Fun with chemistry! (Electrolysis)

[390Nut]

Electrolysis, that is.

Went out and picked up some free rebar from work, stuff that was left over when they poured the cement for our new freezer outside. 5 sticks of 10' rebar goes for about $5.00 a stick, so that's $25.00 saved.

Finally found a store that carries washing soda, and not knowing when I'ld find more (nor how long it lasts before you have to replace the water) I bought all 4 boxes.

Got home and quickly setup a 5 gallon pail for a trial run. I just won some sport bumper brackets on ebay, and while they were coated with a fresh covering of shiny black paint, the seller didn't even bother to brush off the dirt before he painted them, and there was surface rust all over them. Figured this would be the perfect first test to see how it works, as it's supposed to take everything off, including some types of paint.

I also picked up a 70 gallon poly stock tub (with a drain on the bottom) that once set up, will allow me to do cylinder heads, intake manifolds, even engine blocks, completely submerged. The best part is it has a drain on the bottom, and I'm going to look for a solvent pump. My electrolysis tank is going to double as a "hot tank", too. Now I just need to find a dolly to make it mobile, before I get it fully set up.

pics to follow.

edit: for info on the do's and don'ts of electrolysis, and how it works, go here: http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

[390Nut]

Shot of one of the brackets, they all look pretty much the same.



Set up. Cut off wheel and a propane torch made the lengths/bends relatively easy on the rebar. 8 gauge wire held with vise grips on freshly wire-wheeled surface for good contact.



And we're off! You can sort of see the bubbles here, this is five minutes into the process, and already you can see black ugly stuff floating/sinking.



15 minutes, and the bubble stream is pretty solid.



30 minutes:



1 hour:



2 hours: You can see the scum line growing on the surface of the water.



Going slower than I thought, possibly due to the fact I am only using a 10-amp battery charger. I'm going to see if I can borrow my neighbors 50-amp charger/starter tomorrow, and try it with one of the other brackets.

Will post a 4-hour pic later, as well as what the bracket looks like at that time.

[390Nut]

8 hours (4 more hours this morning, using the same batch of liquid). Lots of goo and gunk floating there, but still not as much as I expected.



This is what it looks like now, with just a bit of a rub with a shop rag (no brushing or anything). In this and the next pic, you can see the paint and stuff bubbled on the surface of the part, and nearly clean metal underneath. Remember, this was just rubbed down with a rag. A good scrubbing in hot soapy water would likely have it pretty clean. The "line" you see in the left of the second pic is where the part was submerged too. There is a difference between the untouched and the "cleaned" areas.





A bit harder wipe down removed even more of the gunk. Still has a long way to go, and it appears the electrodes work horizontally only. The very bottom of the bracket was below the level of the bottom of the electrodes, and the stuff is still stuck on pretty good down there.



Next up, this 2-sheave FE crank pulley. You can see where I wire-wheeled it to help make a good contact with the hanger wire.

[72stepside]

When I saw your topic, thought "somebody's doing electolysis!"

It does take time but gives you time to do other things !!!

I am a firm believer in this process. Just wait a day or so and you'll see a big ole mess of gunk in the top of your water.

[390Nut]

Not much change after 4 hours, and there is still rust on the part where there is no paint. I'm not sure if I didn't mix the soda in well enough to the water, or if it's just to low of an electrical current, but I'll start it up again from scratch in the morning and see what happens then with a different part. Got a 2 sheave pulley that has a nice patina of rust on it that is begging to be clean.

[basketcase0302]

Paul,

That's some darn neat technology you're using there.

So where does one get the soda? Hardware store?

Jeff

[390Nut]

Actually, in this case, no. Ace hardware (a small old school hardware in this town) was the one place I thought WOULD have it. Wal-mart doesn't carry it, Safeway, Albertsons, the big grocery outlets, DONT carry it, because it just doesn't sell much. If it's not in a shiny plastic bottle or overly graphics intensive box in the laundry isle, they won't buy it apparently. That, and most people these days have never even heard of "washing soda", and don't have a clue what it is.

I ended up finding it at the local Fred Meyer store, and they had been sitting on those 4 boxes for awhile. I put in a request for more to be ordered in, so we'll see what happens. At just over $2.00 a box, I'ld buy the whole case from them if this works well.

[390Nut]

Got a few more hours in the solution this morning, see post #3 above. This works pretty danged well, just wish it was a bit faster!

[390Nut]

6 hours being cooked. Fair amount of scrubbing afterwards as well, to remove all the loose flaky bits. Rust is almost gone! (see post #3 above)



I strengthened the solution a bit, and dunked this back in. This time, instead of pouring the soda into the bucket, I mixed it in a large plastic cup to make sure it was completely dissolved. I noticed after stirring it into the bucket, and turning the charger back on, there was a lot more action going on, so hopefully I've got it "right".

More to come, stay tuned...

[Ranchero50]

I wonder if some sort of aggitator or maybe an aquarium aerator wouldn't help keep the solution flowing around the part. I understand about the electricity doing the work...

Jamie

[Pipes71]

Ive been thinking of giving this a try.. then friday, my boss comes up to me..and ask me to do some parts cleaning( I work in an acid lab that cleans parts for oil rig sensors) so they hand me this proceedure .. and a battery with clips and some wires.. and the next thing I know Id doing electolysis!.. they used sodium hydroxide which is 50% solution..but I learned something interesting.. 3 weeks ago we ran out of sodium hydroxide for another process.. I go out to the chemical shed and there are pails of pellets for maintaining the p.H for pools,which happens to be the same thing.. just not as pure.. Im thinking I might just give it a try

[iamthewreckingcrew]

I've done this before with great results. I used Arm and Hammer baking soda. For my electrode, I used a piece of square tubing that went all the way to the bottom of my tank. I used a trickle charger too. Took a day or so to get the parts all the way clean.

I have some pictures scattered in here of my setup:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamthewrec ... 224886739/

[4th effie n counting]

how did the parts come out 390 ? I have thought of trying this, but i can't find a plastic bin big enough for my whole truck!
I read a thread couple weeks back can't recall the ideal charger voltage.

Do you think a different hanger for part might be better conductor than clothes hangar?

[390Nut]

What you see above is what I've got so far. Between work and all the rain/snow we've been getting, I haven't done any more. Water makes TOO GOOD of a conductor, and this process creates lots of explosive hydrogen (think Hindenburg) so you should do it outside. Especially when you're grinding on other metal parts in the garage.

I've been thinking about that too. That wire is a good conductor, but might not be big enough. I'm going to get some chain from the hardware store and see if that makes a difference.

Oh, and if you want something big enough for your whole truck, look here:

http://antique-engines.com/trailer-electrolysis.htm

[rjewkes]

so now we also know how to make our own hydrogen for the fuel cell engines sweet. now just how to capture it safely