Technical question on E tank using lye as electrolyte

J

Joseph Leverton

New member
i have set up a tank using lye as electrolyte. my first question is what is the ratio?
both my 6amp and 10 amp worked fine before but now they both are loud and cut off every 20-30 secs. as well as bubble very rapidly rather than small calm bubble

i mixed the ratio 1lb to 5 gal.

i have cleaned and tightened all connections.
i have added and removed various amount of steel.
nothing is different. i’m guessing it’s the mixture.

thank you for any suggestions
 
Using lye as an electrolyte for electrolysis isn't as simple as just turning your lye bath into an e-tank. Just as using too much sodium carbonate can make things run "too hot", so can lye. There have been a few threads here on the subject in the past. Search "lye electrolyte" and go through the lengthy one titled "Using NaOH for electrolyte".
 
Hey Doug I read that thread but I’m really still not sure what the mix ratio is does anybody out there know what the ratio mixture should be when using lye as the electrolyte
 
There was quite a bit of experimentation going on by the two main participants in that thread at the time, so I agree there's not really a clear cut recommendation there. I would see how 1 lb./10 gal. (1/2 the lye bath concentration) works, and go from there.
 
would my mixture at 1 pound to 5 gallons be the reason my charger continually goes off and on or would it be too much or too little anode my set up is a 36 gallon water softener with two 3“ x 3‘ quarter inch steel on one side and three 1“ x 3‘ on other side basically surrounding the piece pretty good it worked Well but I would like to condense the two steps down to one step to save some room in my garage.
 
The participants in the old thread at various points seem to be using a full-strength solution with success. Perhaps there is another variable at fault in your setup, maybe not. I'd remove half the solution you currently have, save it if you can, and add water to dilute to a 1 lb./10 gal. ratio to see if it solves the cut-offs. Perhaps posting a photo of the setup might also reveal something amiss.
 
Joseph Leverton said:
i have set up a tank using lye as electrolyte. my first question is what is the ratio?
both my 6amp and 10 amp worked fine before but now they both are loud and cut off every 20-30 secs. as well as bubble very rapidly rather than small calm bubble

i mixed the ratio 1lb to 5 gal.

i have cleaned and tightened all connections.
i have added and removed various amount of steel.
nothing is different. i’m guessing it’s the mixture.

thank you for any suggestions
Click to expand...
Hi Joseph, If I may, is your source of electric, automatic or manual is using a battery charger?
I am thinking your issue is with your source of electricity.

I am running a 35 - 40 Gal. SS barrel, I am just going to say that if you put your hand in my electrolyte (yes Lye) you will lose some skin. Never have had an issue yet.

I had an issue with my manual battery charger and posted about it here a few years back, so you can look. But it is fixed and up and running.
Same battery charger I purchased back in 1980s.
 
I use a 2.5% w/w ratio (1lb NaOH to 5 gal H2O) ratio. I also use a CC/CV bench power supply 15V & 20A, setting current as the control variable. Works great. With a dumb battery charger you are controlling to a fixed voltage and will be sensitive to electrolyte conductivity as well as plate size. You could control it crudely by adjusting the area of the anodes depending on the size of the cathode (work piece) to keep the current in check while using the same electrolyte. i.e reduce number and/or size of the anodes until your battery charger is happy.
 
yeah I tried running both chargers not certain if it added amperage one being six and one being 10 not sure if that added to 16 A or just 10 canceling out the six.
i’ve tried reducing anode looks like I will have to find an alternate power supply any recommendations on how to or where to find one
another thing I noticed is both positive and negative pieces are fizzing are bubbling equally the chargers work phone I have use the 6 AM on a 5 gallon bucket set up with washing soda the last couple of days and it’s worked just fine.
hopefully this photo will help reveal something.
thank you for your input
 

Attachments

  • 4519DB4B-0353-4705-B24C-92B4890A1F1C.jpeg
    4519DB4B-0353-4705-B24C-92B4890A1F1C.jpeg
    130.8 KB · Views: 15
There are many inexpensive bench power supplies. Here is one for example.
Remember for an e-tank you want to control current, not voltage. Set the desired current and the voltage will be what it wants to be.
 
ShawnE said:
There are many inexpensive bench power supplies. Here is one for example.
Remember for an e-tank you want to control current, not voltage. Set the desired current and the voltage will be what it wants to be.
Click to expand...
ok i have the power supply all hooked up and it works wonderful. what should the current be set at? what do i look for as an ideal number up to 10 amps
 
Set to whatever you want. I've run as high as 20 amps. More will be faster, but will generate more heat in the tank as well as the power supply.
 
ShawnE said:
Set to whatever you want. I've run as high as 20 amps. More will be faster, but will generate more heat in the tank as well as the power supply
Click to expand...
I can’t thank you enough I have it set at 10 as it’s only at 10 AM I only have a 36 gallon tank so I didn’t see much need for any more not sure if my thought process on that is correct it’s been running now for a few hours it’s working great
 
Glad to see that it is working for you. It makes it simple for those of us that don't a large amount of CI. One tank and done, no matter if it is crudded up, rusty, or both. All the same. And no special anodes, just simple mild steel sheet that is quite economical.
BTW, the common abbreviation for amps is A, 5amps is 5A. You confused me by saying that you set the power supply to 10A because it was 10:00 AM in the morning. o_O
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top