Electrolysis results

[jsandin]

I tried the method described here:

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?p=243436

Here are before and after photos of a 3-inch iron ring I found at an old stone foundation in western Missouri. The ring underwent about six hours of electrolysis.

And here's a photo of the bucket, fluid, and wiring. The fluid started out clear, and ended up black. I kept the bucket outside once the bubbling got more aggressive (as the rust came off). I used about 1/3 cup baking soda in 2 gallons of water for my electrolyte solution. The wall wart is 9v and got warm but not hot toward the end of the process. Inside the bucket is a steel coffee can with both ends cut out. One side of the can is propped up half an inch at the bottom. But the sludge seemed to stay within the can, mostly.

I'm detecting at another old stone foundation tomorrow.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[rjw4law]

Very good

 

[HolyDiver]

Nice job.

 

[Lowbatts]

Very good work!
The IH's and wheats I've experimented with didn't turn out so well.

 

[brokenarrow]

Ive got the same setup made only in smaller scale.i like the idea of using a 5gal. bucket. Thanks for the good Idea

 

[JakefaePa]

Fantastic result there , ive found it works well with pure silver or most golds ..not so good results with copper or clad coins

 

[camperlee]

great job looks like a neat setup.

 

[JR in Hohenwald TN.]

Been cleaning shells and iron relics with this for years now. An old archaeologist showed this to me in the 80's. Works very well. You can go to the local scrap iron place and get a piece of steel or iron pipe about 16" long and about 10" round and set down in a 5 gal bucket. Great for cleaning bayonets and long iron pieces. And will last forever it seems.

All that's needed is a 12v battery charger w amp meter
5 gallon bucket
A 10" metal pipe to go around the item(this is acting as a sacrificial anode
Salt water(very conductive)about a cup

Fill the bucket with water,set the 10" tube of steel or iron around it. mix up a glass of salt water. Hook the neg battery charger to the item and positive to the outer tube/pipe. Pour in some salt water to raise the conductivity to around 5-10 amps on the meter and watch it clean. leave it over night if large. Take it out,scrub it with hot water and Dawn and let it air dry. Shells can be polyurethanes clear for better appearance. Nice and simple. On round items like cannonballs clean a small spot about 1/8" and lean a steel rod or car antenna piece touching the clean spot. Then hook the neg cable to that. Get long steel rod to lean against a wall,don't let the neg item make contact with the outer positive. its amazing to watch, you can see fizzing and iron being pulled to the outer pos. wall.

The coffee can will work,but being a sacrificial anode it will be eaten away quickly. Good for tiny items and only a few. I like a steel pipe or iron tube.

 

[jsandin]

<snip>
The coffee can will work,but being a sacrificial anode it will be eaten away quickly. Good for tiny items and only a few. I like a steel pipe or iron tube.

After about 20 hours of use, I found that the coffee can developed a gunmetal-colored coating on the inside that didn't conduct, and was stubborn to remove.

With your method, does the pipe have to be cleaned periodically?

 

[JR in Hohenwald TN.]

Yea ,but you can clean a while with it. Just take it out and pop it with a hammer. Layers of the crude with fall off along with a thin layer of the tube. It'll deteriorate from the water line down. I've started with 1/4" thick steel pipe from a scrap yeard and cleaned till it came to a sharp edge at the bottom. It took several years and many,many iron relics later though.

The gun metal appearance you speak of is actually the cans metal. The outer coat has eaten away.