Cleaning Iron Relics With Electrolysis

[Tony in SC]

This is the process I use for cleaning rusty iron parts for antique Hit & Miss engines and Tractors. It is simple, doesn't cost much and works great. Electrolysis is used to move the particles of rust from the part or relic to an iron bar. All the items are less than $15.
 What is needed for a 5gal size setup:
A container. For my small tank I use a plastic 5gal bucket.

Battery Charger. The bigger the better. A 15amp charger will handle about anything
                        you can get in the bucket, but most of the time it will draw 6amps
                        or less. The part in the pics drew 2amps.

Electrodes. 1/2" Rebar, 1/2"cold roll round stock or other pieces of iron you may find.
                use 3 or 4 cut to stick out of the bucket about 2" or so. This metal can be
                found at Lowe's or other hardwares for around $6. Today I found some
                rebar holding stakes that have a clip that can be bent down to hold it on
                the bucket. They should work well @ 74 cents each.
Sodium Carbonate. The two best sources are a swimming pool PH treatment, Baqualcil
                           is one brand, Arm and Hammer Washing Soda. The washing soda is
                          getting hard find but some older stores still have it. The sodium
                           turns the water into an electrolyte.
Coper wire. The electrodes need to be cleaned at the top and wired together. I use
                 short jumpers with alligator clips but you can twist it on.
Iron Wire or small Chain. This is to hang part from crossbar into the water. I use a
                                  welding rod or rebar tie wire. This will also be the negative
                                  connection.
 Three or four electrodes are cleaned on one end and placed around the inside of the bucket with clean end up, clamp or tie in place. Fill the bucket with water, add 1/2-3/4 cup of sodium carbonate and stir well. Hang the relic from the cross piece using the iron wire or chain. Everything in the bucket that will be conducting electricity should be iron. Connect the Positive charger clamp to the Electrode grid and the Negative to  the wire on the relic. Turn the charger on. It will start slowly but soon it will look like it is boiling.
 It will help if you brush the loose rust off the relic before you start. If it is greasy wash it in soap and water first. The solution is not hazzardous and can be dumped in the drain or yard. It does produce small amounts of Hydrogen so do it in an open area.
Any questions let me know. If I forgot anything I'll post again. Good Luck, Tony

[channelmaniac]

Make sure you get the polarity correct.

What you are doing is moving material from the negative to the positive electrode.

If you get them reversed you will actually be plating the item with metal from the electrode rather than moving metal from the item you wish to clean.

Also, watch the item closely. The longer you leave it in, the more material gets removed. Don't leave it in longer than it takes to clean the scale & crud off of it.

Another thing to remember is the more electrolyte you use, the more it will bubble/boil and the quicker the process work will work. The downside to that is that it pulls more current. Don't pull more than your power source can supply. You *will* burn it out if you do.

This can be scaled down to work with coins if you use a DC powered wall wart, a couple of small alligator clips, a stainless steel spoon for the positive electrode, and salt for the electrolye.

Again, make sure to connect the leads with the correct polarity or you will plate your item rather than clean it. The cleaning is happening by removing material and depositing it on the electrode.

RJ

[Tony in SC]

More Electrolysis Pics:
 The bracket was cleaned overnight. The rod shows rust that migrated from the part. Tony

[T.L.McGee]

Impressive pictures!

Terry

[retiredgun]

Thanks for posting the setup great pics as well.

[scottro]

Great explanation and pictures, Tony!  Thanks for sharing!

[giant056]

I've used what you call the smaller scale electrolysis for smaller non ferrous items but never for large iron objects, that's neat how you have it setup.

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