Converting PC Power supply for use with silver cell

[Oz]

Nice crystal Ralph.

 

[Harold_V]

Personally I think the prize should go to the cell that's one of the best pieces of lateral thinking and use of easy and cheap to obtain materials that I have seen and to top it all I suspect it works really well and is easy to use 8)

Ralph's?

I agree, to say nothing of the beautiful crystals he grew. In my mind, his setup is excellent for the guy that intends to run small lots.

Harold

 

[butcher]

Thanks Ralph, nice job, I like the anode bag Idea, If you used clear Plexiglas you could see inside the cell.

 

[Palladium]

I thought about that Butcher but from what i have read plexiglass don't like nitric or fumes.

 

[RESET]

Personally I think the prize should go to the cell that's one of the best pieces of lateral thinking and use of easy and cheap to obtain materials that I have seen and to top it all I suspect it works really well and is easy to use 8)

Ralph's?

I agree, to say nothing of the beautiful crystals he grew. In my mind, his setup is excellent for the guy that intends to run small lots.

Harold

I don't know about small. HDPE is available in 4'x8' sheets and commercial mixing bowls go all the way up to 50 gallons.

All that aside. I think this is going to be my cell when I am ready to start purifying silver from cementing.

 

[samuel-a]

I thought about that Butcher but from what i have read plexiglass don't like nitric or fumes.

Ralph

You can use Al racks to hang you anode bag, of course you need to insulate it.
I just hanged the anode and the bag (tied to it) together by a tightening clamp.
http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=61&t=11546&hilit=bowl#p116045

Those are some nice crystals btw.

 

[scrappile]

I test the connection, and it is at 3.4v, but when I connect it to my cell, it powers down. I tried connecting it to the cell and then powering on, and I get the same thing.

Once you powered it with no load or a resistor (as notch suggested), it will default.... but you could still get voltage readings...
I'm no electrician and don't know exactly how it works... if you can, grab another PSU, brigde it (green + black), connect your cell and then powder it up.

If the PSU was functional when removed from the tower, there's no reason why it will not work.

good luck

Edit to add leak voltage
Solid state components can have voltage show on a digital meter and not provide it for a load,

It's the "Crowbar " circuit for protection , this is a screen shot , much better than
I could explain,
Edited for size
may be just a blown fuse for those that connected with out a load, some are board mounted with some in a fuse holder close to the AC Power cord inlet

 

[mikeinkaty]

I have a LOT of DC wall transformers and several adjustable voltage regulators. The wall transformers cost nothing and the adjustable voltage regulators (3 amps max) cost me about $3.00 to build.

I need to see a well designed cell made for light duty. Anyone have pics or a web URL?

Forgot to say that I also have two 20 amp DC variacs that I used for electrolysis on cast iron carpenter planes. Voltage is variable.

Edit - I just saw Palladium's setup. That is neat! I already have a SS bowl and some plastic too. One question - how do you connect the lead to the silver bar? Will a large bowl prevent the crystals from growing to the bag?

Mike

 

[Palladium]

I pour a silver rod about 6 inches long, lay the bars in the bottom of the bag, and stick the rod on top. The bars will dissolve down first and then the rod will begin to eat away until it's almost consumed. Disconnect the rod portion that's left and then lay it on the bottom and start over again.

 

[mikeinkaty]

Has anyone ever put an ampmeter in the cell circuit to see what it is actually drawing? Generally speaking the more distance between the anode and cathode the more voltage is necessary to provide a given current. And, how hot do your cells get when in operation?

 

[Clneal2003]

I'm still very unclear on how to tell what power supplies I can use. I've seen the stainless steel bowl design a few time on the web but haven't pin pointe what people are using as the power supply? I like the stainless steel bowl design because it's a smaller set up and since I haven't attempted the electrolytic cell yet... I know if I screwed up I wouldn't lose as much as if I jumped into the deep end. Can you simply hook up a manual battery charger to the cathode and anode? I'm very small scale yet intelligent... But I can never seem to find what people use for their power supplies. Those always seem to get left out of the photos. I'm looking for something simple... Not a volt meter with power supplies and amplifiers and flux capacitors

 

[FrugalRefiner]

But I can never seem to find what people use for their power supplies. Those always seem to get left out of the photos. I'm looking for something simple... Not a volt meter with power supplies and amplifiers and flux capacitors

Try reading this thread again from the beginning.

Dave

 

[GotTheBug]

I finally gave up on atx power supplies. So frustrating to me figuring out how to keep it from shorting and the over voltage protection.
In true fashion, for me, and maybe Deano, I built the beast. Results will be forthcoming when I finish the rest of the setup, but it does run 7.5 volts at around 200 amps.