New manual battery charger

[Craig Allison]

Just purchased a new charger for my E-tank. It has settings for 6, 25, and 150 amps.
Two questions.
The amp gauge goes from 0-60 amps but shows zero at all times. I Have run on the 25 amp and the 150 amp settings with no change in the reading.
Does this indicate a problem with my set up or maybe the amp gauge?
And should I use the 150 amp setting at all?

More info...The surface of the water is foamy with occasional larger bubbles.
The cables are not getting hot so I assume my connections are fine.
My anode piece is about 6 inches wide and two feet tall (top to bottom of my tank).
Brushed clean before use. And as close to the griddle as possible.
The water in the tank is not heating up. I've been told that happens at higher amperage.

maybe there's nothing to worry about but it seems like I had this good of results with my 50 year old 10 amp charger.

Any advice would be helpful and thanks.

[Russell Ware]

What is the concentration of the electrolyte you are using?

[Craig Allison]

It's been a while but I'm pretty sure that I used a cup of the baking soda with approximately 15 gallons of water. As advised.

It's probably less than 6 months old. Not used too often. Does it need replaced?

[Russell Ware]

After six months of sitting, water will evaporate from your setup. That will effectively concentrate your electrolyte solution. Secondly, you should be using washing soda, not baking soda. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. Washing soda is sodium carbonate. It is sodium carbonate that is recommended here for electrolysis setups.

[Craig Allison]

Sorry. Washing soda is what I used. Not baking soda.
Will a concentrated solution be a problem?

I will add that after 1.5 hours the carbon crust scrubbed right off. A week in the lye bath removed all the "soft" stuff but wouldn't touch this crusty build up.

[Russell Ware]

A more concentrated electrolyte can produce more heat and faster reaction, but you do not have this problem. Your setup may not be working as well as you would like since you only have one anode plate in your setup. I use a cylindrical piece of steel in my tank, and cleaning the base of a #16 camp oven has no problem pulling 20 amps on the charger. An hour and a half in your unit though doesn't sound bad.

[Craig Allison]

Yeah, Russell. I got some things to work out yet but I'll get it figured out. With some help from y'all.

[Duke Gilleland]

Craig, Like Russel said, you probably need more anode material. I have had good using sheet metal material 1/16 to 3/32" thick. Something I can cut and bend. I have used old flattened institutional metal dining trays when available. I cut to the chase some years ago and bought a 32 gallon BRUTE can that is about 28" tall. I bend my metal to the curve of the entire can, and about 16 to 18" deep. I use Arm & Hammer washing detergent for the add mix. All this works for me.
I keep my rig in an open air barn for good ventilation and turn off when servicing/checking cast iron. On one occasion I have had a very loud "POP" at the tank with the charger running. Learned this was probably caused by gas emitted by the electrolysis process. Never take safety for granted as you are working with water and electricity!  Most of us went thru trial and error time until we found what worked best for us.