Life of an E-tank

[RobHerrington]

This has surely been covered elsewhere, so -- forgiveness -- but is there a rule of thumb for the "life" of the e-tank? I refer to the liquid (the electrolyte), not the sacrificial iron.

I am tempted to change the bath every time I clean a pan because the water gets so dirty with just one pan and one piece of re-bar, but that surely doesn't reflect the conductivity of the bath.

If I had college to do over, I'd have majored in metallurgy and chemistry!

 

[Jody M]

I have done 40-50 pans without changing the solution. Just adding water every couple of days due to evaporation. The washing soda doesn't evaporate, but I find the need to add a little after 10 pans or so, depending on the amperage I'm drawing. The water turns black and nasty and there's a ton of "sludge" on the bottom, but the setup seems to clean pan number 40 just as well as the first. I should add that I use two 12x12x5/8 graphite plates- one on each side of the tank, connected with a jumper cable.

 

[RobHerrington]

Wow thanks! I have heavy duty jumper cables I can use, but assumed they were too long for this stuff, but I'll give them a try. They sure have strong clamps ....

---------- Post added at 08:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 PM ----------

Where did you get the plates??

 

[Nick_N]

I have been using a 12x20 inch sheet of stainless steel. It has performed wonderfully well, with no (zero) deterioration. My first sacrificial didn't fair so well. The water, well it surely looks bad, but I am likewise seeing no deterioration in it's ability to get the job done. I suppose, as everyone has said, if the level goes done a bit, just add water to bring it back up. Everything else should be a-ok.............:icon_thumbsup:

 

[DonnaM]

Rob, I don't have an e-tank, but I've read that some others here have both a lye tub and an e-tank. They put their pans in the lye tub first to get most of the gunk off before putting them in the e-tank.

(Just passing this on...)

 

[Jody M]

Wow thanks! I have heavy duty jumper cables I can use, but assumed they were too long for this stuff, but I'll give them a try. They sure have strong clamps ....

---------- Post added at 08:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:38 PM ----------

Where did you get the plates??

Rob, I'm fortunate when it comes to the graphite plates. I work in a world class tool and die shop that has a large EDM (electrical discharge machining) department. The graphite plates are used as electrodes for a big production job we do for one of our customers. After a period of time, the electrodes no longer meet tolerances and are disposed of.

 

[KevinE]

You can usually find graphite plates on ebay.

 

[RobHerrington]

I'll be a huntin'. Thanks to you too, Donna.

 

[LL Mixon]

I posed the same question to a couple of old timers and got the response that they change the water after 200-400 pans. I am on about No. 10 so.....

 

[RobHerrington]

I just remembered that plain old water conducts electricity anyway. My concern was that the wash powder would lose its effectiveness. Maybe it does, but since water conducts, how would you really know?

 

[Nick_N]

Wow thanks! I have heavy duty jumper cables I can use, but assumed they were too long for this stuff, but I'll give them a try. They sure have strong clamps ....

Rob, I may be wrong, but I don't think that Jody M was referring to jumper cables, in the same sense that you are. I believe that when Jody referred to a jumper cable, he was simply referring to connecting the two sacrificial plates, with a simple jumper wire (i.e. jump power from one to the other). All that is needed, when using two sacrificial plates, is a simple wire connecting the two, not necessarily jumper cables, as you would use for automotive applications. I think that kind of jumper cable would be more in the way, than they would be of help. Just clip the black (-) lead from your battery charger to the skillet, and clip the positive (+) lead to your sacrificial metal. If you use two pieces of sacrificial metal, then use a wire to connect those two, but you don't really need your car jumper cables (not that they wouldn't work), just major overkill.:icon_thumbsup:

 

[RobHerrington]

Thanks, was wondering about that. My jumper cables are pretty long, too. So yeah, they'd be in the way and the length might even diminish a trickle charge.

 

[Nick_N]

Thanks, was wondering about that. My jumper cables are pretty long, too. So yeah, they'd be in the way and the length might even diminish a trickle charge.

Yes, mainly, the jumper cables would be in the way, they wouldn't disminish the charge. Bigger is always better.

The best way to connect two plates, is to drill a small hole in each, and put in a small bolt & nut (or a screw), and then put a wire around each bolt (or screw), and tighten them up, so as to make a good connection. Then clip that positive (+) lead from your charger to either plate (they are now, both as one).....good luck

 

[Jody M]

Rob, I may be wrong, but I don't think that Jody M was referring to jumper cables, in the same sense that you are. I believe that when Jody referred to a jumper cable, he was simply referring to connecting the two sacrificial plates, with a simple jumper wire (i.e. jump power from one to the other). All that is needed, when using two sacrificial plates, is a simple wire connecting the two, not necessarily jumper cables, as you would use for automotive applications. I think that kind of jumper cable would be more in the way, than they would be of help. Just clip the black (-) lead from your battery charger to the skillet, and clip the positive (+) lead to your sacrificial metal. If you use two pieces of sacrificial metal, then use a wire to connect those two, but you don't really need your car jumper cables (not that they wouldn't work), just major overkill.:icon_thumbsup:

That is what I meant Nick. I also sometimes hang 2 pans in the same tank, if they are small enough, and connect them with a jumper wire. I picked up a box full of old clamps at an auction last summer for next to nothing, and "built" several jumper wires just for this purpose.

 

[BillC]

I'm actually having very good success just stripping the wire, passing it through a hole in the plates and twisting the wire back on itself.
My SS plate to jumper wire junctions are a bit out of the electrolyte, so I just use some old copper wire I had laying around to join them. If they were submerged, I think I'd use rebar tie wire. That's what I use to hang the piece being restored.
C-clamps take care of the physical connection to the plates and wire as well as provide a secure place to attach the charger cables.
Once I figure out how to post pix, I will.

 

[Roland B.]

I'm new to using an e-tank, and thanks to the valued suggestions of some of you, my first attempt was a complete success!:razz: My common sense and limited science tells me that the life of an E-tank is correlated to the amount of care it gets, and it doesn't need much: cleaning and/or replacing plates when necessary, replenishment of evaporated water, an infusion of electrolyte as needed, and an occasional cleaning - there's the rub! My tank holds 27 gallons (I use approx 20-22), and I've thought long about cleaning the sediment as it builds on the bottom. My first thought was to attach a spigot, but then there's the remote possibility of leaks. My second thought was a siphon system similar to that used for large aquariums. I wonder if a wet/dry vac would work...:icon_thumbsup:
You can see my e-tank set up and view the results of my first two items, plus tools I used for detail work here -
http://www.castironcollector.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5916&page=2

 

[Roland B.]

Rob, here are a couple of the "jumper cables" I made for my E-tank. They're made of 8gauge insulated stranded copper (I'm almost certain that solid wire will work as well) and connectors that I got at Lowes. I cut the wires to 12 inches, stripped a little more than an inch of the ends and crimped them in well. Hope this helps:icon_thumbsup: