Dual Silver Cell Setup off One PC Power Supply

[element47]

Yes! We see that series jumper wire.

Great story, good pix, excellent results. Nice job! I look forward to the updates.

slight nit: That picture is captioned " after harvesting....should not the caption be "before" or "in the process of" harvesting?

 

[element47]

The dual series wired silver cell setup ran from fri 11 Nov to about 9am on Thur 24 Nov.

You're saying the cell ran for 13 days??

 

[MysticColby]

I've been looking closely at these pictures of your cells, and I have an observation/question
it looks like you have a filter bag inside a basket made out of a tupperware container with the top cut off
it's hard to see, but it looks like you drilled holes in the bottom to allow the liquid in?
I'll be starting a silver cell for the first time myself, and I wanted to base my design off yours as it looks so clean and elegant.

But a thought occurs:
wouldn't the size of those holes throttle the current traveling through the liquid?
I've read that the facing area of the anode is what you use to calculate how much current you should supply, but if those holes are smaller than the anode, those would be the limiting area and not the anode.
Maybe you'd get higher deposition with larger holes? (larger holes = lower resistance = higher current with the same voltage = more silver per same time)

 

[renatomerino]

That is the type of electrolytic cell?

 

[qst42know]

That is the type of electrolytic cell?

This is an electrolytic cell for purifying silver. There are other types.

 

[renatomerino]

I do not see the filter and its support for the various impurities that come with silver.
This is the detail of my MOEBIUS type cells but is necessary to place a cotton bag to retain the impurities that arise from the silver anode.

 

[qst42know]

Nice looking silver you have there! 8)

The filter is there in the photos, outside the red rimmed cup.

 

[kadriver]

Hello:

The crystals formed in my silver cells have changed.

They are much larger and it was easier to clean them during the harvest.

I have included a picture.

 

[kadriver]

These are the rubbermaid anode baskets that hold the filter bags to catch the silver slimes that are left behind when the anode bars have dissolved.

I cut the lid and use the outer part to secure the anode filters inside the basket.

I use a drill bit heated with a propane torch to bore holes through the basket and the filters.

I then insert a glass stirring rod through the holes and use this to suspend the anode basket in the electrolyte.

 

[kadriver]

In this picture you can see down into the anode basket of each cell.

These are two cells wired in series.

The filters are from vacuum cleaner bags I bought al Lowes.

One vacuum cleaner filter is about $8 and I can cut it to make two anode filter bags.

Each anode basket has two filters - double bag protection with no seams or partitions of any kind to ensure none of the material (slimes) get into the pure silver metal crystals.

 

[kadriver]

Here is a shot of the vacuum cleaner bags I use. I get them at Lowes.

They are cloth bags - not paper.

To get these to fit into the rubbermaid baskets correctly, I must de-stitch each bag and unfold all the seams. Plus there is a rubber retainer that has to be cut away.

It takes a while to de-stitch using a sharp razor. But the material is an excellent filtering material. It is thin and light weight and it is not attacked by the acid in the elctrolyte.

 

[kadriver]

MysticColby:

I cannot answer the question concerning the holes throttling the electron flow throught the electrolyte. Maybe someone with a little more electrical knowlege can give us an answer.

If there is an advantage to larger holes, then I would be willing to modify my anode baskets to get a better yield.

If you have questions about the cells, then please ask any questions. I will be glad to share what I know to help you in any way I can.

kadriver

 

[element47]

How are you making electrical contact with the anode ingots? In one of the above pix it appears like there is a spike of some sort (looks kind of like an old square concrete nail) shoved into and friction-fit into a drilled hole. I think before you were using the screw-in eye-hook with those coarse threads(?) If you using such a spike or screw-eye, does that go into the top ingot of your stack or the bottom one?

How long are your cloth filters lasting?

You are really getting nice results, and of course your 3+ oz gold bar a day or two ago was exceptional. Oh by the way....congrats on the nice price lock! That saved you maybe $250, because gold has been viciously slaughtered the past 2 days.

I for one, really appreciate the nice photos you are taking & posting of your process, and I'll go ahead and assume that plenty of others apppreciate them as well.

 

[philddreamer]

Element, you might have seen a pic of my cell set up. I used SS eye screws.
I don't stack my anodes, I stand them so therr's more surface exposed to the cathodes for faster deposition.

Phil

 

[kadriver]

element47:

The "nail" you see sticking up out of one of the anode bars is a piece of cemented silver.

I melt a small quantity of cemented silver into a 1/3 or so ounce button.

Holding the silver button with a pair of pliers, I heated it with a propane torch until it was red hot.

Then I beat it with a hammer to form a thin four sided "nail".

It resembles a piece of 1/8 inch key stock about 3 inches long when it is finished.

Once cut to proper length, I held it with a pair of vice grips suspended over my graphite mold cavity with the nail dipping down into the cavity of the mold. It is preheated until red hot with my propane torch (the propane torch also preheats the graphite mold at the same time.

Using an oxy/accet torch, I melted a sufficient quantity of cemented silver in a melt dish, then poured the molten silver metal into the graphite mold cavity with the red hot silver "nail" suspended in it.

The molten silver immediately welds to the red hot silver "nail" suspended in the mold producing a solid connection between the bar and the silver "nail".

I use the nail as a connecting point for the alligator clips coming from the power supply for my silver cell.

Hope this explains it well enough.

I will probably make a short video to demonstrate how I make these silver nails. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million!

Thanks - kadriver

 

[kadriver]

Element47, with respect to the saving of $250:

This time I came out on top, but I have lost just as much if not more in the past when the price movement went the wrong direction for me.

I have come to terms with the fact that these price swings are are part of the business we are in and there is no way to accurately predict their movement.

There is nothing that can be done about them, so I have learned to accept the good with the bad - it comes with the territory, as they say.

kadriver

 

[Palladium]

I like videos. 8)

 

[niteliteone]

Here is a shot of the vacuum cleaner bags I use. I get them at Lowes.

They are cloth bags - not paper.

To get these to fit into the rubbermaid baskets correctly, I must de-stitch each bag and unfold all the seams. Plus there is a rubber retainer that has to be cut away.

It takes a while to de-stitch using a sharp razor. But the material is an excellent filtering material. It is thin and light weight and it is not attacked by the acid in the elctrolyte.

kadriver
Your a life saver.
I've been looking all over the site for a cheap local source for filters for my cell. everyone local just looks at me all funny then sends me somewhere else.

Thanks
Tom C.

 

[Grassbur]

another option that 4metals had posted in a sulfer cell thread for stripping gold plated materials is http://www.anodeproducts.com.

I myself have ordered some bags from them and the manager there is very friendly.

 

[Lobby]

I have the bars for sale - one day auction - on Ebay ending around 7:30pm on Friday 25 Nov 2011. To view do an Ebay search for "hand poured silver bars".

Thanks - kadriver

I just searched on eBay. There's a bunch of "hand poured silver bars" on sale there. And if one checks completed auctions, you'll find that they sell OVER spot! That's that most amazing thing I ever heard of.