electrolysis removes rust! (dunno about hair)

Left the office early this afternoon 'cause the weather was so nice I couldn't waste it. Stopped by the hardware store for some 1/4" bolts, nuts and washers, a couple feet of 12ga solid core wire, and a 20' length of 5/8 rebar. Cut the rebar down to 2' lengths, grabbed an extra 30 gallon plastic drum I had out back, drilled some holes, grabbed my battery charger, and voila!!


Here's the set-up with one of my exhaust downpipes in it.
Here's what the before and after looks like after 2 hours.

Cool, huh? Can't wait to find out how it works removing paint from aluminum!

What's in the solution? Must be some type of acid, maybe HCl?

looks good, you know you are going to have to share on the top secret solution

Oh, no! That's the best part. 2 pounds of baking soda for 10 gallons of water. Every web site that had info on this recommends washing soda (sodium carbonate) and say baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is second-best, but in this little podunk town 100 miles past Nowhere, they ain't heerd'a that. 'Couse, in this little town, you should have seen the looks I got when I bought the rebar! They knew that I wasn't doing concrete, 'cause I hadn't bought any from them! So, I explained what I was doing. THEN I got some looks! :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
The best part about this solution is that it is completely nontoxic. Legal to dump in the gutter. EPA approved! Oh, by the way, got another downpipe finished since I posted last!:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

good job!! i will have to remember this!!

OK OK OK....lets see the techno-drawings....or step-by-step instructions. Or just draw me a picture....what can I say.....not sharpest knife in the drawer....

thanks for the info, just watch the dump down the drain deal, I have seen a lot of things that are supposed to be safe, but until they are used then they become bad stuff, but non the less, I like the results you are getting, cant wait to see what it does to alum, see if it will clean oxidation also

do you have to bake the parts afterwards to dry out the stuff that gets trapped in tight spots to keep it from causing damage later?ive had problems before with car body parts ive had stripped that will blister later you dont get every corner completely flushed out.

rust sucks









Thanks for the pics Preacher Sir! Cool to see it in action.



stupid link

Post edited by: tganek, at: 2007/02/19 22:15

wireman wrote:

do you have to bake the parts afterwards to dry out the stuff that gets trapped in tight spots to keep it from causing damage later?ive had problems before with car body parts ive had stripped that will blister later you dont get every corner completely flushed out.

A cheap Harbor Freight heat gun is what I'm using. Just keep heating the part until it quits steaming. It's just my first day, but so far, so good!

The solution IS completely safe to dump in the yard. It's just baking soda and iron basically. It may not be good for grass as it's very iron rich though, so dump it somewhere that doesn't matter.

BUT DO BE CAREFUL WHILE YOU ARE DOING THIS!!!!

All those little bubbles that you see coming off of the part and "foaming" on the water? Well, those bubbles are part of the byproduct of this procedure.... and they are filled with Hydrogen.

HYDROGEN PLUS SPARK/FLAME = BOOM.

Make sure to have plenty of ventilation in the area you are using to work.

Have fun!

Not just hydrogen but pure oxygen as well!! Bigger boom!!

Your breaking down the bonds between the H2 and the O. So do this outside not in the garage. And keep heat and flame away!!

I think I may do this to clean up my kerker!!

Sweetness!!