Electro Question 1: Suggest ways take advantage of this mass of SS

[Lewis Downey]

Hello,

I have three Zographos chair bases made of thick stainless steel bars -- maybe 5/8" thick. It is not clear to me the best way to take advantage of this mass of stainless steel, but they seem like a resource that should be quite valuable (and loooong lasting) for an electro set-up (my first).

I am planning to use a blue plastic 55 gal. I do not know if the risers are stainless steel or not but the legs are solid SS. As-is they are a few inches too wide to fit inside of the barrel.

The small picture is from the web site: http://www.zographos.com/details.asp?prID=1
The large picture is from my patio :-)

Your insights and suggestions will be appreciated.

Lewis

[Lewis Downey]

related question:

To use all three sets of legs in one electro set-up, do they need to be welded or wired together? Can they simply touch each other? I was thinking one option is to somehow shorten the legs and put them all at the bottom of the barrel most or less like this.

[Cheryl Watson]

Howdy Lewis! Welcome to WAGS .... C&R!

Now, I'm not wanting to burst your bubble or anything....
but....

I highly recommend that your anode be a SOLID piece of Stainless Steel, with continuous surface area AT LEAST as wide and high as the piece you are cleaning.

I am not seeing how these various pieces can be made into one.. :-?

and the anode(s) must conduct/carry the positive (+) charge by direct wiring..  :)

[Cheryl Watson]

As an example:  This is my "plate" system electro...  2 Stainless Steel 12 gauge plates, both plates wired (+) charge.

The plates are 14" x 30".

[Cheryl Watson]

This is my newest electro using a heavy Stainless Steel Circle.  360° Coverage.

Electrolysis is basically "line of sight", so any gaps in the current flow can and will leave shadowing on the Cast Iron.

Once shadowing occurs, it is difficult, if not impossible, to remove.

[Russell Ware]

Lewis, bottom of the barrel is not a good location. Residue will fall off your cast iron and cover these pieces, and your system will become ineffective. Also, using multiple pieces as you indicate can cause "banding" and uneven electrolysis on your cast iron. I have a setup similar to Cheryl's newest tank. I'm near UNC if you would like to see it.

[Cheryl Watson]

Those Stainless Circles came from Charlotte, NC.... ;D ;D

North Carolina has some nice Stainless that can still to be found and purchased!  8-)  <unlike stupid Pennsylvania..... >:( >:( >

Unless your name is Chuck Rogers... then you can find some!
(Spring project for 360° for the smalls)

Have to have the tops cut out...

[Lewis Downey]

Howdy Lewis! Welcome to WAGS .... C&R!

Now, I'm not wanting to burst your bubble or anything....
but....

I highly recommend that your anode be a SOLID piece of Stainless Steel, with continuous surface area AT LEAST as wide and high as the piece you are cleaning.

I am not seeing how these various pieces can be made into one.. :-?

There it is. Thanks. I'll just take them to a local metal recycler.

and the anode(s) must conduct/carry the positive (+) charge by direct wiring..  :)

This part I understand, I just didn't bother to draw the extra electrical connections, due to laziness I guess.

Thanks for the welcome and you responses.

[Lewis Downey]

Lewis, bottom of the barrel is not a good location. Residue will fall off your cast iron and cover these pieces, and your system will become ineffective. Also, using multiple pieces as you indicate can cause "banding" and uneven electrolysis on your cast iron. I have a setup similar to Cheryl's newest tank. I'm near UNC if you would like to see it.

Russell I appreciate your the response and the information. I would love to see your set-up. When would be good for you?

Many  thanks!

[Lewis Downey]

This is my newest electro using a heavy Stainless Steel Circle.  360° Coverage.

Electrolysis is basically "line of sight", so any gaps in the current flow can and will leave shadowing on the Cast Iron.

That is awesome. I have been contacting local breweries and their suppliers trying to find a stainless steel beer keg that is damaged (and hopefully costs less than brand new ones).  My goal is 360-degree coverage because it just seems better. The info about shadowing is especially helpful right now.

[Lewis Downey]

...
(Spring project for 360° for the smalls)

What does this mean? Sorry to be dense.

Also, do you share your source for the large SS cans that come from Charlotte? And an approximate cost?

[Cheryl Watson]

Lewis, happy to share!

Re; the Circles of SS, from Charlotte, N.C.

Another WAGS member, bless his heart, posted up a picture of these circles that he had obtained "down there".

I immediately and frantically messaged him, and he went and bought 3 of them for me!! which I paid for pronto, and stored them until........

another WAGS member, who is also located in N.C. , went and picked them up for me!!  (his reward was that he got to keep one of the three! for his electro needs ) and an IOU for future use...... John and Trev... I still owe ya!  :)  This happened last December.

So, $30 each.

And my other half had a work related conference back in September.
In N.C.... and the second WAGS member met him at the hotel, and loaded my two up, and they finally came home to me!

