Nice try but you've been banned. Try reading the rules1
Electrolytic copper refining cell
- Thread starter 4metals
- Start date
Help Support Gold Refining Forum:
Irons
Well-known member
I wonder if Gelatin could be used instead of Bone Glue. The rendering process is pretty much the same, except that Gelatin is purified to a higher degree.
I have used gelatin and gotten the same effect.
It's the collagen as does the leveling/smoothing effect, so far as I know.
Lou
It's the collagen as does the leveling/smoothing effect, so far as I know.
Lou
All of the classic literature gives levels of bone glue but I have heard of gelatin being used (as Lou has just confirmed) but never had any details as to concentrations.
A few years back I had to get rid of an old friend, a horse I had owned and ridden for a very long time, Guyreba. I have always thought of him every time I see bright shiny copper plating!
A few years back I had to get rid of an old friend, a horse I had owned and ridden for a very long time, Guyreba. I have always thought of him every time I see bright shiny copper plating!
Geo
Well-known member
Nice experiment sharky. I have got what I need to get started. Now if I can get a fire lit under my butt.
Any suggestions as to how much gelatin to use? My little cell is now forming a sponge type build up on the anode. It started when it seemed to heat up (around 150*F) then turned the solution more of a green color than blue. At the same time it seemed to slow down considerably.
Also the sponge is very loose and falls free very easily. Could it be to much nickle build up in the solution?
Also the sponge is very loose and falls free very easily. Could it be to much nickle build up in the solution?
Irons
Well-known member
Geo said:
I think you may have trouble with the Sodium Silicate. My experience is that the Crucible will turn to a liquid at Copper Melting temperature. Fire the Crucible first and see how it reacts.
It's a start, but that power supply isn't suitable for electrolysis. The best supplies are made with voltage control as well as maximum current limits.Shark said:
Too high a voltage and you will start breaking down water as well as the acid used. It's called secondary or parasitic electrode processes if my memory serves me. The gas makes for a more spongy surface. The gas that is produced could also form an explosion hazard as it is often hydrogen and oxygen in a perfect mix. Do this in a well ventilated area or outside.
Did you measure the current? The best surface is formed within a current window, not too high or too low current density. In your setup the backside of the cathode doesn't add too much to the current drawn so I would just disregard it when calculating the current density.
It's always fun to build your first cell, the only way now is to improve the results.
I haven't dabbled with copper cells in 20 years, but I basically started like you did, making a copper powder that would fall off if it got too thick. Last time I made a copper cell I managed to make a large solid copper blob at the end of a wire. It looked like a upside down coppery cauliflower.
Göran
Thanks Göran, your explanation just rang a bell for me. I was getting ready to set up a slightly larger cell but had planned to use the cathode and anode in the wrong order. I will be holding off a bit on the new cell until I can look at the whole project a bit closer, including the use of my power supply. I think I can make it work for the small cells, but going much bigger I will need to re think it.
After using the set up as pictured above I added a small filter bag to the set up and actually captured some of the slimes. Those are being processed now.
After using the set up as pictured above I added a small filter bag to the set up and actually captured some of the slimes. Those are being processed now.
Having re weighed the anode and adding a filter bag, I ran the anode again for a couple of hours. I removed 76.4 grams from it and processed the slime's from that amount. My digital scales won't weigh it and I am to tired to dig out my powder scales since my reloading supplies are all put away, but here is the tiny button of gold.
After processing the slime's I still have what seems to be a decent amount of pgms of some type. The remains would not go into solution using cold AR, but went in quite well when heated. I used stannous to test and received a very dark, blackish result. Heating the solution to near boiling for 20 minutes still gave a very dark test result. I didn't think to dilute a few drops and retest it. After trying to drop gold again using SMB with no precipitate at all I dropped it with copper and put it away until a later date.
After processing the slime's I still have what seems to be a decent amount of pgms of some type. The remains would not go into solution using cold AR, but went in quite well when heated. I used stannous to test and received a very dark, blackish result. Heating the solution to near boiling for 20 minutes still gave a very dark test result. I didn't think to dilute a few drops and retest it. After trying to drop gold again using SMB with no precipitate at all I dropped it with copper and put it away until a later date.
Nice work Shark! Thanks for sharing.
Dave
Dave
Very nice, can you share some details about your power supply?
So, this is from your copper cell? May I ask what was the source of your copper?
Very nice by the way.
Very nice by the way.
How I made the bar can be found here... http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=23680
The power supply is an old computer power supply. I have it hooked up to the 5 volt side running at .5 amps. The video was before using a filter bag to catch slime's from the bar. If you can find a power supply with an on/off switch most of them will withstand a short by unplugging them and re-plugging it in, otherwise you will kill the unit dead on the first short. I am still using the same unit and have used it in a sulfuric cell as well, but prefer my other, smaller power supply for it. I have a bigger power supply that has an adjustable volt (12-18) and amp (6-36) range but haven't tried it out yet.
The power supply is an old computer power supply. I have it hooked up to the 5 volt side running at .5 amps. The video was before using a filter bag to catch slime's from the bar. If you can find a power supply with an on/off switch most of them will withstand a short by unplugging them and re-plugging it in, otherwise you will kill the unit dead on the first short. I am still using the same unit and have used it in a sulfuric cell as well, but prefer my other, smaller power supply for it. I have a bigger power supply that has an adjustable volt (12-18) and amp (6-36) range but haven't tried it out yet.
Thanks for the link Shark, but, that link takes one to the beginning of a four page thread. After going through the entire thread I came to the last post, by you, and this is what it said:
"Here is how I made the big bar in the last pictures above. While there are things that I changed later (like my shoes) the basics are the same. I thought I had posted this before, but that is what I get for thinking sometimes."
There was nothing more. I thought it may have been a picture that had failed to load so I refreshed the page, but to no avail.
I did read earlier in the thread were bars were made from copper pipe and ic legs. So, was this bar that you electrolyzed made from copper bar and "non" magnetic ic legs?
"Here is how I made the big bar in the last pictures above. While there are things that I changed later (like my shoes) the basics are the same. I thought I had posted this before, but that is what I get for thinking sometimes."
There was nothing more. I thought it may have been a picture that had failed to load so I refreshed the page, but to no avail.
I did read earlier in the thread were bars were made from copper pipe and ic legs. So, was this bar that you electrolyzed made from copper bar and "non" magnetic ic legs?
The big bar is mainly copper pipe and non magnetic parts from IC's melted down from the corn ear looking bars. At the last minute I added two table spoons of the magnetic parts to the mix with a very aggressive flux.(another mistake) The results left most of the magnetic parts "floating" between the layer of copper metal, and the flux. I chipped the flux and steel away, and ran the end result in the copper sulfate.
I may need to reword the post in the other thread. The pictures I mentioned are the ones in a post several comments about my last post. I plan on doing another video when I can as that one is rather old. I have upgraded my burner and it works way better than any I used in that thread at the time.
I may need to reword the post in the other thread. The pictures I mentioned are the ones in a post several comments about my last post. I plan on doing another video when I can as that one is rather old. I have upgraded my burner and it works way better than any I used in that thread at the time.
Ok, thank you Shark.
The reason I was asking is because of the pgms showing up. I would imagine mostly pd.
The reason I was asking is because of the pgms showing up. I would imagine mostly pd.
I have made a bit of progress with my copper cell. I finally got to hard metallic copper while trapping the slime's in a filter. Still small scale but a definite improvement. I am now running the power supply at 3.3 volt. By adding a 12volt automotive bulb in line I am able to reduce the voltage down to just under 1volt. The amperage is running between .78 and .88 with no temperature increase over the surrounding air temperatures. The build up of slime's on the anode being the main issue. It is building up enough to need shaking off every 4 to 5 hours, even at the slow rate it is running. I know the anodes contain more non copper than would be optimal and it is the reason for using the filter bag as well. (The copper in the bottom of this cell is from before getting the voltage and amperage under control and was left from the previous experiment)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpmI-EkBqrA[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpmI-EkBqrA[/youtube]
