Thread: What battery charger for electo rust removal

G'day Bleeding,
Same thing happened to me using a "LION" battery charger, but when it cooked I replaced the bridge rectifier with a 35 amp one....(not that the process takes 35 amps).
Because I was cleaning a BBQ plate I used a 50 litre plastic drum with approx thirty litres of water in it to cover the plate, slipped when I was adding the sodium salt, so a whole packet went in, and now its an overnight process.
Give us a yell if you need info on the bridge rectifier.
Regards,
Noel

Bushmiller has done quite a bit of this.
I'll remind him when I see him, to get back on,
the Forum.

Hi Bleeding Thumb,

The battery charger I use is an old sunbeam about 10 amp I think. It usually draws about two or three amps when doing this process. If you put lots of washing soda in the mix it will make it very conductive and will draw lots of current. You could be overdosing it so check this aspect. I have left the thing going for two days in an experiment conducted in a plastic bucket and it drew 1.8 amps continuous. You really only need a just noticable amount of bubble's rising when you set it up.

Regards Mike

I got a $10 "made in a sweat shop" special from Autopro... works a charm.

Thanks so far guys,
Noel, I doubt that I'll modify the existing POS as it had a sealed casing that I have already cracked open to fix a loose wire and I'm aware of safety as my boys are inquisitive buggers.
Mike I used 1 tablespoon per litre - should be Ok but admit I have very little patience and prefer the shweppivecent effect myself, blow waiting around.
Speaking of safety and inherited tools, I unearthed this beauty in the shed.
Its a variable output transformer 7, 6 or 5 volts but AC. Could be handy until you look at the back (photo 2).
The exposed 240 volt terminals would wake you up if you picked this little beauty up!

Its headed for the bin unless someone out there wants it ( hopefully not to top themselves with).

Attachment 37870

Attachment 37871

You definitely want an ammeter. 4 amp current draw during electrolysis is about ideal. If you get more draw than this either move the anode further away from the item/s being processed or dilute the electrolyte. Opposite, of course, if current is too low.

G'day Bleedn Thumb,

I've used a mobile phone charger with great success. I'll have a look in the shed tomorrow and post just what type it is.

What Brian said, and that old tranny, looks like an old Scope soldering iron transformer.
For electrololyse a half wave rectifier should suffice saving some money on a bridge (full wave).
Make your own and raid an old alternator.

Originally Posted by Bleedin Thumb

Thanks so far guys,

Speaking of safety and inherited tools, I unearthed this beauty in the shed.
Its a variable output transformer 7, 6 or 5 volts but AC. Could be handy until you look at the back (photo 2).
The exposed 240 volt terminals would wake you up if you picked this little beauty up!

Its headed for the bin unless someone out there wants it ( hopefully not to top themselves with).

Attachment 37870

Attachment 37871

Would this be suitable for Bob's bathroom? OK, OK.... me go now

Unearthing (cough!) this thread with a query ... wonder if you can help.

I tried the method with a tenon saw blade. Max I could crack on the ammeter was 2 amps; mostly it ran at much less. Charger is capable of over 4.

The result was pretty poor.

The solution was a bit stronger than recommended and I got the metal bits as close as I dared.

I'm wondering whether there's a min anode size. I was using a bar about 17mm x 2mm.

Advice would be welcome.

I use a piece of stanless plate about a foot square as the anode.

the bigger the anode the more efficient all round.

if you are replacing the recifier in a battery charger you do need to use one vey much bigger than the rated output.
Battery chargers work in an overlaod situation as a normal thing, that is wy a lot of them still have selineum rectifiers.

you could simply buy an ammeter from jaycar or altronics and just rig it in series with one of the leads... hack it into the case if you like.

be carefull fo some modern chargers..... some of them are quite sofisticated.... that may cause problems.

the cheap ones wont be sofisticated... but you've probly gatered that.

cheers

Oh.. the process my be slower than you think... i have left stuffin the bath for 3 or 4 days.

cheers

Thanks Soundman.

Will get a bigger anode, and leave in longer.

Battery charger is still OK, I think.

i use a $15.00 charger i got from bunnies
anode is a 30 mm by 6mm x 400mm stainless bar
pretty strong mux [sorry kiwis] and she bubbles away and i get a nice head on my bath after about 20 mins

the object is left close to the anode
tonites job was a rusty old stanley 4 1/2 which came out aqeaky clean in about 90 mins

what am i doing right