Sacrificial Positive Electrode

J

Jeffrey R.

Well-known member
Would like to see how everyone has there E-Tank setup. Just maybe we all can benefit from this discussion and or improve your tank. All with safety in mind.

There are some metals that one should just not use.

I just took mine apart, working on a larger tank 55 gal. :biggrin:

What are you using for your Sacrificial Positive Electrode?
How often do you clean your Sacrificial Positive Electrode?
How big is your tank?
Has anyone used Graphite or Platinum for your Sacrificial Positive Electrode?

:icon_scratchchin::icon_scratchchin:
 
My tank is a 20 gal. square Continental "Husky" container. It's deep enough and wide enough to accommodate most pieces, and sturdy enough to withstand being filled with water. Also NSF food grade if that matters, even though it's sold as a trash container, confirmed by the manufacturer. A matching cover keeps evaporation down between uses.

For a sacrificial anode, as it's more commonly called, I have a reasonably steady supply of bare galvanized steel panels my neighbor, an HVAC contractor, gets from most of the units he installs, but for some reason aren't required for every type of job. And they fit across the inside of the tank perfectly. Although free, they do have a limited working life, even after scraping them down occasionally. I would like to try a graphite panel or the like, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet, mainly since I don't tend to run out of sheet metal. Looks like it might be a $30-40 investment.

Power supply is just a 2/10 manual Die Hard charger. Over time, the clamps have had to be cut off and re-attached due to corrosion and occasional overheating. I will be replacing them with all new clamps soon, and rethinking my attachment scheme to keep them as far from the water as possible. I bought a much larger charger on a good sale some time ago, but have decided to wait until my current one dies before switching to it. Even operating at 2 amps, most things come clean in an hour or two.
 
Ditto to Doug's comments.

I use a 20 gallon round Husky, 3" angle iron anodes and a manual 2-10 amp charger. I clean the anodes pretty regularly and replacing the corroded clamps is a quarterly exercise. The further the clamps are from the liquid the longer they will last.

I change out the water/soap solution about every 6 months depending on how much use it gets. Cleaning the anodes and changing the solution yields dramatic results.
 
I have a 10 gallon tote that I use with a 1'x1' square of old plate steel. I don't have a good place to store the tote with water still in it, so I dump it after I use it. I use it a few days usually. I usually go ahead and clean the steel plate prior to each use since everything is already broken down.
 
Hi All,
Thank you for your input. Lets look at something here Quote from Doug's post
"Over time, the clamps have had to be cut off and re-attached due to corrosion and occasional overheating."
Would heavier wire and soldering fix this issue?

Or is the corrosion from being to close to the liquid?

Right now I am making a 20 gal. tall round tank with 2 large brush hog blades 1/2"X6"X22" as my anodes so I can do one pan at a time. It gets cold up here and will keep freezing, so I will need to dump it often.

My 55 gal is for some large cleaning. :biggrin:
 
Probably just a little more diligence on my part would have helped. The setup is outside, the charger is housed in a weather-proof container, but the leads have often been left somewhat exposed to the elements, in addition to having been directly connected to the piece, sometimes partially submerged. Corrosion creates resistance, resistance creates heat. The replacements will not be so-connected, and I may go the extra step to solder the wire end at the crimp as well. Too-strong electrolyte can also often be the culprit in the leads overheating.
 
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