# Starting a new batch



## Gwar (Feb 17, 2022)

Hello everyone ! I am going to be starting a new batch, I plan on using about 140 Roosvelt pre 64' dimes, so that will yield about 10ozt, I am going to utilize my usual coffee pot, pan and hotplate with the exhaust hood, I will chronical all the steps here as I proceed for comments, my main question is how many ml of Nitric acid and Distilled water should I use to start with?


----------



## Martijn (Feb 17, 2022)

A new batch.

Leaving the 'value difference of recognizable coins vs unidentified metal bar' discussion alone, how much did you use (write down) for your last batch? 

...ml per gram of ...% Ag (92.5%?) used at ...degrees C in additions of....ml each time, starting with ...ml. 

I would advise: start with 1ml per gram of Ag. And add slowly under heat at 60 to 80 degrees C, keeping brown fumes to a minimum. Keep track of what you're doing for future 'lessons learned' sessions. 

In some counties it's a crime to destroy coins or paper money. You could get a big fine. 

Martijn.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 17, 2022)

Many thanks for the response Martijn, I did have some notes, but I believed I was using way too much of each, I am going to start a journal / spreadsheet of progress and pitfalls once I start this batch, again, Thanks !


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 17, 2022)

Hey Gwar, did you get that new piece of equipment in yet?
Are you using 70% Nitric, or is diluted 50/50 with distilled water? You should use a 50/50 diluted mixture.

When dissolving silver into nitric, you don't want to dissolve everything. It is a good idea to have a little bit of your silver left at the bottom of your container so you know you do not have too much nitric acid. Use low to medium heat when making your mixture.

It takes 1.22 ml. of 70% Nitric to dissolve 1 gram of silver.
It takes 4.3 ml. of 70% Nitric to dissolve 1 gram of copper.

Start with these figures to dissolve your silver into Nitric and create Silver Nitrate.

For 1 gram of Sterling silver - 92.5/7.5, Ag/Cu:
(1.22 x .925) + (4.3 x .075) = 1.45 ml of 70% nitric or 2.9 ml of 50/50 nitric

For 1 gram of Coin silver - 90/10, Ag/Cu:
(1.22 x .90) + (4.3 x .10) = 1.53 ml of 70% nitric or 3.06 ml of 50/50 nitric

Once dissolved, with a little bit of material still left at the bottom, let cool, then filter out any solids.

Once filtered, dilute further with distilled water to get an electrolyte solution with a silver ratio of 150 grams/liter. Start with this ratio as your base line, and make adjustments as needed for your setup over time.

Edit* To reinforce what Martijn said. Have necessary PPE on to keep your body safe. When dissolving silver into the the acid, make sure it is under your fume hood, and fume hood is on. Add your acid mixture slowly to keep the fumes created to a minimum, there is no need to rush this process.. It is safe practice to do it this way, every time.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 17, 2022)

Many thanks for the reply AMS-Pro, I will use the computations you have provided, as for the equipment it did arrive, I am going to be making a new Anode tonight or tomorrow and plan on crafting a better basket and using a bigger glass bowl to monitor growth, the Nitric I purchased from DUDA Energy LLC is high quality IMO, it was a fair price and shipped rather fast, and of course I use PPE and faithfully !!


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 17, 2022)

Gwar said:


> Many thanks for the reply AMS-Pro, I will use the computations you have provided, as for the equipment it did arrive, I am going to be making a new Anode tonight or tomorrow and plan on crafting a better basket and using a bigger glass bowl to monitor growth, the Nitric I purchased from DUDA Energy LLC is high quality IMO, it was a fair price and shipped rather fast, and of course I use PPE and faithfully !!


You're welcome, and the computations should be an excellent base line for you to start at. Wonderful on the equipment, let the fine tuning begin. A new anode, and better basket are excellent goals, I'll be rooting for your success. Being able to watch the growth in real time is always beneficial, and exciting. The nitric will do well for you, remember not too use too much, only barely what you need to dissolve. As far as the PPE goes, I'm loving the gear, it looks like you're ready for the apocalypse.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 17, 2022)

Safety First !


