Homemade electrolysis. What do you use?

[Jvvmusme]

http://1bad6t.com/rust_removal.html

 

[taumac]

I talked about reversing the process to clean my cage since its welded rebar. Here are some pics. Its been running approx 12 hours and this WAS a bright shiny off brand socket this morning.

Works pretty well clean the **** off.



Have a good one Gerard

 

[Scimonetti]

I talked about reversing the process to clean my cage since its welded rebar. Here are some pics. Its been running approx 12 hours and this WAS a bright shiny off brand socket this morning.

Works pretty well clean the **** off.



Have a good one Gerard

You used a chrome piece as the sacrificial anode? Using stainless or any plated piece can yield some pretty toxic waste.

 

[drivesitfar]

Taumac: i'm probably the most learned person on this subject that has yet to actually set up his own E tank so let me lend a hand. i agree that dipping chrome into the tank can create toxic fumes and worse contaminate the soup so you have to take it to hazardous waste. that trick you just did to clean your anodes by reversing the power clamps should work on any sacrificial piece so use a piece of raw steel or rebar next time. also I've hear you should keep the clamps out of the water and just attach wires to the piece and have the clamps out of the tank.

my 2 cents

 

[Craptain]

I have been using graphite for my electrodes for a few years, and the main "problem" seems to be the black residue that I get on the parts. It cleans off well enough but it seems that I get a much cleaner initial finish with iron or steel as electrodes. I also tried filtering the solution, hoping it might help. Not! at least not in any measurable way. I still had to clean the parts.

But I have to say that the Graphite does provide a lot better current control than the iron. Maybe it is the lack of "grunge" that I get with the iron. The graphite does wear away or dissolve over time at a much faster rate than the iron. I am just using alligator clips rather than drilling and screwing to attach the wiring to the plates and it seems to work well.

No recommendations or conclusions from this, just observations and comments on my results.

 

[Outlawmws]

Craptian, the black oxide is a from the conversion process, it is what is left of the rust, so that is just "part of the game".

Taumac: Repeat after me: "I will not put SS or other metals not ferrous based in the soup, at either end..."

Go to any BB or hardware store and buy a spool of rebar tie wire. It's cheap and common iron wire. Use THAT to go into the soup, not your charger's clips and copper leads...

 

[taumac]

Craptian, the black oxide is a from the conversion process, it is what is left of the rust, so that is just "part of the game".

Taumac: Repeat after me: "I will not put SS or other metals not ferrous based in the soup, at either end..."

Go to any BB or hardware store and buy a spool of rebar tie wire. It's cheap and common iron wire. Use THAT to go into the soup, not your charger's clips and copper leads...

Yep, your absolutely right. I had my vise in there and wasn't working too well so I decided to clean the cage and wasn't paying attention.

Have a good one Gerard

 

[Craptain]

Craptian, the black oxide is a from the conversion process, it is what is left of the rust, so that is just "part of the game".

Yup I know that. But it seems worse with the Graphite than just plain iron. Maybe it is just an apparent thing or maybe it is that the graphite is working faster and better and therefore making more of it quicker kind of thing.

In any case I am still happy with my choice to change over to graphite last year.

 

[taumac]

I had good idea to show everyone that how it worked out but I just read everyone's responses and I'm sorry everyone. Everyone is right. Im in middle of few projects and had my Prentiss working overnight outside and rebar rods I use where pretty dirty so took vise and couldn't find my scrap cleaning piece I used before so I just grab a old socket out of the **** drawer not thinking. I feel like a idiot now. Sorry guys.

Have a good one Gerard

 

[Outlawmws]

It's cool, we all learn from our mistakes.

 

[drivesitfar]

We probably learn the most from our mistakes. Good thing you posted it so we could help.

 

[taumac]

Just fyi I went out and did it right

 

[drivesitfar]

Taumac: very nice

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Thought I might add some before and after pictures to this thread from my attempts ....











It may need to have another visit to the tank but I'm going to clean the other parts first.

