Electrolytic Rust Removal

[HCJtractor]

Or a DC welder, if you are impatient like I am. When the bubbling is fierce and the solution is getting warm in the tank, you know you are doing a good job.

That's funny! Are you sure you are not boiling water??? Using that much power would scare me to death!!

[Soundguy]

Or a DC welder, if you are impatient like I am. When the bubbling is fierce and the solution is getting warm in the tank, you know you are doing a good job.

i recently picked up a 2/10/40/100/200 starter charger.. the 40a setting is 100% duty cycle. will boil a small part.. or a large part like a hood in a big tub can be covered!

[Soundguy]

That's funny! Are you sure you are not boiling water??? Using that much power would scare me to death!!

make sure it is outside and in ventilation.. and no sparks! and don't let anodes touch work pieces!

[muddstopper]

Like I said, I havent tried sodium carbonate, but it sounds like it will work. As for using bicarbonate of soda, if you heat the bicarbonate to 200F, it will release the carbondioxide and water and become sodium carbonate. I dont know which would be the cheaper material to purchase, but everybody has a box of Arm and Hammer baking soda in the fridge.

I am wondering what would happen if someone tried phosphoric acid in the place of the sodium carbonate. P-Acid will chemically remove rust without electricity. Might work, and then again, it might blowup, I will have to do a little more research before I try it.

[Soundguy]

ph+ addative for a pool is pretty durn cheap .. no heating needed....

your call. there's plenty of reading on electrolysis on the net. read it up.. lots of possibilities...

[DJ54]

I read somewhere where someone used clean paint can lids, to get more surface area. Maybe like a quart can lid would fit in there, tacked to something.

I used my old Sears and Roebuck 20 amp 100% duty cycle charger, but think I found a new use for my old Century AC/DC welder that's been collecting dust for 20 years..!!

[BXpanded]

You might try just filling the pot with Muriatic acid, no electrolysis. It's available at building supply houses, Home Depot, etc. It's commonly used for cleaning brickwork. It will take off some pretty serious rust. It's also used for Pickling steel to remove mill scale. Won't damage the metal.

[Iplayfarmer]

...I dont know which would be the cheaper material to purchase, but everybody has a box of Arm and Hammer baking soda in the fridge...

My box of washing soda was about $3. It was in the laundry aisle with the bleach. I had to look a little to find it, but it was there.

[Soundguy]

and bicarb can cause metal pitting....

[muddstopper]

and bicarb can cause metal pitting....

Homemade Washing Soda

Soda ash is the active ingredient in washing soda. The chemical name for it is sodium carbonate, chemical formula Na2CO3. It is more basic, that is, less acidic, than sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), whose chemical formula is NaHCO3. The purpose of sodium carbonate is simply to increase pH.

Hydration
Some forms of soda ash (e.g. that labeled as 'washing soda') contain more water molecules than others, which makes them weigh more and be larger for a given number of sodium carbonate molecules - this means that you need to measure out a larger quantity of the hydrated form in order to get the same results. If you buy sodium carbonate without the extra water molecules, then store it for several years in humid conditions, it will absorb some water and appear to lose strength, when in fact it has merely 'bulked up' and needs to be used in larger volumes.

The type of sodium carbonate used in washing soda is a decahydrate, so you need to use a lot more washing soda than you would anhydrous soda ash, perhaps three times as much - assuming that you are able to find pure unadulterated washing soda that is suitable for use in dyeing. (In theory, we should use 2.7 times as much washing soda as a substitute for soda ash, if measuring by weight, or 4.6 times as much if measuring by volume.)

Where can you buy soda ash?
Although you can buy washing soda in the grocery store, this is usually advised against, because some US brands in the past were known to contain optical brighteners, salt, and/or fragrances. However, Arm & Hammer brand "Super Washing Soda" does not now contain any additives, though you must use a larger quantrity due to its greater hydration level (see above). A better source is a swimming pool supplies store, or a hardware store that carries some pool supplies, which will carry pure sodium carbonate (a popular brand is pH Up), sold for the purpose of increasing the pH of pool water. This is typically cheaper than mail-ordering from a dye supplier, and just as good. Beware of suppliers that try to sell you sodium bicarbonate instead of sodium carbonate; bicarbonate is much less basic (it has a lower pH), and will not work for most dyeing recipes.