

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by betta » Aug 13th 08 5:10 pm

Salsero wrote:Thanks for that contribution, Betta.
I'm going to test two pots from 5000friend which were acquired by my flatmate. I acquired one of them at the end. They have many iron ore and minerals sprinkled all over the pot. It'll be interesting to see the result.

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by Salsero » Aug 13th 08 5:18 pm

betta wrote: I'm going to test two pots ... many iron ore and minerals sprinkled all over the pot. It'll be interesting to see the result.
Yes that does sound interesting!


***edit***
OK, so I am getting kind of excited about this myself. I just ordered some lead testing kits on Amazon. My pots are: 7 from YSLLC, 4 from Teapot Gallery, 2 from Kam at Funalliance, 2 from Stéphane at TeaMasters, and 1 from 5000 Friend (a new pot).

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by betta » Aug 17th 08 8:25 am

Here's the update:
Both of the 5000friend pots don't contain other metal than Calcium which is contributed from water hardness here. Please note that the pots were initially also 'normal' in the sense, it can be cleaned easily and fully with bleach and no shoe polish :mrgreen:

I don't know about other pots than these two, especially those with fancy colours.

One green yixing clay mug I acquired in Nanjing has very minor amount of Cadmium!
I'm going to test it once again next week before deciding its fate.

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by Chip » Aug 17th 08 8:29 am

This is quite interesting. We should do a tally including where the pots are from and any lead contamination. Although, if they are all "clean," which would be great, it would be a moot point.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!

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by chamekke » Aug 17th 08 4:43 pm

I'd like to see a list of the vendors whose pots tested clean (and which pots they were, come to that).

It's not really moot if they're all clean. There's a world of Yixing teapots out there that haven't been tested yet, and someone who is new to Yixing (e.g. me) won't have any way of knowing whether the pot under consideration has undergone a TeaChat test or not.
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by shogun89 » Aug 17th 08 6:12 pm

chamekke wrote:I'd like to see a list of the vendors whose pots tested clean (and which pots they were, come to that).
I second that! :D

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by silverneedles » Aug 17th 08 10:34 pm

do these lead tests work for testing the infused/stagnating water in a container?

because most lead testing is for surfaces, so that small kids who put things in their mouth dont overdose on lead...

probably the material that makes up the pot is important in whether or not it dissolves/lets lead into the water

it would be interesting to see if anything comes out in the water
unless someone likes to chew on their little yixing :shock: :)

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by Smells_Familiar » Aug 17th 08 11:00 pm

silverneedles wrote:do these lead tests work for testing the infused/stagnating water in a container?

because most lead testing is for surfaces, so that small kids who put things in their mouth dont overdose on lead...

probably the material that makes up the pot is important in whether or not it dissolves/lets lead into the water

it would be interesting to see if anything comes out in the water
unless someone likes to chew on their little yixing :shock: :)
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think betta has been testing for metals by mixing water from the pots with reagent, and not just surface testing. I've only surface tested, but will probably switch to a broader spectrum testing method that I can test the brewed water with.

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by Salsero » Sep 7th 08 4:07 am

OK, I finally got around to lead testing my pots. I used the simple home testing kit called Lead Check manufactured by Homax. All the pots tested negative for lead.