EDIT: The dynamic jaw has now been done and I've stuck the static jaw back in as I hadn't got all the rust.

 

[coleman10]

We probably learn the most from our mistakes. Good thing you posted it so we could help.

All things being equal, I'd rather learn from someone else's.

 

[coleman10]

Just fyi I went out and did it right

It's a pretty amazing and quick process. I love it. Man, I dunked my dog in for a couple hours and her fur turned from brown to white!

What I did on mine is I put a piece of rebar across the top of the tank and hooked up the terminal to the end. Then I cut and bent rebar chairs in hangers and as hooked them across the rebar. The rebar and chair wire are plenty strong and it enabled me to suspend multiple items across the entire rod and cook multiple things at once. For the dog, I just attached the terminal directly to her tail.

 

[Lu-Max]

Drivesitfar mentioned this thread to me, I had not yet stumbled upon it. I use electrolysis to clean old vises, here is a post I recently made in the vise repair thread. I will read this entire thread once I have some free time.


Lu-Max's Pro Tip:

If you're going to use electrolysis to clean your vises, I highly recommend using pure Sodium Carbonate instead of "Soda Wash" along with some graphite instead of a scrap iron anode.

Why? I'm glad you asked.

The bucket you see below has been 'cooking' for ~30 hours and you'll notice the lack of a thick layer of brown sludge floating on the top. Graphite, unlike rebar (or other sacrificial material), does not put a bunch of gunk into the solution, and using 100% Sodium Carbonate vs laundry soap (which is what Soda Wash is), prevents the buildup of a thick layer of dirty suds that you see in most electrolysis buckets. This way the vise crud ends up at the bottom of the tub.

100% pure Sodium Carbonate can be purchased at any pool supply store, else Lowe's or H.D. It's usually referred to commercially as "Spa (or pool) Alkalinity Up", H.D. calls it "ph Plus Soda Ash".

Bars and sheets of graphite can be found for cheap on eBay. I got 4 of the thick sheets seen below for ~$12. Will probably last me forever. My new setup has a sheet of graphite on both sides of the tub.

For removing galvanized coating from steel? Put items into a plastic bucket and cover with vinegar and wait a day or two. Gallon jugs available at your local grocers. I weld and prefer to not breath the fumes from galvanized metal, so I use this method often.

BTW the jug in the bath is there to keep the dynamic upright.

 

[PFSard]

Lu-Max

Thanks for the new twist on electrolysis. How much Sodium Carbonate are you using per gallon of water?

 

[taumac]

Lu max,

I've notice same thing from baking soda to washing soap. The difference in my set up was I still was using the rebar cage I made.

 

[GRX]

Just stumbled on this thread. Electrolysis is my preferred method for cleaning rusty car parts. Manifolds, brackets, etc ... Did not take long for me to discover the washing soda soap scum issue. So in lieu of sourcing Sodium Carbonate I made my own by heating Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) in a 250 degree oven for an hour. About a tablespoon per gallon works well for my needs.

 

[Lu-Max]

I think I am using ~3/4-1 cup of S.C. for about 7-8 gallons of water. Since it doesn't get nasty like the soap method I can use it several times before changing out the solution. In the photo you can see the copper jumper from one graphite to the other. The only connection in the solution is the twisted steel wire connected to the work piece.

 

[Craptain]

Lu-Max. Your setup is just like mine except I use more but smaller graphite electrodes. I have some very thin ones in plastic mesh tubes for inside tanks etc.
Even the plastic tote looks the same.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[Firebrick43]

I use a horse trough (Rubbermaid) a 10 amp battery charger and a large piece of 18 gauge stainless. Use lye and it takes great care of grease and oil but do at least attempt to remove as much as possible.

 

[Outlawmws]

Stainless is NOT a good idea for an Etank anode.

 

[Alchymist]

Stainless is NOT a good idea for an Etank anode.

You beat me to it! Using stainless makes the resultant bath into a hazardous waste.

