Electrolysis

For my money, it beats the hell out of the noise, vibration, dust and tediousness of power wire brushing. Being too lazy to setup recently I decided to clean up a 24" flywheel with a wire brush. It took so long to do it, that I made the effort and electrolysed the second flywheel.

Electrolysis shifts rust and in most cases paint too (my experience is that it's not much good with aluminium paint). It is also effective at dealing with seizure.

You need a good sized plastic tank and a battery charger, or other DC PSU.

I use washing soda in the water.

Bill Dickerson has a good page on the subject:

Some advocate using stainless steel for the electrode (it doesn't waste away), but the chromium it contains is not a healthy substance, so I use plain steel, which does waste, but is cheap to replace.

When you've got your setup you just put your parts in, connect up and leave overnight. When you return, most of the rust is gone, most of the paint brushes off easily. It usually takes a couple of sessions to finish an item. In my experience, it does nothing to non-ferrous stuff.

My current problem is I haven't got a big enough plastic tank, so that I can drop a whole Lister A bottom end in. Any suggestions, which don't involve me shelling out for a new domestic water storage tank?

Regards, Arthur G

Max reqt in my experience is 12vdc at 3A. Any more and you're simply dissociating water and washing soda to no good purpose. Its a very simple process and it always baffles me that so many try to complicate it. A large barrel, the common blue ones are excellent, a battery charger and battery, pair of jumps leads any old substantial bit s of steel (re-bar is excellent) and a box of plain washing soda. Add water to taste. But please don't tip the resultant soup down a domestic drain!!! ...and don't do the job inside as it prduces hydrogen gas and no-one wants their feline to sound like a canine. ttfn Roland

As Arthur says, it's worth checking every time, as the consequences of getting it wrong are nice clean bits of rebar and sacrificial engine parts!

Gentlemen,

Engine Negative, lump of metal Positive ?

Martin P

How does the surface area to be cleaned extrapolate across to the current required? Although I have oodles of amps available I don't have to use it all. Presumably there is a surface area/current formula?

I did read Bill Dickerson's website article this morning, but thanks for the tip, Arthur.

We have some tanks at the old place that I am looking at with covetous eyes, and they would probably take a complete 5/1 diesel, but space is a problem as always.... If Arthur wants one for himself, I'll find out what their destination is likely to be, if the skip then I'll see if we can reserve him one.

Peter

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There is a formula I'm sure but I wouldn't understand it if I found it. There is a man in the far West who would be glad of almost any tanks going........ ttfn Roland

previous stuff snipped....

Thanks Peter for the tank offer, yes please, that would be most kind. I'm hoping to salvage the main bearings from this seized Lister A bottom end, and maybe, just maybe, electrolysis might free it enough to allow me to strip it down.

My observations echo Roland's. The amount of current and the voltage seem to make little difference. I experimented and settled on a 5A 12V supply, any more of either just seemed to make the water warmer. with little extra effect on the work.

The grot is removed along a direct line between the free electrode and the work (I'm not saying which polarity, I look it up each time I set up a tank to prevent any mistake). Tthis means one rod shoved in a tank will have limited effect. When I do the Lister, I'm going to use some scrap weldmesh for the electrode (obviously making sure not to touch it with the engine ).

Regards, Arthur

I have tried weldmesh but it has a small cross section and soon grots up thus stopping the reaction. I now use a ring of big stuff all wired up. I have also used it on rusty and very carboned up pistons put an extra electrode inside wired to the outside rods. ttfn Roland

work (I'm not saying which polarity, I look

rod shoved in a tank will have limited

the electrode (obviously making sure not to

How far West....

Peter

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Cardigan :-) If you're feet get wet, you overshot.... ttfn Roland

What sort of tanks?

I've got a couple of fair size plastic domestic-type water tanks cluttering the place up. Actually three, but I have a use for one...

Cheers Tim

hoping to salvage the main bearings from

it enough to allow me to strip it down.

I'll see what is going to happen with them. I don't think they have anyone interested, but I'll still have to check and make sure.

make little difference. I experimented

water warmer. with little extra effect on the

There doesn't seem to be any 'scientific' breakdown of the process, but it obviously works! My only concern is getting shot of the waste electrolyte and any scum deposits that have to be removed.

(I'm not saying which polarity, I look

shoved in a tank will have limited

electrode (obviously making sure not to

Looking at our local scrappie today, there's tons of the stuff knocking about, and if I ask our local engineering company nicely I can have as many bar ends as I want to carry away (and that can be a 'big' boxful !!) Clean steel is presumably slightly better than rusty stuff?

Peter

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Am I barred, can somebody tell me which way round you connect up please. :-))

Martin P

Ok but how do I know its wrong when connected, so sorry to sound thick but I appear to be loosing the plot! Also how come your thread is three hours behind mine? Martin P

"Attach battery charger - place NEGATIVE LEAD (this is critical!!) on the piece that is to be cleaned. Attach POSITIVE, or RED lead of charger, to electrode "grid" formed when you placed electrodes, or rods, into bucket and tied them all together."

Copied from Bill Dickerson's website article on electrolysis:

Nick's PC clock is probably behind the rest of us, gives him more time to post stuff before he goes to bed....

Peter

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Hi Peter, Three sites by enthousiasts are at

Croft

Roland and Celia Craven wrote: (snipped) any old substantial bits of steel (re-bar is > excellent) ===========

Reinforcing bars don't work well for me. Couldn't get more than a few milliamps, regardless of surface area, even after wire-brushing it back to shiny. Now mostly use scraps of angle iron and such, preferably several in parallel, dispersed about the vat.

Stainless is very good, leaves yellowish cast which brushes off, but have stopped using it after reading warning notes.

Could our re-bar be different?

Jack in Oz

I suppose you you could clean it before use by reversing the polarity

Cheers Tim

Wouldn't have thought so, Jack, although if it is used straight from the mill it may have surface scale on it.

Weldmesh or expanded metal was mentioned as being too easily clogged up, but the larger sizes should be OK and good for getting a covering across the floor of the vat.

The other thing to mention possibly is that the work in progress etc needs to be kept clear of the bottom of the vat?

Peter

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