Can I salvage this Electrolyser??

[highhopes]

seamonkey


First off there was 1/2 " of sludge on the bottom. the plates still look good after i rinsed the crap off. I had placed nylon 1/4' nuts on bottom corners and again in the middle the epoxyed them in. Reason being something in cell was shorting out, so I cut it apart and put the nut/spacers in. Iused the same container just put a 3" rubber union to hold it together. Every time I drove it, next morning it would be empty. The hose clamps would distort the Pvc (steaming behemoth)and in cooling it then leaked out. there was some discoloration/etching on edges
If I knew how to post a pic on this site I would

[huck]

posting a pic:.. got to photobucket.com set up an account.. upload a photo...
then paste the link they provide for BB forums...into one of these 'message windows'...

[highhopes]

[huck]

[SeaMonkey]

High Hopes,

The "sludge" in the bottom of the cell may be residue from the water, the baking soda, the excessive heat, or all of those.

That the plates are still in good condition is very good.

The slight discoloration may not be serious contamination; but then again, it might be. One would have to perform some tests to be sure.

In order to clean electrolyzer plates, that are fabricated for the low voltage electrolyzer cell, electrochemically this is what may be done:

1. Obtain a suitable non-metallic container large enough to immerse your plate array fully. Fill the container with sufficient water to cover your plates and add Table Salt at the rate of 2 Heaping Tablespoons per Quart of Water. Stir well.

2. Immerse your plates in the salt water solution and apply power from an automotive battery for Ten Seconds.

3. Reverse the polarity of the connections to your plates and apply power once again for Ten Seconds.

4. Remove the plates from the solution and inspect. If the plates are not satisfactorily cleansed, repeat the steps 2 and 3 above.

If sufficiently cleansed rinse thoroughly in clean water to remove all traces of the salt and whatever chlorine may be clinging to them. Safely dispose of the salt water solution.

5. Mix a fresh dilute solution of Potassium or Sodium Hydroxide and distilled water to re-condition the plates for several hours with 12 Volts at 5 to 10 Amperes if possible. Be sure to reverse polarity and condition again so that both sets of plates see conditioning as anodes.

If the conditioning process proceeds at a higher rate than 5 to 10 Amperes, simply reduce the conditioning time if desired.

While conditioning the electrolyte solution may become quite hot and that is in fact helpful.

Be sure to place a cover over the containers during cleaning and conditioning, such as a dampened bath towel, to avoid or minimize electrolyte spray getting into the air and creating a local hazard to breathing. The spray will not harm the towel.

Wear a face mask consisting of a moistened handkerchief or towel covering the nose and mouth. Wear eye protection and rubber gloves.

When cleaning and conditioning plates it is always best to do those processes out of doors or in a well ventilated workshop structure. Never inside a house or closed structure.

In case of accidental skin contact with Sodium or Potassium Hydroxide flakes or solution, wash immediately with copius amounts of cold water. After the soapy, slippery feeling has been washed away apply a dab of vinegar or lemon juice to the skin area affected.

Always wear eye protection to absolutely avoid getting any of the Hydroxide solution into your eyes. Sodium and Potassium Hydroxides are very damaging to eye tissue, even in dilute solution, and are capable of causing permanent eye damage.

Please do not become another statistic!

[highhopes]

[SeaMonkey]

High Hopes,

Yes, Mouser only carries the vertical mount board, but no worry; it'll do fine.

The 25 Kohm pot will work too, it'll just allow for adjusting the output voltage down to the preset 0.9 Volts.

I hope your fixed resistors are 1.8 Kohms (1800 Ohms) as 1.8 Ohms would be too little resistance.

When you first "fire it up" be sure that:

1. All connections have been double, triple checked.

2. The cell is connected to the output of the board with an ammeter in series with the connection to monitor current flow and a voltmeter across the connections to the cell to monitor voltage.

3. The voltage adjust pot is set so that the total resistance across the TRIM to GROUND is about 10 Kohms (10,000 Ohms). This should set the output voltage to just over 2 Volts.

4. Check once again that all of the above are done. Then apply power to the board. The board must have a load connected before turning it on.

At about 2 Volts of output the current should be less than 40 amperes. Then you can carefully adjust the voltage while monitoring cell current to find the 40 Ampere point and decrease the voltage slowly to find the 5 Ampere point. These should be the limits of the range you will want to adjust through. Don't go any lower than 5 Amperes and not any higher than 40 Amperes. When you finalize the mounting of the board and the potentiometer place a paper disk underneath the Potentiometer adjustment knob and re-do the above to make marks where the 5 Ampere and 40 Ampere points are so as not to go beyond those in normal operation.

In fact, the board will prevent you from exceeding 40 Amperes with its "foldback" protection, so when you just reach 40 Amperes while slowly increasing the voltage output, that will be the critical point to mark.


Wishing you well and great success.

Keep us posted.

[huck]

Huck wishes there were pictures, he likes to see what people make!
Oh...and I'll figure out where wifey stashed the digital camera and take photos of my 3x3" cube!

Trying to find some 1/2" stainless all-thread or long enough bolts for the 2nd portion of the cell...and some ABS...(I hate internet shopping, so am looking for local suppliers)

[highhopes]

seamonkey
thanks I will give it a try, I have family in town for a couple of days, so it will probably be after the weekend befor I have any results

Huck
Do you have a fastenal in your area??? they will order SS in for you,,,also I would just love to see pics of your CUBE That just sounds way to limpwristed

[highhopes]

Seamonkey

I am ready to get back to work on my gizmo,, you said "to hookup a capacitor across the input, and the output" does that mean in line on the + in and out?? or across the + and _ on the in and out? Are the cap. I listed before OK?

[SeaMonkey]

[mrgalleria]

Aloha,
SeaMonkey: you should have also reminded him to be sure to use a fuse inline as well. Things can burn up way to quick. Always use a fuse as you don't want to damage your hard work.
highhopes: I would avoid using salt water in your cell. That black water was probably the s.s. Salt and electrolysis eats s.s. very rapidly. If you must use salt, as recommended by SeaMonkey, use extreme caution. Use it briefly, and do not repeat.
Bill

[SeaMonkey]

Bill,

You're absolutely correct! A Fuse or Circuit Breaker is always a necessity for any high current electrical circuit.

The SIL40C DC to DC Converter has some very sophisticated protective circuits to detect and prevent catastrophic overloads and burned out electronics, but even then, the manufacturer makes the same recommendation as you've made.