Electrolysis Question

[Wulfdog]

Anyone know if and electric welder will work in place of a battery charger for Electrolysis of CI pans?  I thought I's ask before I went out and tried it.  I have a welder, but no charger yet.

[Greg Stahl]

Baggsy!!!  Here is a question for you.

I have no idea.

[Troy_Hockensmith]

http://www.griswoldandwagner.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Cleaning;action=display;num=1057167220;start=4#4

Here is an old post from Darrel on his experiments.

Here is another
http://www.griswoldandwagner.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=porch;action=display;num=1093184376;start=11#11

It has been done but not by me. I hope these old posts answer your question.

[Baggsy]

Yep, it can be done, but even a small welder is overkill for the process.  We used a small portable welder on a tractor head awhile back, and even at the lowest setting it was a violent reaction.  But it super-cleaned the piece in about 2 minutes.  If a guy wanted to do a whole bunch in a hurry, it might be the way to go.  But the welder created a volcano in the vat...

[Greg Stahl]

Baggsy, I'd like to see that volcano next time you do it.

[Wulfdog]

Wow! that sounds interesting.  I'll try it as soon as the weather gets better.  I have a black pan that you can't even scrape the coating off that I'm dying to try.

I can also pictue dozens of other things I'd like to try with rust on them.  I saw where people use this process to take paint off of stuff also.
 
My biggest fear is clamping down too hard on the pan with the ground and breaking the cast iron.  I'm worried that I won't be able to get good contace and in the process will crack the pan.

John

[Will Person]

But the welder created a volcano in the vat...

KEWL,  I WANT PICTURES!!!!!



Will P. [smiley=kos.gif]

[Wulfdog]

I will take pictures if anything exciting happens.

[Ed Allspaugh]

How many amps is the welder? Whats it's duty cycle rated at? Here's some info that might interest you.
  http://www.zena.net/htdocs/FAQ/dutycycle.shtml

  Info from a Google search. There was a lot more also.

[Wulfdog]

I don't know about all that duty cycle stuff, but I can say my 220 Cracker Box and my Lincoln gas welder were both made in 1981 and still work like new.  I have welded non stop with them every time I weld and never stop to let them rest.  That was the first time I'd ever heard of the 3 min rest for the duty cycle.  I just start welding and when the rod runs out I stick another one in and keep welding.  So far so good.

[C. B. Williams]

If you think your welder is too HOT for the cleaning job, why not use less electrolyte which would make the water less conductive, thus reducing the current flow? C B

[Wulfdog]

CB that sounds like a good Idea.  I like your chili recipe.  Im going to try it one of these days.

[C. B. Williams]

Cooking that chili is better than cleaning a piece of iron, I guarantee. I got some more good recipes too.