Am i not doing something right with electrolosis ?

[Holly_squirrel]

It's bubbling but only slightly.



Ok I'm so green to this I'm lime neon green, so bare with me! 1. The black clamp goes on the relic , right? 2. Why is the scrap iron bubbling more than the relic? 3. Am I using the right charger n settings.4. I get more bubbling if I put charger on start engine, but I'm afraid it will burn out the charger. 5. There is a Slight , very slight, white vapor coming from tbe relic sometimes ... Is it harmful? And 6 th and most important ... What would happen if one of my cats or worse one of my kids happen to put their hand in the water while its on?
Sorry for simpleton questions, but you got to start somewhere ... And one last thing... Am I imagining it or could whatever is coming off the iron and I to tbe air be making my nostrils burn?

 

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[worldtalker]

Holly,What ever you're cleaning should bubble,sticking your hand in won't hurt you,the smell is rather nasty. GodBless Chris

 

[wvwildman]

how much baking soda are you using yes vapor will come off of it

 

[cosmic]

Just might not have good contact with relic.. Need to clean an area for the negative to make good contact... Don't use the 60 amp... Use some washing soda in the water.. Might have them to far apart..

 

[wainzoid]

I cant help you on this subject, but I am truely impressed at you effort and determination to enjoy this hobby. Soon you will be rewarded.

 

[wvwildman]

washing soda what are you calling washing soda? i use baking soda works the best

 

[releventchair]

I only run unit out doors. Using a stainless anode biggest reason,(health)splatter is another. 6 or 7 amps,low and slow. As more particals become suspended(something used as electrolyte starts the process,wash soda,salt or other) action increases then when real dirty tapers off. I,m cleaning small items,mostly coins thus the low amps.(low will work on larger items,just slower,fine by me.) Negative (supposed to be black on a battery charger) with dc powersupply to object being cleaned. I prefer a clean piece for pos.to be clamped to.

 

[jeff of pa]

forget red & Black Dip both & look ..
the one that bubbles should be connected to the relic.

The one that doesn't bubble should be connected to stainless .

if after the relic is connected the bubbling slows that is due to the size of the relic
and the stream slowly working it's way through it.not a problem as I see it.

while connected, if the clip bubbles & the relic doesn't , you probably are not getting a good connection.
use file or change position of the clip.

 

[Holly_squirrel]

Thanks everybody. I have baking soda in the water.... And I did clean a spot to the bare metal before putting it in. Is odd that the junk metal is bubbling? It's a heavy piece of iron pipe that's not very rusty at all

 

[jeff of pa]

Thanks everybody. I have baking soda in the water.... And I did clean a spot to the bare metal before putting it in. Is odd that the junk metal is bubbling? It's a heavy piece of iron pipe that's not very rusty at all

Sounds to me you have them reversed

 

[releventchair]

Its all right its bubbling. Both will show effect of current,the pos.side(anode)is being slightly eroded.the neg.side under rust/corrosion is being built up. How i picture it anyway. My anode will grow bubbles while object being cleaned fizzes.

 

[Wyomingmedic]

I would also take the charger off the automatic setting and put it on manual.

I have the exact same charger and in automatic mode, I get these very odd pulses of current when it thinks it is attached to a very dead battery. I think they chargers are attempting to be smart, yet don't have the appropriate circuitry to actually be.

I do some small scale electro plating (same principal of what you are doing) and I use banks of AGM batteries. Quantity 10, 120aH batteries in parallel to be exact. I feel that it gives a more stable current than any charger can. While that may not be within reach of your project, I think the idea that current stability is paramount, is important.

WM

 

[cosmic]

The chemical formula for washing soda is Na2CO3 and it is also known as sodium carbonate. It is a salt of carbonic acid, a chemical which produces a wide range of salts collectively known as carbonates. One common source of washing soda is the ashes of plants; for this reason, it is sometimes called soda ash.
The high alkalinity of washing soda helps it act as a solvent to remove a range of stains. It is often used in detergent mixtures to treat hard water. The washing soda binds to the minerals which make water hard and allow detergent to foam properly to clean clothes. Sodium carbonate is also used by some textile artists to help dyes adhere to fabric.

 

[cosmic]

+1 on manual..Short circut protection in auto..

 

[olfacere]

Okay, here's a few quick points. Washing soda is sodium carbonate. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. Both are fine as electrolytes. Just don't use table salt, as it produces chlorine gas when electrolysed. Water is often enough to produce a small electrolysis effect by itself, but an electrolyte, such as baking or washing soda, improves conductivity and therefore increases the effect.

During electrolysis, water molecules split and get absorbed into the water. The pieces (atoms) bubble out of the water at the electrodes. Hydrogen gathers at one and oxygen at the other. Honestly, the common descriptions are so conflicted as to which electrode is which that I don't know who to trust about the terminology. Every flow of current is actually two flows, one in each direction. Electrons flow one way and "electron holes" (also known as conventional current) flow the other way. Because the water molecule is two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, one electrode will bubble twice as quickly as the other. Attach the faster-bubbling electrode to the relic. And remember that the distance between the electrodes has a lot to do with the electrolytic effect. It runs faster when the gap is smaller (also uses less power, so be careful not to burn out your power supply).

Electrolysis is generally pretty safe and convenient at low currents. At the kinds of current useful for gentle cleaning, iron doesn't deposit well. So, the rust that comes off of your item won't redeposit on it. Actually, it's rather difficult to get one metal to deposit onto another and stay there. Metals like chrome shouldn't be effected much at all, but I warn you to be wary of electrolysing copper. It can be done, but it must be done in a very slow, controlled way that I wouldn't recommend. Copper scorches easily (turns black) with even a little too much current. I really don't know why iron, gold, and silver all fare better than copper. It should be noted, though, that some collectors would rather items not be electrolysed. They worry about degradation and surface pitting (though the loss from electrolysis alone is literally measured in the nanograms). You can always electrolyse it in the future, but you can't undo it.

 

[Peyton Manning]

first of all, how did I miss one of Mrs. Snow's threads?

rule of life # 31: all vapors should be avoided whether they emanate from a human body or not

 

[Tnmountains]

They really helped me on here with my set up. Here was the first piece I did. It turned out great.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/c...tempt-electrolysis-before-after-pictures.html


http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/cleaning-preservation/

 

[dieselram94]

Just keep the terminals from the battery charger OUT of the water or they can corrode very bad. I leave my charger on engine start position for days at a time and all it does is hum a little louder and make more current. The hydrogen bubbles are flammable by the way, so keep it well ventilated. I find myself looking for things to electrolysis dip as I have a blast with it. Above all be patient.

Make sure to post some before and after pictures!

 

[Holly_squirrel]

Just keep the terminals from the battery charger OUT of the water or they can corrode very bad. I leave my charger on engine start position for days at a time and all it does is hum a little louder and make more current. The hydrogen bubbles are flammable by the way, so keep it well ventilated. I find myself looking for things to electrolysis dip as I have a blast with it. Above all be patient.

Make sure to post some before and after pictures!

I'm confused about the use of wire. All I want to do is have a bucket, the charger, my relic, and a piece of scrap.... Not the layout with metal rods all around and wires everywhere. Can I just wrap a wire from tbe relic to the clip? I tried it and it didnt seem to work... What kind of wire do I need?

 

[Wyomingmedic]

Anything that conducts well and will hold it's shape.

Something like 14ga SOLID copper house wire would work great. Just make sure that when you wrap it around the artifact, it is making good contact.

WM