Michael Graziano wrote:
>
>I just attached the cable ends of the battery charger to the cathode and
>anode, but a cable running to them would probably be better.
>
Let the "donor" piece of iron or stainless stick above the water level
in your tank. That way, you can attach the positive lead of the battery
terminal to it without the lead being in the solution (the positive lead
will degrade quickly and the clip on the end of the charger will fall off).
The negative lead will be imersed with the part you are cleaning, that's
a good thing. It will stay clean and make good contact with the part.
Make sure the part (you are cleaning) never touches the donor metal
while in the tank. The electrical path must be thru the solution for
this system to work.
BTW - I use stainless steel (because I have it) in my smaller tanks and
3/8 "rebar" in my larger tanks. (Rebar is the steel rod used by masons
to reinforce concrete). My power source is a power converter I took out
of an old camper. It has 4 or 5 different 12v "out" lines on it and I
use a 5 amp fuses for each line out, so if the pieces do touch in the
tank the fuse will blow before any damage is done to the converter.
2 amps is pleanty for any tank size of 10 gals or less.
The amperage you use will be "self limited" by the solution while the
tank is in use, BUT when you reach in the tank you can get the full
amperage of your power source if you touch the positive and negative
leads at the same time. TURN THE TANK OFF BEFORE YOU REACH IN THERE.
Kevin V.
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