----------



## Gwar (Feb 17, 2022)

I think part of the problem is I always rush things, I need to take my time and do it right..


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 17, 2022)

Gwar said:


> I think part of the problem is I always rush things, I need to take my time and do it right..


Yes sir. Take your time, and do it right. Safer, better numbers, more accuracy, and better results.


----------



## cejohnsonsr1 (Feb 17, 2022)

Don’t forget to incinerate before you start. Removing as much grease, oils, dirt,etc… will make the rest of the process go better. You can figure roughly 2ml of Nitric per gr as a starting point. If you carefully weigh after incineration and keep track of how much Nitric you use, you’ll have a very precise record as a reference for future batches. As mentioned previously, don’t let it get too hot, add Nitric slowly in small increments and let it be completely consumed before adding more and, finally, stop before all the metal is dissolved. By my rough calculations you should have about 10.8 ozt raw weight, so you should be able to yield 10 ozt and leave enough to make sure all the Nitric is consumed. Good luck!


----------



## Gwar (Feb 18, 2022)

cejohnsonsr1, Thanks for the tip, I have a small mixture of Muriatic acid and water I use in conjunction with a glass bowl and the hotplate to kind of boil the coins, it seems to clean them very well..


----------



## jobinyt (Feb 18, 2022)

Gwar - I'm curious. Why do you use old silver coins as raw material from which to extract silver? The reason I ask is that my experience is that such coins sell at a premium to their intrinsic value' It seems, after your expenditure of time and process material, you end up with something worth less than you started with, so the net loss in value is significant.


----------



## ludlow6 (Feb 18, 2022)

Martijn said:


> A new batch.
> 
> Leaving the 'value difference of recognizable coins vs unidentified metal bar' discussion alone, how much did you use (write down) for your last batch?
> 
> ...


Its a crime our cents are made of zinc.


----------



## orvi (Feb 18, 2022)

Gwar said:


> Many thanks for the reply AMS-Pro, I will use the computations you have provided, as for the equipment it did arrive, I am going to be making a new Anode tonight or tomorrow and plan on crafting a better basket and using a bigger glass bowl to monitor growth, the Nitric I purchased from DUDA Energy LLC is high quality IMO, it was a fair price and shipped rather fast, and of course I use PPE and faithfully !!


Nice gear. Respirator is fine to have, but be careful and do not rely on it too much - it has most of the times limited "capacity" for fumes we create in refining process.

Given numbers ( eg x mL of nitric for y grams of silver) should only give you perspective of how much you will probably need based on the equation we assume. But there are more pathways how silver can dissolve to the solution. Not only NO2 is evolved, but also NO (deeper reduction of nitric acid=less nitric used per gram of silver). Some of NO2 could reform nitric acid in solution, producing NO. Which in turn could react with oxygen from the air to reform NO2... etc 

Always start with small doses of acid and add it in small increments. Observe the reaction. Heat the solution and observe if NOx gases arise from it. Continue with small doses until just a tiny bit of material is left in the beaker and no more fumes are formed. This assure you that reaction is complete and no excess nitric is present.

Also you can do it like this. Add 1/3 - 1/2 of calculated acid to the material. Let it react properly till no more NOx fumes are evolving. This tell you acid is spent. Decant the pregnant solution to another beaker and add another portion of fresh acid (obviously much smaller than previous one) to the solid residue which is left in the beaker. Repeat this sequence till you consume the material.

If you add few mL of nitric acid to say 0,5 L of silver solution, final strength of the acid will be very low = and this result in slow reaction of the metal. If you decant pregnant solution and add fresh 35% nitric, reaction will be much quicker and you will save some time.

Just go slowly and try not to overshoot  

Good luck with refining


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 18, 2022)

Without getting into a debate over the legal aspect of using coins, and just focusing on the monetary value of coins in the process.




jobinyt said:


> so the net loss in value is significant



Unless it's some kind of coinage that is extremely rare, and extremely valuable.

