Indoor electrolysis with carbon safe?

J

Jeremy Marin

New member
If I do electrolysis with a carbon rod, I can safely dispose of the water outdoors near, but not in, my vegetable gardens.

Is it safe to do this indoors, as it is very cold outside? Any gasses of concern? Does the reaction produce CO, or anything else to worry about?
 
I don't know if you've seen it but the main site has a page on electrolysis. Here's a couple of quotes:

"Proper disposal of used electrolyte, however, should include avoidance of soil contamination near vegetable gardens."

"A byproduct of the electrolytic process is the formation of potentially flammable hydrogen gas. It is prudent, therefore, to insure the area around the setup is well-ventilated, or, better, to consider doing it outdoors."

Link to full page here:
http://www.castironcollector.com/electrolysis.php
 
Yes, that is precisely why I had the question I asked.

That page also says that doing electrolysis with carbon (rather than other metals) results in only carbon release in the water, not other potentially dangerous chemicals.

Perhaps I misunderstood it, but it says that "To avoid the foregoing types of concerns altogether, the use of graphite as an anode appears to fit the bill quite nicely. Graphite is a form of carbon that happens to be electrically conductive. As such, the only thing that it can possibly introduce back into the electrolyte or to the piece being cleaned is plain carbon."

Ah, now I see. I meant "graphite" when I said "carbon."

So, now correcting the error, is indoor electrolysis with graphite safe?
 
The use of graphite alleviates the concerns of using the various metals described. The process still produces hydrogen gas.
 
Doug D. said:
The use of graphite alleviates the concerns of using the various metals described. The process still produces hydrogen gas.
Click to expand...

Any time you run electricity through water, it will break the bonds between the Hydrogen and the Oxygen atoms that make up H2O. The Oxygen will dissipate into the atmosphere even in a closed room. The hydrogen however being a lighter gas will collect in higher areas of the room and present a viable threat of igniting if exposed to any spark or high enough heat source.
 
Indoor electrolysis? No way. Those bubbles coming up are Hydrogen gas and Oxygen gas. They're just waiting to go boom. I've done it outdoors overnight with temps in the teens. As long as you have decent current flow (6 Amps should suffice) the electrolyte stays warm enough to continue working without any noticeable loss in performance. Electrolyte felt cold but nowhere close to freezing.
 
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