etank battery charger

I am thinking about setting up an e-tank and saw a used 6 amp battery charger for $17. I know that is on the light side (10 is recommended), and I realize that it might take longer to clean my pieces. I would definitely hold out for a 10 amp if I would be cleaning CI on at least a semi-regular basis, but I might only get a few more pieces, so I'm wondering if I can buy this and call it good. A couple other considerations. I understand that I need to make sure it's a manual. Also, the thing is downright grungy...it's a Sears that has been through the wars. Should that be a concern, and what should I be looking for as I inspect it? Cosmetics don't matter here, I'm simply wondering if this might be a decent purchase for my needs.

Thanks.
 
I'm in the pieces gathering mode of building my E-tank. Looking around the garage, I found a couple old chargers for the Power Wheels ride on toys. The toys are long gone but I think they are 6 volt. Has anyone ever used such a charger, and how did it work? Tony
 
Kevin
I use a manual Sears charger that I can switch between 2 and 10 amps. Almost all my cleaning is done on the 2 amp setting so I would say that 6 amps is plenty. I would not however recommend buying a used charger. You just don't know what you are getting. Watch for advertisements. The sears charger goes on sale fairly frequently and I believe the sale price is just under $30.

Good luck.

Jack
 
Tony Gilliam said:
I'm in the pieces gathering mode of building my E-tank. Looking around the garage, I found a couple old chargers for the Power Wheels ride on toys. The toys are long gone but I think they are 6 volt. Has anyone ever used such a charger, and how did it work? Tony
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Those are likely the kind that need to have an actual battery hooked up to them or they'll shut off due to thinking the battery is fully charged. Since the cost of a deep cycle battery rivals the cost of a manual charger you're better off just getting a manual car battery charger. I see lots of them at flea markets when I'm hunting for cast iron, more often than not for under $10.
 
Ty is probably right, but just for fun I’d put a little washing soda and a couple quarts of water in a plastic bucket. Attach the negative to a rusty bolt and the positive to a clean bolt. Stick them in the water not touching, plug it in & see if it does anything. What to loose?

Hilditch
 
W. Hilditch said:
Ty is probably right, but just for fun I’d put a little washing soda and a couple quarts of water in a plastic bucket. Attach the negative to a rusty bolt and the positive to a clean bolt. Stick them in the water not touching, plug it in & see if it does anything. What to loose?

Hilditch
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They will charge a 12 volt deep cycle marine battery, it takes about 3 days to fully charge.
Tony
 
OK, so it is a trickle charger with maybe 1 amp. Remember this is just for fun. I'd plug it in and give it three days to see if it does anything. That's just me.

Hilditch
 
I have a 2/6/12Amp charger, and I also do almost all cleaning at 2Amp. I have tried the higher settings for cleaning sessions, and the only difference I noticed was that it hummed louder. YMMV.
 
Well I am probably doing it wrong ...but I do 20 amps for about 3 hours and it works great for me ...had an older friend in his 80's tell me to go with it ...he worked in a chrome plating facility ..where they did brass and chrom plating ...he said 30 amps and below would work fine ...anything above and the water may boil which is a bad thing and a slimy residue ...like I said it works for me ...but opinons are like ...well you know the rest
 
JDHardee said:
Well I am probably doing it wrong ...but I do 20 amps for about 3 hours and it works great for me ...had an older friend in his 80's tell me to go with it ...he worked in a chrome plating facility ..where they did brass and chrom plating ...he said 30 amps and below would work fine ...anything above and the water may boil which is a bad thing and a slimy residue ...like I said it works for me ...but opinons are like ...well you know the rest
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I generally run mine on the 20 amp setting & it looks like a jacuzzi shortly after I flip it on. Rarely do I have to leave it on for more than the 12 hours unless I'm cleaning several pieces at once that are extra grungy
 
All this etank talk made me get my little one out and run it. It was 14 degrees when I set it up but the high is supposed to be 27 today. Started with hot water and doubled up on the washing soda. I'm hoping the added electrolyte will lower the freezing point of the water a little bit and the bubbling action will delay the formation of ice crystals long enough to finish the job.
 

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Ty L. said:
All this etank talk made me get my little one out and run it. It was 14 degrees when I set it up but the high is supposed to be 27 today. Started with hot water and doubled up on the washing soda. I'm hoping the added electrolyte will lower the freezing point of the water a little bit and the bubbling action will delay the formation of ice crystals long enough to finish the job.
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My experience says that the hot water is not needed to start, and the added electrolyte will not help with the temps that we all get here up north. The water will get warm during the cleaning of your piece. After you shut it off it will start the formation of your ice crystals in time. I use lye for my electrolyte, but still freezes, 20 below is still 20 below. My trick is keep it running, if you have as many pieces as I do.:icon_thumbsup:
 
Jeffrey R. said:
My experience says that the hot water is not needed to start, and the added electrolyte will not help with the temps that we all get here up north. The water will get warm during the cleaning of your piece. After you shut it off it will start the formation of your ice crystals in time. I use lye for my electrolyte, but still freezes, 20 below is still 20 below. My trick is keep it running, if you have as many pieces as I do.:icon_thumbsup:
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I didn't want to take any chances at 14 degrees without knowing how much of my 10A power supply's output gets lost in the tank as heat. Next time I'll be a little more bold.
 
Ty L. said:
I didn't want to take any chances at 14 degrees without knowing how much of my 10A power supply's output gets lost in the tank as heat. Next time I'll be a little more bold.
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It will get hotter in the summer, so have no fear Get-r-done.
 
I've been using my stainless e tank from time to time all winter in an unheated garage here in Maine. When the weather started turning cold, I wrapped the tank in heat tape and covered the same with some thin, rubbery foam type carpet backing. Although I only occasionally use the e tank, the heat trace stays on 24/7. Of course, when cleaning iron the water gets warm from the battery charger but the tank has been idle much of the time but no issues with freezing.
We've had a fairly good warm winter to date, temps haven't gotten much colder than 0° but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't freeze with the heat trace only on even at -20°. HTH
 
That's great Charlie! I've been talking about fishtank heaters and pond heaters but completely forgot about heat tape. I've used them on sewer pipe (don't ask) and I bet that it would work on plastic bucket eTanks or plastic garbage can eTanks, Lye tanks too. Great share!

Scott
 
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