Chemical Rust Removal Query

Evenin' all,

what chemical method would the panel recommend to remove internal rust from the body of a Lister H type pump? It's a bit inaccessible for electrolysis, which would otherwise be my favoured option.

I don't much care for that well-known rally spectacle of a pump constantly refilling a tank with rusty water :-).

Regards, Arthur G

Reply to
Arthur G
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I don't know about a chemical means of rust removal or conversion because I tend not to use them. Is it not possible to arrange an electrolysis electrode poking into the area concerned? There are not many areas of a stripped Lister H that are totally inaccessible.

I agree, there is little worse than pumping rust coloured water but I found that changing the pumped water a couple of times on a trial run cured the problem - there is, after all a limited amount of dissolvable ferrous oxide available to colour 750 gallons/hour throughput (H2). I found that having flushed the system through a couple of times, it tends to stay reasonably clear year on year. You could of course add some a delicate shade of blue in the form of a vegetable dye to the water to disguise it for the first few runs :)

Mark

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Reply to
mark.howard10

Mark, thanks for your reply, I saw it on my PC at work, but bizarrely, whenever you post, it never appears on the Wanadoo server. I guess it's related to the problem some have in emailing you.

Regards, Arthur G

the body of a Lister H type pump? It's a

refilling a tank with rusty water :-).

Reply to
Arthur G

body of a Lister H type pump? It's a

Electrolysis - you can do a lot with an internal wire or rod electrode (just watch it doesn't contact!). I use stainless lockwire and it lasts pretty well.

Failing that, citric acid. Some people favour hydrochloric, but it's a little fiery, IMHO.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

If electrolysis is really impossible try boiling it with a weeks worth of used tea-bags. Cleverer people than I can explain the complex chemistry of the tannic acid. Don't drink it afterwards though :-) ttfn Roland

Reply to
Roland Craven

Reply to
CHARLES HAMILTON

the body of a Lister H type pump? It's a

A saturated or near saturated solution of salt in vinegar gives a weak hydrochloric which can be quite effective and is fairly inocuous. It does need *thorough* washing off afterwards!

Cheers Tim Dutton Dry-Dock Traditional & Modern canal craft repairs Vintage diesel engine service

Reply to
Tim Leech

Spoilt for choice! Many thanks to you all for those most interesting suggestions. I'm particularly intrigued by the use of household stuff like teabags and coke. Tim's fish and chips method is completely new to me, and intriguing enough to merit a try on some useless piece of rust first :-).

Arthur G

Reply to
Arthur G

Why not just buy some hydrochloric ?

With that much free salt wandering about, I'd be very worried about using that near any brass or bronze components, even just the odd pipe fitting in an iron casting..

Reply to
Andy Dingley

A cheapish readily available source of dilute HCl is toilet lime scale remover. I have seen it eat through the metal drain in a gents urinal bowl in about 6 months. Read the label to make sure you are buying the correct stuff.

--=20 cerberus

Reply to
cerberus

Because the village shop doesn't sell it?

Fair enough, not a problem for a bare casting or steel component, though.

Cheers Tim

Dutton Dry-Dock Traditional & Modern canal craft repairs Vintage diesel engine service

Reply to
Tim Leech

This is usually sulphamic acid, not hydrochloric (but not always). Hydrochloric (as you note) has a bad effect on metals, and also on vitreous glazes. Lme scale remover is generally sulphamic, extra-strong one-usage post-student-house-rental dirt cleaner is hydrochloric (and has many warnings about not spilling it, and rinsing well).

Cheap source for hydrochloric is a builder's merchant as "brick acid" or "muriatic acid", used for cleaning mortar splashes off brickwork.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

I'd use Jenolite, specifically designed to change rust into summut else. Allow to dry & reassemble. The first run might need a change of water, but that'll do it.

Works wonders on rusty shield bosses & neglected mail shirts!

Regards,

Kim Siddorn

Reply to
Kim Siddorn

That's the trouble with Jenolite - it _changes_ the rust into something stable, it doesn't _remove_ it. If you're doing the internals of some mechanism, you probably want rid, not just stable and paintable.

As a brand, then I'm not over-keen on Jenolite either, The formulations with tannates added (usually white rather than clear or pink) work better and buying by the gallon can be cheaper than a very few tiny bottles of Jenolite. If you want plain phosphoric acid, go to a hydroponics shop (dope growing) and get a cheap bottle of glacial phosphoric. Use it as conc. as possible, don't dilute it. If you need a paste rather than a liquid, just thicken it with some wallpaper paste or other convenient cellulose.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

from the body of a Lister H type pump? It's a

refilling a tank with rusty water :-).

How about Fernox? Old central heating systems are made of cast iron.

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For a quirky solution at rallies, how about adding blue food colouring?

Reply to
Andrew Taylor

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