Need help with Electrolysis tank.

[RogerW]

I setup an electrolysis tank and tried to follow directions I read from past entries here. It has been on for 48 hours now and nothing is happening to the rust. I used about 40 gal of water and 4.5 lbs of TSP. My charger is putting out 5-6 amps and there is a little movement in the water. At first it bubbled fairly well. I did gringdthe rust off where the washers make contatctwith the parts. Here some pictures of it. What am I doping wrong, or what do I need to do?

[Mht]

I don’t quite understand your pictures. In the first picture it looks like you have channel iron for the anodes and they are bolted through the tank and are wired together on the outside. In the second picture it looks like the anodes have been removed and the parts to be cleaned are hanging on the outside connected to the same wire the anodes were connected to in the first picture. The parts to be cleaned need to be inside the tank with the anodes but not connected or touching the anodes. The anodes should be connected to the positive side of your power source and the parts to be cleaned to the negative side. In mine I support the parts to be cleaned from a 2x4 that lays over the top of my tank and has heavy wire hooks that go through holes in the board and extend into the electrolysis solution. These hooks are connected in series and then to the negative side of my power source

[RogerW]

The channels are hooked to the positive side and the chains are hooked to the Negative side. The one picture just shows how the parts are bolted to the chain.

[RogerW]

The channels are hooked to the positive side and the chains are hooked to the Negative side. The one picture just shows how the parts are bolted to the chain. I am thinking I need more tsp.

[CapeCodCubs]

It is the charger I bet, is it a new solid state charger?

[RogerW]

No, it is quite old, and it is showing 5-6 amps. It is a 10 amp charger.

[Mht]

Got you on the anode and chain for parts set up. More tsp can’t hurt. Also agree that you need old school battery charger vs new automatic one. I think the set up is nice but I believe it would be more effective to have parts hanging between the anodes rather than on the opposite side of the tank. Electrolysis seems to operate best with line of sight between anode and rusty part. It will work like you have it set up but you will find you need to rotate the parts to expose all sides and this will increase the time it takes. If you are using a new automatic charger you I’ll have to add a battery into the system ie run the tank off the battery and hook charger to the battery

[phill_mi]

I think I would eliminate the chains and run a wire to the part. I just wrapped the wire through a hole in the part and twisted it. I kept the wire as short as possible and the point at which it connected to the part was as close to the surface as possible. I think you want to minimize metal in the solution on the cathode side that is not actually the part(s) you are cleaning. In your setup the current is going to take the shortest path, which is from the chain as it enters the solution to the anodes. So the parts at the bottom of the chain have very little current flow or cleaning action (in my experience). I initially had a setup more similar to yours which did not do anything. Also if you saw bubbles initially but did not see them latter, I would insert a DC current meter (VOM) into the circuit in series with the positive lead and check the actual current flow. Some newer chargers will cut back the current flow. When I checked mine, which was continuously bubbling, there was only around 3 amps in the circuit, but that cleaned the parts up real nice over several hours. I think your main problem are the chains since it is going to flow from the chain to the anodes and skip flowing from your parts.

[phill_mi]

I agree with Mht's comments about having the parts between the anodes. I used hardware cloth/fencing wire lined around the inside of my container.

[RogerW]

Thanks for the info. I will rework the tank and get some heavy wire for the anodes. See what happens. Probably later next week

[Dale Finch]

Agree...remove the chains...you have a very small contact area at EACH link. You need a solid wire going directly to the part(s).

[Eugene]

I think the set up is nice but I believe it would be more effective to have parts hanging between the anodes rather than on the opposite side of the tank. Electrolysis seems to operate best with line of sight between anode and rusty part.

Move the parts to be cleaned to the center/middle of the tank. You can use a board across the top of the tank and suspend the parts from it.

[Mht]

I use welding rods and make hooks. I beat the flux off and form a small loop(about 1/2 diameter) in one end. I take a 2x4 slightly longer than the width of the tank and drill 4-5 hole thru it and then stick the welding rods thru the holes. Bend a hook on the other end of the welding rods to hang parts on I hook the battery charger lead to one of the small loops and then jumper the hooks together with short pieces of wire connecting the previously made loops.I use as many or as few of the hooks as I need. The hooks don’t swing around but can be easily rotated when I clean multiple parts so they don’t rub together. Even with the hooks submerged in the tank I’ve not had to replace any of them in 3-4 years of use. It’s easy to grab the 2x4 at each end ind lift the parts out to check on the process or remove them

[5 Forward]

With the automatic chargers, I use a battery. I connect the battery to the parts in the tank and connect the charger to the battery. It also seems the more parts you try to clean at one time the longer and slower it works. I use 1 in square tubing, suspend the parts on copper wire, then connect the negative to the square tubing, positive to metal strips inside the tank. A cub fender will fit in a 55-gallon drum. It removes all the paint, converts the rust.

[Rick Spivey]

The white and brown wires look too small in gauge; the blue wire is likely large enough.