It took 9 months...
and this is why I LUV being a WAGS member!!

Now... onto the mini SS Barrels.. and spring project...
It is now Winter, and freezing, so the small SS barrels were obtained by my best buddy, CR <WAGS member>, who shared them on Facebook, and held two for me until September, when we met up and exchanged product.  $30 each.

They are currently awaiting conversion to electro use... when Spring arrives.  These are smaller SS barrels and will not accommodate Large pieces, but I am into collecting toy pieces.

I really need to move South, the cold is Killin' me!   ;D ;D

Lewis... you really need to join up! 

Took me 7 days on here... and the rest is history! 
< I have officially been a Cast Iron Collector for 3.5 years!!>
Oh dear.. I may be rambling....... ::) ::)


 

 

[Cheryl Watson]

What I have learned... Patience.  8-) 8-)

[Russell Ware]

Lewis, I just sent you a PM to check. Look at the very top of your screen to find the link to view it.

[Mark Zizzi]

Speaking of SS circles...Lewis, you might want to save a few of those legs. When I had to electro a couple dutch ovens, I fashioned a ring of SS to suspened inside the DO (or CO) to get the rust out of the insides and bottom. Those look pretty rugged to bend, but it could be done with a big vise and a piece of pipe to bend it with. Then span across the ring with another piece, attach a wire (or yet another piece) to that to suspend it and carry the + current. 
Also, if you look at Cheryls setup, where she used the predrilled straps to hang her SS plates, you could use what you already have for that too.  ;)

[Lewis Downey]

Thank you Mark.  I would rather not get rid of those legs, so I any excuse will work :-).

[Jon Wollenburg]

Lewis your idea should work just fine.  Make sure you bolt them together.  Go to the top and click on the WAGS home page then the cast iron and aluminum care tab then the electrolysis tab there is some good reading there.  I modeled my first set up after Ron Acker's setup with metal similar to what you have and it worked great.  You have to do one side then flip and do the other side. If your going to do a lot then you can improve your setup but to start it can be very simple.  I even use my manual table top battery charger it does the job just fine just a little slower 

[Mark Zizzi]

You have to do one side then flip and do the other side.

Be advised that an anode on the bottom won't work for inside skillets, DO's, gem pans or any other piece that can trap the gas bubbles. Even a heat ring will trap them..forcing the electrolyte out and stopping the cleaning action. Ask me how I know, lol. You have to hang them vertically, or stand on edge, which would make a bottom anode kind of a silly way to go, IMO. You could do a trivet though.  ;)

[Lewis Downey]

Thanks Mark, Jon, Cheryl, and all. You guys are great! Please keep it coming. Your comments are extremely helpful.

The original question only described part of what I was planning to do. I left out important elements including the fact that I was going to wrap the the inside of the barrel with SS in addition to the chair legs on the bottom. It was all more than I wanted to explain and draw in a first post -- due to a lack of time, a bit of laziness,  and a concern that I would make it more complicated sounding than necessary.

I was planning to use the legs in conjunction with a sheet of stainless steel from a local metal recycler (4'x8' sheet of 20 ga 300-series SS for about $45; I can scare up the name of the business if anyone wants it). The 4'x8' sheet would be cut into 3 equal pieces, each 32" x 48"  and wrapped the inside of a blue plastic 55-gallon drum. The three 32"x48" pieces would overlap in a way that creates a double layer of SS around the inside of the barrel.  Then I would figure out to get the SS chair legs into the bottom of barrel in a way that allowed them to conduct electricity through the phyical connection with SS sheeting. Alternately I would try putting the chair legs in first then pushing the SS sheets down onto the legs. This is starting to sound complicated, right?

To use all three sets of legs in one electro set-up, do they need to be welded or wired together? Can they simply touch each other?

So this question was also related to the sheets of stainless steel. Can the sheets of SS simply touch  each other and the stainless steel legs or do they need to be affixed in some way?

For now I am holding onto the legs in the hope that they can be put to use later, but they are no longer in play as a primary anode. They were a bonus  from helping a friend take some stuff to the landfill. The fabricating aspect of the original plan is getting a little out of hand for my time and resources.

The current plan is to look at a damaged SS beer keg from a local brewery, available for $50. I know the top will have to be cut off and some other pieces removed from the inside. I am hopeful the keg will make an excellent anode for pieces that are small enough to be hung inside of it. Most if not all of the pieces I currently own should fit inside.

If the keg approach works out, I plan to follow Cheryl's lead and put the keg inside of the 55-gallon drum.

[Cheryl Watson]

I would keep the number of SS sheets to a minimum number.

Each overlap will create a potential interruption in the current flow.

Tight electrical connections in an electro are critical, as poor connections can create ARCING... which is like an arc welder in the electro... which is very scary AND creates damage. <ask me how I know.... ::) ::)  )

The ideal would be a sheet large enough to cover entire inside of barrel with only one seam to "join".