Anyone electroplate with Nickel?

[spinning-magnets]

Reading the posts on this website has saved me the time and cost of producing my versions 1.0 through 6.0 of a home H2 generator, and I can now go straight to a version 7.0! (Thanks Chris, Bob, Alaska!)

I've carefully noted that too high a voltage/amperage will create a "steaming behemoth" espresso machine that erodes the Anode and electroplates the Cathode.

I also noted in posts about batteries, that the "Edison cell" (Nickel/Iron plates) was too big per Volt to be useful in its design application of an electric car, but its robust 50-year life makes it something to consider for home solar/wind electric storage.

The only part of an Edison cell that would seem to be hard to get is the Nickel plates, and I notice in the "MrGalleria" posts, that pre-year-2000 Canadian Nickels are very high in real Nickel metal.

Anyone here think its worthwhile for me to make an Anode out of a stack of these type of coins and then electroplate a Stainless Steel plate Cathode to see if the resultant plate will make an Edison cell that replicates documented output? ($50 experiment?)

Or is it a situation of: "I understand why you would think this, but I tried something similar, and it won't work because of _______".

If the general consensus is "its probable", does anyone have any general suggestions about the basic configuration/Amps/Volts of an electrolysis cell that might result in a Nickel-plated Cathode plate?

If this works out, I need to stock up on old Canadian Nickels while they are still available and reasonably affordable. -Ron

[SeaMonkey]

Excellent thinking process Spinning Magnets.

This is an example of how great ideas are spawned and may eventually lead to a line of research that results in new solutions to nagging problems.

The Edison Nickel-Iron battery had many merits and is still being worked upon by several researchers in order to make it better than the original design.

Enter "Power Technologies Battery" into your preferential search engine to find some interesting ideas.

Nickel plating is an easy procedure to master and the chemicals necessary are not too expensive. It's possible that nickel plating one side of the stainless steel plates used in the electrolyzers may enhance their performance.

Anyone ready to try it out?

[spinning-magnets]

Since this last post I have found out that it is the 1981 and earlier Canadian nickels that are 99.9% Nickel (subsequent Nickels are 75ish% copper) and also I have heard that nickel brazing rod is an affordable and available option (the more expensive the nickel rod, the more pure the nickel is)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_%28Canadian_coin%29

I was a mechanic on a US Navy submarine 1977-81, and I didn't pay much attention to the oxygen generator at the time. It used electrolysis to make oxygen, which was stored in a tank and bled into the boats air (the H2 was pumped overboard) I want just the opposite, which is to generate H2 and store it in an old propane tank. I've looked up the company website that contracts with the Navy, but of course, they won't post any specifics about their "proprietary technology".

I have learned from OUPower.com the reasonably efficient design specifics of electrolyzing O2/H2 (Thanks!). Since I intend on generating gasses from a simple home-built wind/water generator, any small in-efficiencies I encounter are not a problem, as I will be getting more H2 than I can use.

One of the big expenses of the "off-grid" lifestyle is the cost of the battery pack. I am currently collecting information on home-made lead-Sulfuric acid batteries, and Edisons Nickel-Iron "Alkaline" batteries. -Ron

"Electricians do it without shorts until it Hertz"

[SeaMonkey]

Your pursuit of off-grid living with home made wind powered generating is is commendable and you will find much on the web to assist your efforts.

Battery banks are expensive and when starting out with system ideas and the need to perform tests and make adjustments one wants to keep expenses minimal. What many do is obtain used automobile batteries from battery shops, then de-sulfate them with home made desulfator circuits, to restore their performance and extend their lifetimes almost indefinitely. Used batteries are often free and when desulfated with the desulfator circuit their capacity can frequently be restored to near new condition.

Although automotive batteries aren't designed for deep cycle operation, when desulfated regularly in conjunction with normal charging their performance is surprisingly good. And the very inexpensive price of used batteries is an added bonus.

The desulfator circuits are similar in concept to the PWM circuit that Bob has developed, except they're much simpler. Search the web for "desulfator circuit" and you'll find many ideas and much detail about the process.

I'm resuming work on an electrolyzer that began over ten years ago. It's designed to separate the O2 and the H2 for storage as needed, to be powered by a solar photovoltaic array with home made switching supply to optimize voltage and current. Hopefully, what I'm learning in this forum may be used to enhance it's performance and output.

I'm a retired Navy "skimmer," Electronics Field. Spent a week on the Bonefish in Kure, Japan back in '75 on a repair job. What a great experience - although it took many days for the smell of the diesel fuel to eventually work out of my system!

Wishing you well on your projects and please keep us all informed!

[SeaMonkey]

Spinning Magnets,

After researching the Edison Nickel-Iron storage battery in my old Chemistry books it appears that constructing one would be an arduous task. The plates use compounds of Nickel and Iron that are difficult to produce in quantity and purity. And the plates require some refined techniques in order to "compartmentalize" the compounds in each of them.

That's probably why it took Edison and his gang so many years to finally get a workable system developed. While it was sturdy and durable, it didn't hold a charge for an extended period of time and needed frequent re-charging just to keep it ready for use.

Lead-Acid batteries are cheaper by far and will hold a charge for a very long time when they're in good condition.

Apparently you're an experienced electroplater since you understand how metallic nickel fits into the process. Have you considered nickel plating plates for an electrolyzer cell?

The classic electrolytic cells used in industry were made with steel (cathode) and nickel (anode) plates in a solution of K or Na Hydroxide. Since the hydroxide solution is somewhat of a preservative for the steel and keeps it from oxidizing, due to dissolved oxygen in the electrolyte, one wonders whether the same metals could be used in the series cell arrangement of Bob's.

A steel plate that is plated with nickel on the side that acts as the anode for oxygen liberation.

It's a whole lot less expensive than Stainless, but it would be ferromagnetic and perhaps that might decrease its effectiveness.

Anybody know?

[Etownlax]

[kevinsatterfield]

[SeaMonkey]

[SeaMonkey]

[chemelec]

[ravzz]

[Etownlax]

[Etownlax]

Is the magnetic properties a problem for all electrolysis(ie. brute force) or is it just for resonant cells?

thanks,
-Randy

[Etownlax]

Ok thank you Bob. I thought something like might be happening since the oxygen and hydrogen are attracted to their respective electrodes due their ionic state.
-Randy

[jai_mann]