This is debatable depending on the viewpoint. For the immediate future, there may be a loss monetarily wise, however, the value in knowledge of the process, and skills that get perfected to perform that process, will eventually outweigh the monetary loss. The moment he can prove a reliable process, with a spreadsheet, and hard data, is the moment he has the ability to provide a specialized service for a fee. A specialized service, which over time will net him more monetarily then anything he initially lost.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 18, 2022)

orvi said:


> Given numbers ( eg x mL of nitric for y grams of silver) should only give you perspective of how much you will probably need based on the equation we assume.


I concur with this, with the variables in play, it is next to impossible, or entirely impossible to ever provide an exact number. The best that can be done is to give a base line, within a working range, that can be easily adjusted for the task at hand.



orvi said:


> Always start with small doses of acid and add it in small increments. Observe the reaction. Heat the solution and observe if NOx gases arise from it. Continue with small doses until just a tiny bit of material is left in the beaker and no more fumes are formed. This assure you that reaction is complete and no excess nitric is present.


This is a must, and a great way to perform the process. Thank you for clarifying with a more detailed description to the OP.



orvi said:


> Also you can do it like this. Add 1/3 - 1/2 of calculated acid to the material. Let it react properly till no more NOx fumes are evolving. This tell you acid is spent. Decant the pregnant solution to another beaker and add another portion of fresh acid (obviously much smaller than previous one) to the solid residue which is left in the beaker. Repeat this sequence till you consume the material.
> 
> If you add few mL of nitric acid to say 0,5 L of silver solution, final strength of the acid will be very low = and this result in slow reaction of the metal. If you decant pregnant solution and add fresh 35% nitric, reaction will be much quicker and you will save some time.


This is definitely a more advanced, faster way to do this process. I'm a fan of this method, just have to be careful, and not overshoot with the material you have available.


----------



## orvi (Feb 18, 2022)

AMS-Pro said:


> This is definitely a more advanced, faster way to do this process. I'm a fan of this method, just have to be careful, and not overshoot with the material you have available.


If you do it like this, you can hardly overshoot with first two additions. If it happen at next ones, bulk of silver is already properly dissolved - so you can save it for the next batch, precipitate with AgCl... 
In the end, it does not interfere with your next steps very much. On the other hand, if you overshoot in the bulk solution (happen time to time to everyone  ), you must deal with it in bulk = in very diluted conditions. This make spending the excess acid with more silver or copper more time consuming.

Using this method could be of great advantage if you need to shorten your processing time on batch. Anyway, there are plentiful methods how to do it, and not just one is the "right" one


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 18, 2022)

orvi said:


> If you do it like this, you can hardly overshoot with first two additions. If it happen at next ones, bulk of silver is already properly dissolved - so you can save it for the next batch, precipitate with AgCl...
> In the end, it does not interfere with your next steps very much. On the other hand, if you overshoot in the bulk solution (happen time to time to everyone  ), you must deal with it in bulk = in very diluted conditions. This make spending the excess acid with more silver or copper more time consuming.
> 
> Using this method could be of great advantage if you need to shorten your processing time on batch. Anyway, there are plentiful methods how to do it, and not just one is the "right" one



Exactly right, the overshoot would be on the last stage usually. When at the stage where your material to dissolve is low, I would say go back to adding a splash of nitric in the already pregnant solution until your material is almost nil. 

As far as methods go, I personally like a modified version of this concept. I favor the flow system with a leach tank kind of setup.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 18, 2022)

Great thread ! I had the opportunity to buy 208 Canadian dimes for the price of melt, I consider that very generous from my silver/coin shop, there are two date sets, 50% silver and 80%, I chose the latter and all are 80% or around 12.45 ounces of silver hopefully, but most likely a bit less will be gleaned, time to clean them up a bit..


----------



## Zhazham (Feb 18, 2022)

In Europe, we have a lot of national coins from era before euro. Those coins can't be exchanged to euros anymore. Some are 0.300 silver and some have even more silver. These coins have no colletable value yet. Maybe later, when most of these coins are being refined.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 18, 2022)

Before and after prep..


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

Getting ready


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

Very odd, this is the first time the mud like leftover actually looks like silver.. strange


----------



## orvi (Feb 19, 2022)

Gwar said:


> Very odd, this is the first time the mud like leftover actually looks like silver.. strange


That is the residue after dissolution ? Or after runing it through electrolytic cell ?


