Electrolysis Power Source

[mickyd]

Just dried this off! It was painted over rust(2 coats/colors). Took a couple of days(could only immerse half at a time). Frequent removal/scrubbing during that time. The paint really stuck to the rust. It wrinkled and sloughed off quickly on the smooth(non rusted) areas.

So you used the electrolysis process as your rust AND paint remover. Ain't that the coolest thing!!

[foxtrapper]

Dusty,

Didn't you say you were using baking soda? That ain't the right soda and the process doesn't work nearly as well as it will with washing soda. Found in the laundry detergent areas of grocery stores.

Size matters. Far more than voltage. As in the size of the sacrificial piece. A big charger hooked up to a skinny piece of rebar will not work nearly as well as a little charger hooked up to say a spare hand saw blade. I use two big florescent light reflectors in my bucket, and can boil it so hard with a little charger that it splashes the water out.

Don't fret over conductivity of the solution. That's right on par with pure water being an insulator, and contaminated water being a conductor. You're fretting over the tiny area between the two.

[dusty]

Dusty,

Didn't you say you were using baking soda? That ain't the right soda and the process doesn't work nearly as well as it will with washing soda. Found in the laundry detergent areas of grocery stores.

Size matters. Far more than voltage. As in the size of the sacrificial piece. A big charger hooked up to a skinny piece of rebar will not work nearly as well as a little charger hooked up to say a spare hand saw blade. I use two big florescent light reflectors in my bucket, and can boil it so hard with a little charger that it splashes the water out.

Don't fret over conductivity of the solution. That's right on par with pure water being an insulator, and contaminated water being a conductor. You're fretting over the tiny area between the two.

Thanks for the input, foxtrapper. The soda that I bought was in the laudry section but I don't think that it is the right soda even though it is not baking soda. I'm going to look around for laundry soda that sounds more like what I want. This stuff I have has been spruced up so that it smells good and that is not what I need.

However, the brew I have did clean up my worst tin snip pretty good. The charger worked fine; although, I'm going to meter it so that I know better what is happening.

I'm just thankful that I don't have a rusty old headstock to cleanup. The rig I have would not handle that.

[mickyd]

Thanks for the input, foxtrapper. The soda that I bought was in the laudry section but I don't think that it is the right soda even though it is not baking soda. I'm going to look around for laundry soda that sounds more like what I want. These stuff I have has been spruced up so that it smells good and that is not what I need.

Don't fret if you used the 'activated baking soda' as you mentioned previously. It works.

What you are calling 'laundry soda' is actually 'washing soda', as shown in reibles post a few back. May be hard to find. If you can't find it, either use your baking soda as is OR spread it out on a cookie sheet and cook it in an oven at 300° for an hour in an oven and it will turn into washing soda. As I mentioned in my previous post, read the last paragraph of this link that talks about cooking the baking soda.

[hohenfelsjoe]

Don't fret if you used the 'activated baking soda' as you mentioned previously. It works.

What you are calling 'laundry soda' is actually 'washing soda', as shown in reibles post a few back. May be hard to find. If you can't find it, either use your baking soda as is OR spread it out on a cookie sheet and cook it in an oven at 300° for an hour in an oven and it will turn into washing soda. As I mentioned in my previous post, read the last paragraph of this link that talks about cooking the baking soda.

I used the backing soda on a cookie sheet method, added 1 Table Spoon per gallon. Worked great!

[dusty]

I reported earlier that I was going to meter my electrolysis set up so that I could see evidence of what was happening. I have done that and while I can tell that current is flowing I think the bubbles tell you that without all of the hassle of metering.

However, the results.

Unloaded my power supply puts out 12.4 volts (open circuit). When I drop the cathode down into the brew, that voltage drops to 10.2 volts. The current at this time is an even 3 amps.

I had these results yesterday (slightly different) and I was not satisfied. I rebuilt the hook up with heavier gauge wire and beefier connectors and I polished (with a wire wheel) all the connection points to get really good contact. I also increased the amount of soda used and mixed it very well with warm water.

The improvements, if there were any, are minimal.

In this case, "quick and dirty" is every bit as good as "near perfect".

[mickyd]

I reported earlier that I was going to meter my electrolysis set up so that I could see evidence of what was happening. I have done that and while I can tell that current is flowing I think the bubbles tell you that without all of the hassle of metering.

However, the results.

Unloaded my power supply puts out 12.4 volts (open circuit). When I drop the cathode down into the brew, that voltage drops to 10.2 volts. The current at this time is an even 3 amps.

I had these results yesterday (slightly different) and I was not satisfied. I rebuilt the hook up with heavier gauge wire and beefier connectors and I polished (with a wire wheel) all the connection points to get really good contact. I also increased the amount of soda used and mixed it very well with warm water.

The improvements, if there were any, are minimal.

In this case, "quick and dirty" is every bit as good as "near perfect".

You mention not being satisfied with the 'results'. What results are you refereing to and why weren't you satisfied?

[dusty]

You mention not being satisfied with the 'results'. What results are you refereing to and why weren't you satisfied?

I was referring to my expectations of current changes and voltages. I thought that I could increase the current by improving all the electrical connections, reducing wire resistance, etc. Obviously, I don't thoroughly understand the technical aspects of this process because all of what I did had no effect.

I have another brew working out there right now, with another rusted pair of tin snips. I believe they will clean up but not any better, any faster than the previous pair.

[JPG]

I was referring to my expectations of current changes and voltages. I thought that I could increase the current by improving all the electrical connections, reducing wire resistance, etc. Obviously, I don't thoroughly understand the technical aspects of this process because all of what I did had no effect.

I have another brew working out there right now, with another rusted pair of tin snips. I believe they will clean up but not any better, any faster than the previous pair.

If you want 'faster' results, try evaporust.(costs more than washing soda[sodium carbonate]).

For all this jabber about 'proper' electrolyte, consider, that you could probably pi.. in the tank and get the same results! No I have NOT tried it! All it does is make the water conductive thus creating a medium for the ions to travel between the electrodes.

[dusty]

If you want 'faster' results, try evaporust.(costs more than washing soda[sodium carbonate]).

For all this jabber about 'proper' electrolyte, consider, that you could probably pi.. in the tank and get the same results! No I have NOT tried it! All it does is make the water conductive thus creating a medium for the ions to travel between the electrodes.

Faster is not the objective, JPG. This is a lab project for me not just a way to get rust off the tools. For a few dollars more than I have spent on wasking soda I could go buy new tin snips.

BTW, you are the one who first indicated a curiosity about the current and voltage. I just happened to be the one with an ammeter and a brew going.

The jabber is done!