Electrolysis Rust Removal - Not Working

[slim_boy_fat]

and that the converter is a more recent product which is something different, and I tried it once and was not impressed.

As with many products these days, they 'improve' them worse.

 

[fractured]

If you have an old battery you can fit that in line and use a modern charger. The first charger I used was a £12.50 aldi type charger using this method and it did work OK.

I did change it to an old type charger. It cost me £20 off ebay but will go to 100 amps (though I only use it on the standard setting, which I think goes up to 20 amps). The reason I went for this unit is its a big old lump and as its on sometimes for a couple of days unattended, so happy it can handle this without issue.

 

[foy9999]

fwiw I searched YouTube for info on conductivity of electrolytes and, sure enough, there was at least one video on it.

The guy basically measured the resistance of 4 liquids with an Ohmeter then passed voltage/current thru them.

It was quite surprising the results. With Hydrochloric Acid (HCL ?) there were sparks when he put the probes in. Plain tap water had too much resistance to allow current to pass.

Sooo am now confused: if my solution is too strong. ie less resistance would that not allow current to pass more easily and therefore no 'strain' on the connections? or does it work the other way in that if the resistance is less there is a lot more flow and that will overheat the connector?

Reason I'm confuse is that once my parents' downstairs plug-circuit kept blowing fuses and (after various electricians had told them the house needed taken apart and rewired) I found the problem to be slugs inside one of the plug-boxes which was, presumably, causing a lot of resistance and the system was overheating/drawing too much current and popping the (30A) fuse

 

[Ross365]

The current flow you will see will depend on the amount of soda you've put in (how many ions), and also, the area of metal. I would imagine that somewhere, you might find a figure suggested of something like "5 amps per square meter" as an effective working value.

 

[Screwdriver]

Sooo am now confused: if my solution is too strong. ie less resistance would that not allow current to pass more easily and therefore no 'strain' on the connections? or does it work the other way in that if the resistance is less there is a lot more flow and that will overheat the connector?

That would be my first assessment, too high a concentration leading to too high a current draw. In some ways you might suggest that would mean your electrolysis would be "too good" which actually is the case. With a very strong current, electrolysis will be ripping off positive iron ions from your workpiece. The downside is that this can badly damage delicate features in the workpiece and leave a poor surface finish. In your case it will also use a ton of energy in heating the electrolyte and any insufficiently robust electrical connections.

You really don't need a huge electrical charge for the process to work, nor does it rely on the current flow to reduce your rusted surfaces back to less aggressive forms of iron oxide (or back to plain iron). You just need a potential gradient which will encourage the transfer of electrons to occur and given the passage of time, they will gently waft back into the oxidised metal.

I use a weakish electrolyte, no more than 2-4 amps (max!) and typically leave it to brew overnight.

Another issue you might face with too high a current draw is that your voltage source might not be up to the job and could be cutting out, switching back on etc. as whatever protection it might have kicks in.

Regards "strain" it doesn't work like that. Any conductive element will heat up more as more current flow though it. While that is a function of resistance, less resistance allows more current to flow. That will be true also for the electrolyte so I expect you came back to find a very warm bath!

 

[rtcosic]

........ Any conductive element will heat up more as more current flow though it. While that is a function of resistance, less resistance allows more current to flow. That will be true also for the electrolyte so I expect you came back to find a very warm bath!

You're going to make me tell the tale of Ben, the old buzz box and homemade rectifier, the dustbin bath, the accumulation of a perfect stoichiometric hydrogen/oxygen atmosphere and the explosion lifting the shed roof yet again aren't you!

 

[Screwdriver]

You're going to make me tell the tale of Ben, the old buzz box and homemade rectifier, the dustbin bath, the accumulation of a perfect stoichiometric hydrogen/oxygen atmosphere and the explosion lifting the shed roof yet again aren't you!

I wasn't going to go into so much detail but that is another good reason not to have an excessively strong electrolyte.

"Woohoo it's working look at all those bubbles!"

"Err, yeah, you know what's in them right?"

Typically not a big problem for smaller home setups but even then you don't want to be inside letting all that gas build up in an enclosed volume. With a larger tank and "too much" electrolyte, it suddenly becomes a lot more of an issue!

 

[Turbo]

I think the usual mix is a table spoon per 5 litres of water.

I use a 200 litre plastic barrel in my setup & less that half a bag (450g) of washing soda gives me a mix that runs at 2 amps, so your solution is certainly too strong!

 

[foy9999]

Just popping in to say I seem to have the st-up going again despite the strong electrolyte....

For various reasons I had a mental block against emptying the tub and putting a new diluted solution in and have avoided it for almost a month.

Tonight I was just about to do it when I remembered the weak +ve connection and pulled this off and re-connected it to the clip with full strand of the wire.

I carefully connected everything back up, double-checking before switching on then kept close watching for some of overheating. I then It looked ok.

I then turned the power off and checked for hot connections. Again nothing major but perhaps a little to warm to be confident.

I then let it run for 2 or 3 hours while I worked close by and it looked pretty active but again no dramas with the connections

So I've unplugged it all for the night and will let it run for several hours attended before I'm happy to leave it on its own for a day or more

electrolysis tub back in action (attended)