Electrolisis problems

[Spirit]

Tried electrolisis mon.I hooked everything up per forum instructions,tried re-bar for electrode only got 1 amp on charger-next I hooked up a steel frying pan(from kitchen) with jumper cables only got 2 amps.Went to Wal-Mart today and bought 2 steel cookie pans,(now I was ready to cook). Hooked everything up-got 3 amps. Charger is fine,plenty of TSP a spark when leads hooked up + and -. Does anyone have any suggestions--PLEASE Thanks

[Bigdog]

Try positioning your electrode closer to the piece being cleaned. 2 or 3 amps will do the job quite well.

[Spirit]

Thanks BD will go try that right now and thanks for the amps info-I thought everyone was getting at least 6 amps. Thanks again Spirit

[beaconlight]

That would depend on the charger you are using. Put in more TSP and that should bring it up. Don't go crazy though.

Bill

[Paul B]

Spirit
You don't want any sparks around that, because it does produce some hydrogen gas, so be sure the charger is not on when you connect or disconnect the cables. About the same basic principle as a fuel cell - pass an electrical current through water and it produces hydrogen.

[Buzzard Wing]

Even with the big charger and 6 rebars I don't think I get much over 5 (?) amps with everything perfect. It reads very low on the scale, near 0 most of the time. But the needle does move when powered up.

A lot depends on the connections and more importantly the condition of the rebar. As it gets used it gets tired, but with painting in process I don't want to run it throught the wire wheel right now.. They are only 67 cents each First time out I used old snowmobile runners (can't throw anything out) and the cheap charger, the results were marginal.

I find that you need to wire brush the iron (rebar) daily or it just crawls along.

The pedal return springs take DAYS and never seem to quite finish up properly. The left pedal looks like it will be 2 days. Nearly all the paint off in one day! (today)

I was having little luck with the interior of the battery box. The outside came out great. Lots of rust on that unit. After a week, I quit and put the 'Rust Mort' to the inside. Primed it with a brush tonight..

I have a big spring clip that (looks like it was intended to clip on a battery post or something) that I use to get a bite on the surface of the part, then clip the black lead to that. Keeps it mostly out of the water.

Anyone else use Washing Soda?? I found it at the grocery. Much cheaper than TSP.

Let us know how you make out.

[Mac McVey]

I've used TSP or Washing Soda with equal results.

[Russ Leggitt]

Hi Spirt,

One other thing I have gotten success with is I made several jumper
or strap wires out of No. 12 AWG electrical wire [the kind you find in
regular house wiring] and put an aligator clip on each end and then
connect 2 or 3 or 4 from the black lead [negative] to different locations
on the tool or implement your are de-rusting. This comes in especially
usefull if the tool has some loose parts. Just leave it intact and use your
jumper wires to connect the various parts.

About the 2 - 3 amps, don't worry about that, it may take a few hours
longer to get the job done with 2-3 amps but it does a great job. If you
can find a piece of stainless steel [ I use old cooking pots or pans I pick
up at yard sales or junk yards] this will boost your amps. Also, when the
anode gets rust on it this lowers the amps and slows the process greatly.
You will need to take a wire brush to the steel rods [anode] frequently.
The stainless will also need to be cleaned but only about 1/4 as often.

I hope this gives you something more to help you along.

[Buzzard Wing]

Forget where I read it, but I thought stainless gave off something nasty and should not be used?

[johnbron]

I have been using stainless for a couple years with no bad results to me or my flora. In fact just today I picked up 10 nice stainless 10X16 mess hall trays at the thrift store for 25-cents each just for using in my tank.

[Buzzard Wing]

Guess I will round up some stainless!

Brake pedal came out awesome as did the battery box below is part way through

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Bu ... CN0113.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/Bu ... CN0048.jpg

[George Willer]

Guess I will round up some stainless!

I use an old Cadillac wheel cover. Look for them along any rough road this time of year.