 

[oakundeisen]

Battery charger hooked up into tank, 1 tbl of sodium carbonate (laundry washing soda - I use arm and hammer) per gallon of water. everything hangs off of iron wire. I took extra time to weld on wingnuts to my sacrificial rods (rebar) for easy on/off. I let the water settle and siphon off the clean into buckets and dispose of the muck at the bottom. Ditto on Stainless - hexavalent chromium. The tank is under my deck and I keep the lid on when not in use to keep the critters from drowning. I've run it for days straight on heavily rusted stuff with great results.

 

[cgds92]

Used the process in a simple plastic tub to derust the intake and exhaust manifolds on my Packard. I used an old Craftsman 10A battery charger to supply power. It doesn't take too much washing soda (sodium carbonate) to make a solution of the right strength. Approximately 1-2 Tbsp per gallon of water.

 

[Outlawmws]

Are you using stainless as your anodes? If so, again; bad idea...

 

[Lu-Max]

Cross-post from the vise repair thread:

Before and after following about a 3 day soak at low amperage.

 

[cgds92]

Are you using stainless as your anodes? If so, again; bad idea...

Not stainless...cheap steel flat stock.

 

[Lu-Max]

Well my 30+ year old cheapo battery charger died, I guess the stress of electrolysis was too great for it.

Any recommendations for a replacement that will be more reliable? Actually one with more settings would be great, mine only had two.

 

[Outlawmws]

Something from a yard sale with a decently heavy transformer...

What died? Open that one up and look for a fried connection...

 

[Lu-Max]

Not sure. I walked into my shop (the tub is on the outside of the big door, the charger just inside of it) and cold smell that unmistakeable odor of magic smoke (electrical devices usually stop working when you let the magic smoke out of them).

It is a very old, very cheap charger so not at all worth fixing. I think I bought it for cheap on sale at an auto parts store maybe 35 years ago. Probably HF quality.

Will start looking for a replacement with more settings. I think I will be using a variety of tub sizes from small to quite big, so want more settings than just on/off and 6v/12v which is what mine had.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

Another possibility is there may be a thermal fuse on the transformer. Simple to replace.

 

[CwazyWabbit]

LU Depending on your luck keep an eye out for a lab/bench power supply they are much better

 

[amlee]

I used this set up for an olds 455. 12V charger with battery inline. Washing soda and water. I used metal lathe, but it got used up fast. Next time I'll use expanded steel.

 

[SeattleKent]

Well my 30+ year old cheapo battery charger died, I guess the stress of electrolysis was too great for it.

Any recommendations for a replacement that will be more reliable? Actually one with more settings would be great, mine only had two.

I use a Sears "DieHard 10 amp Manual Battery Charger". It is Sears Model. 71221. It has a choice between 2 and 10 amps. It has a nice current meter. Costs about $45.

I have had it for a couple of years. A month ago the meter stopped working. Annoying but not worth getting a new one over.

 

[Craptain]

As Outlaw said find one at a yard sale. Most if not all today are automatic and will not work for electrolysis. I currently use a power supply from Radio shack. They are still to be found at sales. I got two for a couple of bucks. It runs my 18 gallon tank well. In fact I have a bulb in series with it to reduce current.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[sometoyotaguy]

Not sure. I walked into my shop (the tub is on the outside of the big door, the charger just inside of it) and cold smell that unmistakeable odor of magic smoke (electrical devices usually stop working when you let the magic smoke out of them).

It is a very old, very cheap charger so not at all worth fixing. I think I bought it for cheap on sale at an auto parts store maybe 35 years ago. Probably HF quality.

Will start looking for a replacement with more settings. I think I will be using a variety of tub sizes from small to quite big, so want more settings than just on/off and 6v/12v which is what mine had.

If you run a light bulb in series with a charger, you won't run the risk of killing it if the plates short out. An old tail light bulb will work.

 

[Lu-Max]

For those running PSUs, are you running switching models?