electrolytic rust removal

[Wallace]

hi wallace, where did you purchase that from.
im using a 12v car battery charger and little worried about just leaving it constantly on all the time.
this is the one im using.
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/attachments/battery-charger-jpg.71835/

i wonder if its better and safer to buy a proper supply..due to the quotes below.

I bought mine here after a fair bit of searching for a good price and reputable supplier but i see they are out of stock awaiting a newer model. I was quite surprised as to how light the unit is and wondered if it was going to be up to the job but it hasn't missed a beat and the cooling fan keeps the case cool. Much better value and more reliable than the bench power supply I bought.

 

[DeadSquirrel]

A good power source is the power supply out of scrap pc tower units. I had one but it went bang when I tried to draw too much current out of it.

Er, not so good then.

 

[ms08]

The old fashioned plain transformer based battery chargers can be safely left on forever and a day - they have things like overtemp protection (thermal fuse inside the windings)...

If you're even slightly worried, just 'adapt' your electrodes so it only draws a max of 3/4 of the rated output and leave it on longer if that's less than you usually drag out of it.

I'd happily leave mine running for days, and have done a few times.

^^^...leave mine on until job is done....old Gunson one about thirty years old.
Mike

 

[DAPPH]

Er, not so good then.

Putting an inline fuse rated a several amps below the max continuous working current of the charger helps tremendously to stop the charger blowing up . Once you find the electrode size & electrolyte strength that won't blow the sub fuse you can play at de-rusting forever and a day .

 

[colnerov]

Hi, I was told if you wire a bulb in series it will control the current.

Colin

 

[DAPPH]

It depends on the wattage /resistance of the bulb and needs a bulb holder arrangement .
You can end up with a broken bulb glass on a lit bulb igniting the hydrogen being given off the water .
I'm fairly certain that matching the electrode to the current is the safer way of doing it .

 

[T0rnado69]

I bought mine here after a fair bit of searching for a good price and reputable supplier but i see they are out of stock awaiting a newer model.

cheers wallace,
i like the sound of that, looks like a good idea to have a proper PSU for the job.
and you can adjust the voltage and current. can only be a good thing.

i currently have my set up under the metal bench i got from donnyc
using the batter charger.
it allows me to keep an eye on it while im in the garage.
but if i need to do any grinding,cutting,welding or plasma.

then i have to turn it off and move the bucket into the other garage.

due to sparks etc.

ild prefer to have it set up in other garage away from work bench with a proper PSU
so i don't have to worry about it as much.

 

[Screwdriver]

I "built" a tank out of breeze block and DPM.

Bit of scrap sheet steel for an anode (actually I used three).

Dip and wait

Until you make a nice brew of rusty paint stew.

Lovely.

Before

After

Its a gigantic cast iron mitre trimmer. I could post a whole thread...

Screwd.

 

[T0rnado69]

just amazing how well it works and so little effort involved, unlike blasting.


lovely....

 

[T0rnado69]

now i have a few things that i was going to look at getting blasted..
then i thought they are a bit big for me to do myself with my set up.

so was going to ask on here if anyone local to me would let me blast the items for beer tokens.

then yesterday while attending to my DIY bucket of rusty water kit LOL
i thought. why not just go bigger, something that will be big enough to fit the items in.
even if one at a time.

had a browse on the bay, but couldn't find any suitable dip tanks.

need something around 3ft high x 3ft wide, not sure on width till i measure the saw base.

got two of these to do...



and the saw base..



and legs




the way screwdriver did the above is a great idea.

but sadly i just don't have the room anywhere to do it like that (right now)

so an upright tank would be better.

 

[colnerov]

Plastic cold water tank, as in the loft. Or a plastic dustbin. Or plasterers mixing tub. Or a kids paddling pool (remove kids first).

 

[T0rnado69]

i have a cold water tank i use for degreasing alloys, that would work for saw base and legs but if i remember right its 227 ltrs.....

but not big enough for bench ends. cant use a pool as stated above..

 

[MattF]

My large vat is 3/4" ply lined with DPM, like Screw's block one. You can make it whatever shape and size you want with ply.

 

[Screwdriver]

Stateside....Michigan, only reason I know this is my brother now lives somewhere south of Cadillac and my parent's now fly into grand rapids when they go visit him

Well, they can't have it back

 

[Screwdriver]

IBC if you can get your hands on one would prob be perfect and last forever and a day....

The biggest issue is cleaning out the scum. An IBC tank would be great until you had to climb in it to refresh the tank. I *think* the electrolyte last for ages but you do have to scoop out a ton of nasty each time and you need to clean the anode.

S.

 

[Screwdriver]

Incidentally, where I used wood to support the sacrificial anode, it is possible the wood was acting as a conductor in the electrolyte so I experimented with insulating the wood which was otherwise soaked in the bath. The largest current I ever saw was over 10 amps, after insulating the wood, it came down to a more realistic 6-8 amps.

S.

 

[Maker]

The biggest issue is cleaning out the scum. An IBC tank would be great until you had to climb in it to refresh the tank. I *think* the electrolyte last for ages but you do have to scoop out a ton of nasty each time and you need to clean the anode.

S.

Push it on it's side and pressure wash it clean.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

Push it on it's side and pressure wash it clean.

They have a tap on the bottom edge so you don't even have to push them over.

 

[Screwdriver]

Scum floats to the top, crap sinks to the bottom. What are you going to do with a cubic metre of biohazard?

 

[Maker]

Scum floats to the top, crap sinks to the bottom. What are you going to do with a cubic metre of biohazard?

Not tell anyone when you tip it down the drain.