Faster Electrolysis

[AndrewSpencer]

I had a thought to get a steel 55 gal drum, cut the top and bottom off then a slit down the side to slide it into the poly drum and use that for my sacrificial metal.

I thought we were not supposed to use SS in these tanks?

Also, I thought part of the beauty of this cleaning method was that all the lead paint, toxins, etc stay contained. If we are grinding them off then we are getting them airborne again?

[Rick Spivey]

I used 10 gauge stranded, might have even been 8 gauge, wire and that seems to work well. along with good anodes.

[Gary Dotson]

I haven’t messed with mine for a while but my leads are 12ga. and like others, I used mower blades. I cleaned them in the bead blast cabinet. I used 2 old school manual Schumacher battery chargers.

[Jim Becker]

. . . I thought we were not supposed to use SS in these tanks? . . .

That is another piece of this method I've gotten tired of hashing over.

I am not a chemist. Maybe I am all wrong on this. But I have yet to see it refuted by anyone that has shown good credentials as a chemist.

Although stainless steel erodes slowly, it still erodes. Chromium is a component of stainless steel. Chromium will end up in the electrolyte in SOME chemical form. I don't know what form(s) it will be. A lot has been written in discussions of this derusting process that it will/could produce hexavalent chromium. Hexavalent chromium is very hazardous.

My opinion, whether it produces hexavalent chromium or not, it isn't worth the risk. Using steel for the anode rather than stainless steel does not make the process much more difficult. On the other hand, I don't see a risk of having stainless steel on the other side of the tank. The cathode side (the part you are cleaning) is not being eaten up. I have used a stainless steel tank and connected the wire directly to it and just put the parts I am cleaning in the tank. This works okay if you get a decent electrical connection between the part and the tank.

Bottom line, don't connect your positive lead to a piece of stainless steel.

[phill_mi]

I used a 5 gal pal with hardware cloth lining the pal for the anode and my part hanging in the middle. I also used a battery booster for the supply and measured the current at around 3 amps. It bubbled slowly and over several hours cleaned my rear drive oil pans for repainting. To improve efficiency I would:
1) use the shortest and largest diameter insulated wire for each connection. between the battery and the part or anode,
2) minimize the metal in the solution that is not actually the part (cathode) and maximize anode metal in all directions from the part.
2) use firm connections everywhere. (I just wrapped the wire through a hole in the metal which presents a high resistance and probably lowered my current)
3) minimize the distance between the part and the anode which circles it, without allowing them to touch each other and short out.
4) Keep the solution saturated, periodically adding TSP, in my case.

I am planning to build a tank for larger parts, and I considered building one using an old clothes washer with a stainless steal tub. However some research pointed to information that indicated that stainless steal should be avoided in electrolysis. There is a significant amount of chromium in stainless steal and the electrolysis process creates various chromium compounds which should be treated as hazardous waist and are reportedly difficult to dispose of properly. I have also read debates about the relevance of these issues in a small application.

[Magnum]

Well this entire thread is news to me . I never heard of doing this .

[AndrewSpencer]

Well this entire thread is news to me . I never heard of doing this .

Someone here said you can strip an entire Cub with a 55 gal drum (some parts you do half then rotate) It does work quite well.

[Mht]

I’ve got a tank made from a 55 gallon plastic barrel. I’ve used it to remove paint and rust from every part of a cub except the rear rims. The torque tube required flipping end over end to get it done. I’ve thought about using an IBC tote with the top cut out to make a tank large enough to do the rims but haven’t done it yet. I consider an electrolysis tank a must have if you are going to restore anything made of iron or steel. I’ll never be without a tank as long as I’m messing around fixing up old tractors. I’ve always just used rebar for anodes because I’ve got access to plenty of pieces for free but it’s sounds like maybe I ought to try some flat stock instead.

[SamsFarm]

I have not tried this process, but I guess it only works on Cubs

[Stanton]

Well this entire thread is news to me . I never heard of doing this .

There are several threads on electrolysis located in the How To Forum:
http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=150

[Magnum]

Well this entire thread is news to me . I never heard of doing this .

There are several threads on electrolysis located in the How To Forum:
http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=150

Geeze , I don't get out much . I have some reading to do . Thanks for the link