question about the infamous "Floater Electrolysis" device

[BobinSouthVA]

I'm trying to build one but have some questions.

I read in one of the posts (which I can no longer find) how to tell which wire on a cell phone charger is negative. Something to do with putting it into the solution to see if it bubbles. Can anyone clarify that?

I also have a few chargers ranging from 50ma to 1.1a. for coin cleaning, is it bad to go too low or would the 50ma just take longer?

Thanks in advance.

[jeff of pa]

I stick the one that Bubbles to the object to be cleaned.

Whether Pos or Neg I don't know.

[BobinSouthVA]

I stick the one that Bubbles to the object to be cleaned.

Whether Pos or Neg I don't know.

They both bubble. My stainless steel bolt bubbles more than the coin even if I switch the aligator clips.
gonna leave it in for a while and see what happens.

.

[cosmic]

Negative to object to be cleaned... Lower mahs longer cleaning(better control of the process)..

[BobinSouthVA]

Negative to object to be cleaned... Lower mahs longer cleaning(better control of the process)..

Thanks Cosmic, but my problem is trying to figure out which is the negative. I alternate the clips between the bolt and the object, but they both seem to bubble the same amount.

[funkman]

mad,

I had the same thing happen with one of my charges also. never could figure it out. I did come across a 15 volt DC output (not sure on MA though) and that one definately bubbled only on one of the objects. I was cleaning a larger relic though..not a coin.

I will look at the charger hookup I have now because I know on one of the wires, the black inuslation has a grey or white stripe on it an dthe other doesn't. I will let you know which one is the one I hook up to the relic (stripe or no stripe).

Funkman

[cosmic]

Marked wire usually the positive...

[funkman]

what cosmic said....the wire that does not have a stripe on it is the negative wire and that gets hooked to the item to be cleaned.

Funkman

[BobinSouthVA]

Thanks for the input, thats good to know.

I also have some chargers that have no markings on the wires at all but I was able to do some research and learn a little bit about the polarity symbol on the charger



In this case the negative is the outer part of the "plug" end and the positive is the inner. using a knife I was able to remove the hard plastic coating covering the plug and locate and mark the appropriate wires.

Thanks for the help you guys are the Bomb.

.

[Timberwolf]

If you have a volt-ohm-meter (vom), you can tell which lead is negative. First you set the vom to DC volts (20v or 200v scale should do). The vom has a positive (red) lead and a negative (black) lead. After connecting your leads to the vom leads, power that puppy up. If the vom shows a + voltage, then the lead you have connected to the vom's black lead is "negative. If the vom shows a - voltage then the lead you have connected to the vom's black lead is positive.

If you don't have a vom, you can probably borrow one or you can buy a cheap one from Wal-mart for about $15.

Tom

[BobinSouthVA]

Cool thanks timberwolf.

I was going to buy one at lowes the other day but had no idea how to test the ends. I'll have to stop and pick one up on the way home

.

[Functional]

I bought a pocket digital multimeter years ago for about $10.00 and carry it with me almost all the time. Never know when you need to test a battery, an alternator, a light switch, etc.

For those that experienced similar bubbling from both wires when trying to find the negative. The charger, or adapter you have, might be an AC input and AC output, instead of an AC input with a DC output, making it useless for electrolysis.

I don't know if it is widely known on TNet, or not, but I've noticed mention of the use of higher voltages, (as in 12, or 18 volts), being preferred when doing electrolysis, with low amperage. Just thought I would mention that.

Theres a good page about cleaning coins and a link to information on using electrolysis here:
http://www.mycoincollecting.com/coll...ing-coins.html

F.

[Yarrum]

Marked wire usually the positive...

Correct. Try moving the wires further apart when in the water and then see if one bubbles more than the other.
I use 2 power supplies at once in a paint roller pan. The total milliamps is about 2500. Frys the crap right off those suckers. Not sure whether we have different currents here in Australia though. Its all about trial and error