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

orvi, after dissolution and filtered / rinsed..


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

I am going to make this batch silver shot, and then put it in the basket of the electrolytic cell I am constructing.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

Almost dry..


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

Pretty much everything, I did add a few grams to make sure it was a good pour, and I did have a little left over in the crucible


----------



## orvi (Feb 19, 2022)

Strange. It look pretty much like very fine silver cement. Did you boiled the reaction ? Did you make sure you added enough nitric ?
Thing is, that when some other noble metals are alloyed with say silver, and you etch away just silver with nitric, residues aren´t shiny - but often greyish/blackish/brownish coloured.

I will wash the undissolved solids from AgNO3, and then try AR - if it could get it to the solution. If it is just some junk, or it has some values in it


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

It is strange, this is only the second time I have used Canadian coins, the last time the 13 Canadian dollars I used left behind a inner round piece of metal, exactly identical to what we see here, it's like the coins are made different than the U.S. Mercury / Roosevelt dimes that actually leave no trace whatsoever after the Nitric and Distilled mix..


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

You have the dried sludge as sludge right, and not that bar you showed?


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

AMS-Pro, this is what was dried from the coins, and also what was used to pour the bar shown


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

So for clarity, the bar is made from the sludge?


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

Yes.. I rinsed about (9) nine times to get the color clear and then dried the material


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

Place the bar in your fume box and turn the fan on. Take a pipette, and drop a few drops (1 or 2) onto the surface of the bar. If turns black then it still has silver content. If it however bubbles green, it's probably nickle silver which has no actual silver content, or if it does, it's very little.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

My plan is to remelt the bar tonight and make semi silver shot for the Anode and start up the cell..


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

Ams-Pro, what chemical should I use for this test ?


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

Undiluted nitric acid.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

Also, I'm on my phone at the moment, and working, so I apologize for the short responses.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

OK, I did as you specified..


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

It may be my phone, but it appear you have a real deep red almost purple color right?


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

Yes, is it copper ?


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

Well, it looks like you used more than a couple drops lol, but the darkness looks right, and the dark red is a good indicator if it wasn't there before the test, that you have silver content. So you could go ahead, and shot it up for the anode basket.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

As long as it didn't bubble green, you should be good.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

WHEW ! I was sweating bullets !! Hahahaha, Good to know, Many thanks !!


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

I thought allow that work down the tubes... Whew !


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

I will track my progress as I go !


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

Usually it looks black with a single drop, and if you use multiple drops, like it looks like you did, it'll get a dark red on the outside edges of where you did the acid test, but a darker blackish color where the drop made contact. 

I look forward to the progress.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

I will add, that once you get to sterling silver grade levels, the drop of nitric acid should appear a white color. It still does turn green if there is copper impurities.

Edit* Spelling.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

I certainly turned white on the top ! I have current, the cathode is frosting up..


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

Oh wonderful, the top of the bar is looking pretty from the test. You should have a good run.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

I will update soon.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 19, 2022)

Going to literally pull the plug on the electrolytic cell, something is amiss, I might go back to my original rig, this new one doesn't seem to be functioning properly or perhaps operator error, I will update soon.


----------



## Gsracer (Feb 19, 2022)

the cathode is far too close in that design, it will short out in no time. Other than that whats the issue, check out my thread regarding a nice cell in a 2 liter beaker. I processed about 20 kilos through it with no issues.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 19, 2022)

The anode/basket should be 4.5in.-5in. from the cathode. What is the ohm resistance of your cathode/circuit. You should be hitting on numbers like 1.5v-2v, 1.5-1.8 ish amps, on your power supply.

Edit* Typing.

Edit, edit* With your voltage at 3.55, what was your amp reading, as well as ohm resistance?

