dumb e tank questions

[welderman85 53]

Hi I just started a small e tank and they work awsome but is there a set point to take it out or just when ever your happy with the part.Also will it eat through the metal if you leave it in to long. Then once its done in the tank what are the next steps before paint.thanks

[VinsRJ 723]

When it comes to timing it all depends on how rusty the metal is. I like to soak parts for 24 hours minimum no matter how rusty.

So long as the e-tank's electrical leads are hooked up correctly you will not eat through your parts. Only the rust with be removed and attached to the outer rods.

After pulling parts from the solution I wash off them in luke warm water while wire brushing off the black'n rust. I like to sand the parts next, some will say sand blasting is not needed, but the blasting process goes super fast now. Etch-prime and paint.

[kpinnc 12,766]

Best way to tell when it's time to take it out is by using a battery charger with an amp (or load of any kind) guage. If the sacrificial metal (the one you connect the + to) is in good shape, you'll notice a significant load on the charger. As the process runs it's course, you'll see that load fall off.

In short- if you're starting with clean solution, good sacrificial parts, and a decent charger, you'll know when it's done all it's going to by the current load. When it gets down to nearly nothing, the process is finished. You can clean the sacrificial parts and run it again, but the load should remain constant at basically nothing.

Like VinsRJ said, cleaning the blackened rusty goo off is important. I used "purple power" in my last e-tank's solution just to see what difference it would make. It suds up quite a bit, but the detergent's effect makes a huge difference in the amount of post-cleaning I have to do. When cleaning cast parts, it greatly reduces the amount of "flash rust" just because I'm able to clean and dry them faster. A pressure washer works very well too...

I should probably clarify- You don't have to wait until this happens to be finished cleaning a part. In most cases, 18-24 hours is more than enough to clean exposed rust away. But when using the process to free up parts that are rusted on or together (such as the dreaded steering shaft to steering wheels, or roll pins, or any such thing), when the load falls to zero or close to it, you've done all you can do with an E-tank. So far, I've never had a stuck item that would not free up with the process.

[sorekiwi 761]

My origional post on the process has some photographs that show what you can expect after various amounts of time. Obviously it will depend on the size of your electric source, and the condition of the parts, but you might find the post informative.

[welderman85 53]

You just answered one of my other

questions. I can put a steering wheel inter to free up the roll pin. Thankyou