E-Tank alternative

[Handy Don 12,217]

14 hours ago, ineedanother said:

 

Electrolysis is a line-of-sight process (surface of the anode to surface of the cathode). Unless you suspended an anode in the tank, your efforts would not have any impact on the inside of the tank.

This is important to understand even when de-rusting the outsides of parts. The shorter and more direct the "line of sight" between the anode and cathode, the more efficient the process--just make sure the two don't touch. I've put pieces of plastic tubing onto lengths of rebar anodes so they can be right up against a part but not electrically touching it.

If the charger tripping out, this means you have too much current flowing through. Could the anode and cathode be touching? Is the amount of washing soda correct (more is NOT better in this situation)? You might also consider reducing the amount of the rusty part's surface area being immersed in the solution at one time. I've frequently hit 8 amps at 15.5 volts with heavily rusted parts having lots of surface area.

Also, you may notice that much of the rust coming off the parts ends up suspended in the solution and later falls to the bottom of the tank as a sludge. Keep your parts and anodes out of it for better results.

[wallfish 16,997]

Double post for some reason so deleted.

Edited August 23, 2022 by wallfish

[wallfish 16,997]

18 hours ago, ineedanother said:

 

I'm not a chemist so I'm not looking for a debate necessarily, but you're advocating the use of an acid (proven method, again, no argument because it does provide results), but electrolysis removes the rust without taking surface metal which (most) acids do. They all require cleanup. If you prefer using vinegar, then use vinegar, or whatever acid you chose. I prefer using electrolysis and think it's best, especially when trying to preserve what I am restoring.

Oh, I was thinking something along the lines of iron oxide or something like that to actually preserve the metal. I'm no chemist either. Never considered the removal of the metal at a molecular level.

What are your thoughts on sandblasting a hood? Just kid'n around.

I'm still curious about the inside of the tank clean up afterwards. I didn't have the best luck just rinsing them out and had to load a bunch of screws in it anyway and shake to get it clean. Messy process too! You can't just wipe off the inside of a tank. How were you able to get all of that stuff out without doing any scraping at all like shaking a bunch of rocks? Is there something you can pour in there? Maybe it was @formariz that posted a pic of doing the inside of a small tank a while back.

I have a big 10 gallon steel tank for a Roof 60 tractor that needs to be done. The tank is made out of thick heavy steel so etching it shouldn't be of any concern but it's heavily rusted inside. Electrolysis on this one might be the better option but only if there's a simpler less messy way to clean it out afterwards. Vinegar will take longer but it can just be rinsed out with a hose afterwards.

[ineedanother 1,369]

3 minutes ago, wallfish said:

Oh, I was thinking something along the lines of iron oxide or something like that to actually preserve the metal.

 

I'm still curious about the inside of the tank clean up afterwards.

Yeah, "preserve" might not have been the most appropriate term. As far as cleaning them up, fortunately I have a fuel polisher at work so when I need to do this, which is rare, I just cycle fuel through the polisher until it's clean. You can make a fuel polisher pretty inexpensively but have to be careful if you're polishing gas. 

 

Before that, I used to just shake it with a pint or so of kerosene or something like that and syphon the crud into another container with a blow gun on the compressor. Not ideal or perfect but it worked pretty well.

[wallfish 16,997]

Kerosene will eat that black stuff off? That would also coat the metal too, I think

[ineedanother 1,369]

1 hour ago, wallfish said:

Kerosene will eat that black stuff off? That would also coat the metal too, I think

No, I don't think it actually dissolves it but depending on how slowly (low amps) you cooked the part, that stuff (magnatite) can rinse off pretty easily. I have found that the more juice you put to a part in the tank, the more scrubbing it takes to get the residue off. I'm liking 3 or 4 amps for at least a day, sometimes two. A lot of it comes out as bare as the day it was made. The kerosene or whatever just rinses the loose debris out of the tank and I can dump it in my parts cleaner and reuse it that way. 

[cod 120]

On 8/23/2022 at 11:27 AM, Handy Don said:

This is important to understand even when de-rusting the outsides of parts. The shorter and more direct the "line of sight" between the anode and cathode, the more efficient the process--just make sure the two don't touch. I've put pieces of plastic tubing onto lengths of rebar anodes so they can be right up against a part but not electrically touching it.

If the charger tripping out, this means you have too much current flowing through. Could the anode and cathode be touching? Is the amount of washing soda correct (more is NOT better in this situation)? You might also consider reducing the amount of the rusty part's surface area being immersed in the solution at one time. I've frequently hit 8 amps at 15.5 volts with heavily rusted parts having lots of surface area.

Also, you may notice that much of the rust coming off the parts ends up suspended in the solution and later falls to the bottom of the tank as a sludge. Keep your parts and anodes out of it for better results.

How do you determine the correct amount of washing soda? I guess some of this must depend on the size of what you are working on and the tank. I may try in again on another can but I need to look into measuring the current as it appears to play a big role in one's success.

[Handy Don 12,217]

4 hours ago, cod said:

How do you determine the correct amount of washing soda? I guess some of this must depend on the size of what you are working on and the tank. I may try in again on another can but I need to look into measuring the current as it appears to play a big role in one's success.

this is an excessively detailed description of electrolysis, but there are gems in here:

http://www.metaldetectingworld.com/electrolysis_rust_removal.shtml

 

[Heatingman 971]

On 8/20/2022 at 2:24 PM, 8ntruck said:

Does that organic weed killer work on creeping Charlie?

Doubtful for long term.