Edit, edit, edit* I swear the last edit lol.- I saw the reading on your power supply when I zoomed in on the picture. If you were getting 0.018 amp while in operation, that is way, way too low. Something is either shorted, not connected right, or may adjusting the knob will allow you to turn up amps without changing the voltage.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 20, 2022)

The amps that low during operation would be a really good reason why you're not seeing crystal growth. Turn your amp supply up to the 1.5-1.8 range. Without amps, there is no oomph behind the power. In engine terms, volts is the size of the engine, amps are the horsepower. You can still have higher horsepower in a smaller engine.

Edit* Grammer.


----------



## orvi (Feb 20, 2022)

Gwar said:


> It is strange, this is only the second time I have used Canadian coins, the last time the 13 Canadian dollars I used left behind a inner round piece of metal, exactly identical to what we see here, it's like the coins are made different than the U.S. Mercury / Roosevelt dimes that actually leave no trace whatsoever after the Nitric and Distilled mix..


Look like it has some cheaper metal core. I will put a magnet on it  suspecting nickel or iron/nickel alloy. 

It is common still today. 1, 2 and 5 Euro cent coins have ferromagnetic alloy core, which is only copper-plated  for example. You pull a magnet and "copper" cents attach to it.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 20, 2022)

I must've been really tired last night. I should've just said volts is how current of power is carried, amps are the force of the current being carried.

You need the amps to get past the resistance of that cathode, and 0.018 amps was definitely not doing that. You could still try with your container setup, but you will have to clean the crystals out of it more often.

I knew I should have zoomed in on those pictures earlier in the day when I was working, I would've caught the amp thing then when you started. You can't see it unless you're zoomed in, not on a phone anyways.

Have you adjusted it, and started again since the last post? I'm still on the phone but a little more available today. It shouldn't take long to start seeing more progress once your amps are where they need to be.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 20, 2022)

Hello AMS-Pro, I just stopped, I think I am at the point of a new design for starters and a FRESH batch of electrolyte, for some reason I feel the new power source isn't working as good as it should, and that's probably my fault as it is a bit confusing to calibrate, I still have my original set up (power source) and may switch to that during the next try, I will be starting again in next few days, I really appreciate all the comments / help this thread has generated, again thanks and I'll be posting very soon, G


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 20, 2022)

I think if you went back to the jar thing you were using, that would be good. I wouldn't give up on the power supply though. That 3rd knob down from top (A-Course) should adjust your amps and get you into the ball park. The 4th knob down (A-Fine) should allow you to fine tune the amps. Clockwise to raise, counter clockwise to lower. 

Your electrolyte solution should be fine if you did your math right, your bar source should be fine as it tests good. Honestly, I think it was just low amps, I would move back to the jar thing you had, but give the new power supply another chance.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 20, 2022)

The jar it is ! I will start again soon, many thanks again, Mike


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 20, 2022)

You're welcome. New setups can always be a finicky learning experience, but once you get it, you got it. There will be a little adjustment needed back and forth between the volts, and amps adjustment knobs, but I'll type you through it if you need. We'll get you growing crystals, no worries.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 22, 2022)

Ok, I have purchased 104 Canadian dimes, I have another 130 to get this week, I have started a semi new design based on the original set up with some added parts, the basket will be from a fruit drink type glass, the strainer and top are two pieces, I will have to use a hole saw to open the top, there is a straw hole that I can fit the wire through for the cathode and after opening up the basket cover I can add the filter and anode / Silver shot, I have dialed in the DC Power source as discussed previous.. Now, for the electrolyte what is the best measurements for the Nitric acid and Distilled water, I will be dissolving 3-5 ounces of silver, according to my calculation, the 144 dimes should have about 14 troy ounces +/- so I hope to at least be able to pour a 10 ozt pure bar after harvest, any and all comments, advice or critique is most welcome, thanks for taking the time to read the thread, Mike


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 22, 2022)

Gwar said:


> Ok, I have purchased 104 Canadian dimes, I have another 130 to get this week, I have started a semi new design based on the original set up with some added parts, the basket will be from a fruit drink type glass, the strainer and top are two pieces, I will have to use a hole saw to open the top, there is a straw hole that I can fit the wire through for the cathode and after opening up the basket cover I can add the filter and anode / Silver shot, I have dialed in the DC Power source as discussed previous.. Now, for the electrolyte what is the best measurements for the Nitric acid and Distilled water, I will be dissolving 3-5 ounces of silver, according to my calculation, the 144 dimes should have about 14 troy ounces +/- so I hope to at least be able to pour a 10 ozt pure bar after harvest, any and all comments, advice or critique is most welcome, thanks for taking the time to read the thread, Mike


