Cleaning

[Dave]

I was wondering if anybody here has experience with cleaning parts by electrolysis, I was thinking of setting up a cleaning center in my garage and it would be nice to clean crusty/rusty parts with no elbow grease involved. :stick:

I think it would also be a cool video for Eric to do.

Topic

[Dave]

Well I got around to building a small scale electrolysis cleaner. I will build a bigger one when I see how this works. I will have to get a real battery charger for this instead of the little one I have now.

So tell me what you think of this

Attachments:

• CleanerBucket.png
• CleanerBucket2.png
• CleanerBucket3.png

[Dave]

Well here it is.

http://s1364.photobucket.com/user/brokemechanic3000/slideshow/electrolysis%20cleaning

This really works so I will be building a bigger version for the random stuff I need to clean but do not want to scrub any after work. I checked on this pan everyday for a week because I only have a 1 amp charger if I had a bigger one it would have gone faster. Watching the bubbles come off the pan was cool and when I took it out all of the black crusty stuff fell off, I only had to do some light scrubbing under hot soapy water to get it looking brand new. I gave it to my mother who is collecting cast iron cookware she was speechless on how well it turned out and now has given me a bunch of things to clean in the cleaner.

[Kevin Criswell]

I love the electrolysis method. I use it most prepping motorcycle and small engine fuel tanks for restoration. One word of advice, be careful to not use galvanized or stainless metal for your sacrificial anode. The stainless will release chromium into your mix and is pretty nasty stuff environmental wise. The galvanized gives off some toxic fumes and will turn your parts green.

[Gumpy Guss]

You can do about the same thing with self-powered electrolysis, with a tank of vinegar and a bit of salt.

This spring I found some pruning shears that were left since last fall on the lawn. They were covered with like 1/8 inch of rust. 48 hours of sitting in a tupperware bowl full of vinegar and salt and the shears were clean and shiny and without a speck of rust.

[Author]

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