Electrolysis Questions

W

WallyF

Member
First, I will need to suspend electrolysis in a couple of hours. We're going out and I don't want to leave it unattended. Should I leave the piece in the electrolysis tank, move it back to the lye tank or do something else with it until tomorrow afternoon?

Next, my new battery charger has a switch for 50, 10 and 2 amps. I assume 50 is too much and I should not use it. Anyone have experience here?
 
The pH in the electro tank should be high enough to keep rust from re-forming. But storage in the lye bath is what I typically do.

Anything over about 20 amps has been found unnecessary.
 
The best way to find out is to keep using it until it doesn't work any more. I can't keep mine out all the time (too ugly and it sits out on the deck when in use), but if I could I'd try to get at least a whole season out of one batch. I've done several pans, one after the other withoug any degradation in performance. Still gotta clean the anodes and top off the water every so often though.
 
my battery charger has a switch for 2, 10 and 50 amps. The meter only hits 2 - 4 amps, if I am reading it correctly, regardless of the output selection. Is this normal?

I alternate between 2 used lawn mower blades for my anode. I clean them using a wire wheel between uses.

Below is a link to pictures of the skillet I am trying to clean. It was in the lye bath for about 8 days before the battery charger finally arrived. I put it in electrolysis for 2 - 4 hours at a time and then store it in the lye bath. I estimate it has spent about 12-14 hours in electrolysis so far.

Although it is vastly better looking now, there are still red areas. Any idea how long it might take to get all the rust off? Sorry, it is in the tank now and I don't want to interrupt to snap a photo.

http://imgur.com/a/pt3QE
 
Electro should take care of rust in fairly short order, like an hour or so. And 10 amps should be more than sufficient. If 12-14 hours and still rusty, something is not working, or at least not with any efficiency.
 
Any way you could stick both blades in there at the same time? I run 2 blades in an almost full 5 gallon bucket for small stuff (#7 and smaller skillets) , 6 blades in a rubbermaid container with ~15 gallons of electrolyte for the big stuff. I'll pull about 6 Amps in the smaller one, but I'll trip out the 10A power supply with the larger tank if I use too much electrolyte.

Distance is also important. The further away the pan is from the anode, the less current it's going to pull. Since I typically run 6 lawnmower blades as anodes I'll take one of them and use it to clean the other 5 right there in the e-tank.
 
WallyF said:
I alternate between 2 used lawn mower blades for my anode. I clean them using a wire wheel between uses.
Click to expand...

I believe you should have a clean bare spot on the piece of cast iron where the negative lead of the battery charger attaches to get the best current flow. I always clean a spot with a stainless steel brush or steel wool. Hope this helps!
 
Wally, I agree with the above tips. If you are only hitting 2 amps, you. Ees to check the efficiency of your current. Either you don't have enough washing powder in the solution (you don't want to overdo it either), or something in the way you are carrying the current (your wire to the sacrificial metal or the connection to the skillet) has a poor connection. Also, one lawnmower blade is not enough. As Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest said at Parker's Crossroads, when he was told he now had Federal troops to his rear as well as his front, "Charge 'me both ways!" You need to attack the skillet from both sides, and having it surrounded is even better.
 
I'll just add a little more to this discussion...

1. that is a VERY rusted skillet you are starting with.
2. I'd hit it with #2 or #1 steel wool before I did anything else... getting rid of the loose stuff on top can only speed up the process of getting rid of the rest.
3. connections are critical. if it isn't foaming up rather quickly after starting the process then you don't have good connections somewhere. Check the clips and wires to see if anything is getting hot... if clips or wires are hot then you don't have good connections or good flow. Also make sure that your charger isn't tripping off... even if it isn't one of the 'automatic' models if your current is too high or low it can still be shutting down.
 
I'd just use a wire brush at the clamping point to insure a good connection. The process, if working properly, will convert even that thick rust to soft black rust in short order. Remember, the reason we use electro is to avoid having to use elbow grease.
 
I prefer very liberal use of elbow grease in my projects... it makes me feel like I contributed at least a little bit to the end result.
 
If your sacrificial anodes are too dirty it will not put out the full amount of power that the charger is capable of. I always clean my anodes once the power output drops to 4 amps. Also, if my water level is getting low in my 55 gallon barrel and I add water to it I can watch my current output increase. You may need a total of 4 lawnmower blades in there to get the full 10 amps out of the charger.
 
my ancient K-Mart charger is only putting out 4 amps, with new connectors, and clean sheet metal, is it time for a new charger...??
thanks, pb
 
Peter B said:
my ancient K-Mart charger is only putting out 4 amps, with new connectors, and clean sheet metal, is it time for a new charger...??
thanks, pb
Click to expand...
Peter,

I found the low (2-4 amps) output from my brand new battery charger resulted from an insufficient amount of sodium carbonate. Somehow, I managed to mess up the math and only put 1 Tbps/gal. initially. Once I corrected it (2 Tbsp/gal.), 10+amps happened. Hope, this helps.

---------- Post added at 09:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:46 PM ----------

Thanks to all who provided inputs to help me complete the first electrolysis. This is an update on where it is.

The first issue I had was low battery output. Your inputs and suggestions helped me realize I only had 1 Tbsp/gal of sodium carbonate. Once I corrected this, the meter showed 10 amps. Should I own up to having a degree in Engineering? Quite embarrassing.

Next, I got more lawn mower blades. I could only clean 2 of the 4 to my satisfaction. So now at least, there are 3 blades in the trash can all of the time. Even more Fizz.

I seemed to have trouble getting the reddish/orangish stuff from a few areas on the skillet. I kept subjecting it to electrolysis (and storing the skillet in the lye spa between electrolysis sessions).

I also found it difficult to get it "clear" after scraping with the stainless steel brush. After all the time in the lye spa and electrolysis, there was ALWAYS the mud colored stuff coming off the skillet when I rinsed it. It even discolored the pavement on my drive way.

https://imgur.com/a/kcjNC

Finally after reading D Madden's post on another thread, I decided to go for the cleaning and seasoning step.

WOW! Rinse/Wipe. Rinse/Wipe. I must have gone through at least a quarter role of paper towels before the stuff quit coming off. And this is a skillet that has spent a month in lye or a good amount of time in electrolysis!

FINALLY!, the paper towels are "clean" and I go to the initially seasoning step.

Get her up to 350 degrees and start wiping off the oil. Same thing. Lots of wiping. Finally, the skillet goes back in the oven.

Here it is before I started.

https://imgur.com/a/pt3QE

Here is where I ended up with your help.

https://imgur.com/a/yPnLq

The cooking surface has some pitting, I assume from the rust.

I think is can be a "user" for some things. Cooked the first round of bacon it it this evening.

Thanks to everyone that was kind enough to help. Doug has created and unbelievable resource.
 
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