Look at you, color coordinating, pretty sweet. I'm liking the basket idea, what are you using as the filter? Also, I would make sure your filter doesn't go to the bottom of your basket, but to the 4.5in. ish mark from the cathode. I'm glad you have the power supply dialed in, what are your numbers? The computations you have to make the electrolyte are a great baseline, what happened to the electrolyte you already had?


----------



## Gwar (Feb 22, 2022)

Hello AMS-Pro, I still have the original electrolyte, I may add it to the new batch if needed, I have the power supply at 3.50 V and 2.00 amp, for starters, I am going to purchase a different type of filter, one not far off from what sreetips has used in some of his Youtube presentations.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 22, 2022)

Good. As far as the new batch goes, you should the computations you have to dissolve the coin silver into the nitric. The only thing you should really have to do once you have your silver nitrate, is figure out the silver ratio grams/liter that you want to use. I personally like starting with 150 grams/liter but the ratio you want to use can be adjusted to your setup once you have your silver nitrate. I know some people like to go as low as 50-65 grams/liter, but I feel that's almost too low unless you have your setup fine tuned. That should be a good start on your power supply, make sure you time your growth from start to finish. Your power levels will affect your crystal growth rate, higher voltage/amp can cause faster thinner growing crystals. But start, and stop time will be helpful in your spreadsheet to figure out the best volts/amps for your setup. The vacuum bag filter is what you're referring to as far as sreetips goes right?


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 22, 2022)

A tip for once you get to this point, you will have to refill your electrolyte as it evaporates, or gets used up. You could either change it out, or refill it. If you decide to just refill it, using an electrolyte with 30-33%% silver to liter ratio of what you started, is a good baseline. I wouldn't worry about that at the moment, until you get consistent, but that may come up, once you get consistent results and start getting tuned in. I only bring it up so can make a note that you need to research on it once you start getting consistent results in your crystal growing. Never hurts to plan ahead.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 22, 2022)

Yes, the shop vac bag is what I will be using..


----------



## Gwar (Feb 22, 2022)

Many thanks for the tip ! I will certainly take that into account..


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 22, 2022)

Wonderful. I look forward to the progress.


----------



## Gwar (Feb 22, 2022)

I will update very soon, I hope the results will be a bit better this time..


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 22, 2022)

I'll be watching for it, and rooting for you. I think they will, you seem to have more things dialed in to where they need to be. I'm curious on your numbers with the power supply while in operation, as well as what the ohm resistance on that cathode is. What's the surface area of your cathode (sides, and top)?


----------



## Gwar (Feb 22, 2022)

Roughly 2 3/4'' x 2" x 1/2"


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 22, 2022)

Alright, so 10.25 sq. inches of surface area. Using an amp range of .17a - .35a per square inch, you should be good at 2 amps, just stay towards the lower end on the amp range. Once you start running the cell, let me know what your numbers drop down to once the resistance builds up in the cell. Your volts , and amps will start to drop as your resistance builds, so you may have to adjust to keep them in range. You don't want too much on amps and volts, or you start getting copper impurity. Too little and you wont get growth, which you've already experienced with your last cell. If you are able to keep your amp reading at 2 during operation while adjusting voltage as needed over time, you should be good. Start adjustment with your V-fine knob as you notice it, to keep your amps consistent.


----------



## AMS-Pro (Feb 22, 2022)

I'll add that once you have to start touching the V - course knob, you'll want to center the V-fine knob first, then adjust the V-Course to get back into your set range, then back to V - fine for precision adjustment. I can clarify further if needed. There is a better way to do this, but it's a little more technical. I would just use this method first, so you don't get lost in the tuning process. Later on, when you get used to how your equipment reacts to your setup, then you could work on an advance technique of tuning.


----------

