Electrochemistry cathode material for sulfuric cell

[ffighter643]

I have a question, I have searched the forum numerous times and cannot seem to find the answer,

The question is in a sulfiric cell does the cathode have to be made out of pure copper,

I am not trying to intrude or dsiturb anyone and greatly appreciate this forum and all the great information on it , also all the patrons,

I am in the process of building my cell to strip gold plated jewles and can only find copper plated materials.

 

[Oz]

I deleted your duplicate post in another thread, please do not double post, we will get to you.

As to your question, with a gold stripping cell the cathode is typically lead.

 

[element47]

Lead.

Go find a post by Lazersteve and look at the video(s) he has on his site.

 

[ffighter643]

sorry, I meant the anode, can it be copper plated, from what I uderstand it would be alright as long as it does not heat up

 

[philddreamer]

Try checking out the information here.

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=11122

Take care!

Phil

 

[goldsilverpro]

I've written this a jillion times but, when I ran that 50 gallon sulfuric cell, I put the solution in a 1/4"-3/8" mild steel tank and made the tank the cathode. After at least 2 years of daily use, there was no noticeable attack on the tank. You could also use a plastic bucket and hang about a 3"x8" sheet of at least 1/8" mild steel sheet as the cathode - or, use 2 wired together and hang them on both sides of the anode. There are all sorts of tanks or steel boxes you can use for a tank in any decent scrap metal yard.

Whatever, don't use 300 series stainless for either anode or cathode. The nickel will slowly leach from the tank and weaken it. At the anode, nickel will electrolytically dissolve. At some nickel level, the solution will stop dissolving gold. Also, if you have a mild steel tank made, make sure the welding rod doesn't contain any nickel or cobalt.

In my estimation, the biggest secret to successfully running a sulfuric cell is to keep the temperature below about 110F (some say 100F). If it gets too hot, about any metal involved will corrode. This can create sludges that are mostly base metals. To run the bath cooler, either (1) get a bigger tank, (2) reduce the amperage, (3) run fewer parts, or (4) Cool the outside of the tank with ice water or cool water in an outer tank or tray. To keep the 50 gallon tank cool, I only ran 4-5 amps per gallon of solution.

 

[philddreamer]

Thanks Chris! 8)

Phil

 

[ffighter643]

Thank you all for replys, I am a newbie so again thank you for your patience, I am in the process of learning as much as I can before attempting anything, I am not doing this to make money, I find it fascinating, and love the hobby,

 

[ffighter643]

one more question ,
concentrated sulfuric acid okay for my cell

 

[qst42know]

one more question ,
concentrated sulfuric acid okay for my cell

Not only is it OK, concentrated sulfuric acid is necessary for your stripping cell.

 

[ffighter643]

thank you,

one more sorry, how long for settle time after running the cell, is it the colder the longer ?

 

[butcher]

ffighter643
All of these questions and more questions you have not even thought of can be answered by researching the process you intend to use Do not neglet researching the safe use of the acid, pay special attention to diluting the acid. also study dealing with waste.

Find a post made by Laser Steve
you will find a link to his web site.
research info there and use the search engine on his web site to search this forum (it works better than the search button here. you will find tons of information of using this cell proceedure here on the forum, in fact some guy's are discussing it as I type this.