Electrochemistry newly set up sulphuric cell not working

[jason_recliner]

If it is actively deplating, and remaining cool, this is the best indicator that you are doing it right.

 

[goldsilverpro]

goldsilverpro:
so in this situation, i have 0.94 liters of the drain cleaner and i am running only 1 amp through the cell. that is a good ratio then? it hasn't noticably risen temperature beyond the ambient outside temperature since I started.

I think it will work fine. Your main problem will be to constantly provide, by stirring, fresh unstripped gold on the outside of the pile. Probably about 98% of the amperage is applied to the outside surface of the pile, in a line facing the cathode. You could almost say that the only gold that's stripping is the gold you can see in line with the cathode. Current kind of travels in a straight line and is utilized by the 1st gold it hits.

 

[kurtak]

Without sulfuric acid it isn't a reverse plating cell.

Göran

Just a little correction in terminology here - the sulfuric cell is not actually a reverse "plating" cell as that would suggest that the gold on a plated item is being removed from the anode - going into solution - & then re-depositing at the cathode

That's not what happens in the sulfuric cell - rather the gold is only "temporarily" put into solution at the "surface" of the anode due to the formation of peroxymonosulfuric acid "at the surface" of the anode - but it decomposes back to sulfuric when it leaves to proximity of the anode - thereby allowing the gold to precipitate back out & settle to the bottom of the cell

So it is actually a de-plating &/or stripping cell - just saying :wink:

Kurt

 

[g_axelsson]

I can buy that argument.

But not all plating solutions have a sacrificial anode. Many are a variation of an electrowinning cell. But now we are discussing semantics.

But I agree, "stripping cell" or deplating cell is a better description.

Göran

 

[futurama140]

this is setup in the most open area I can, a carport (not garage) with two floor fans at the back to create a very effective vauum. so please dont yell at me for that!

the copper mesh is on order and will arrive someday, so this is my temporary fix. I realize the basket itself is inert and nonconductive in this context, but the fanned out bent copper is working for the most part to make contact with the pins. if i load the little basket just right, every pin fully deplates in about 10 minutes. (it would be five minutes if the charger provided constant current)

 

[Barren Realms 007]

Once you get the connectors cleaned (washed) off you will find out that you are not get the gold from the inside of the connectors. Also try and keep your cathode from setting on the bottom of the dish so it does not create a short in the system. You might want to consider finding a battery and hooking your charger to the battery then connecting from the battery to your cell and adding a dimmer switch to control the voltage.

 

[futurama140]

I shall indeed work on implementing that, barren realms 007.

now i'm just looking for some way of making a better anode basket for this low amperage until copper mesh comes in the mail someday. maybe i can try weaving copper wire from cables? anyone have any suggestions for a better way to make the anode until the mesh actually gets here? it could take 2 weeks

 

[Shark]

You could use a piece of flat copper, as in a sheet of material.Shape it like a spoon and hold you pins in the spoon end. You don't want the cup end formed to deep as that will form a Faraday Cage and stop it from working. My first thought was a silver plated copper spoon that had been deplated. (I happen to have one on hand) Just keep your anode and cathode on a level that will keep it working.

I see you cleaned up around your cell as well, nice job!

 

[futurama140]

when i realized i had a bottle of sodium hypochlorite sitting in a pile of crystals from cucl2 and a bottle of hcl right next to it i realized how big a mistake that mess was and how horrific it would have been if the hcl and lye came into contact. plus the table was covered with foil from gold card fingers, and i may be able to recover an additional half gram from all i cleaned out and reorganized.

i've noticed some of my pins just do not contact the copper they rest on unless i press down on the pins into the copper. is this a common problem? from too low amperage maybe?

 

[jason_recliner]

i've noticed some of my pins just do not contact the copper they rest on unless i press down on the pins into the copper. is this a common problem? from too low amperage maybe?

This is just a thought, as I am not familiar with drain cleaner sulfuric acid; it is not available here. I understand it's thicker (i.e., greater viscosity) than tech grade H2SO4 but I do not know by how much. Could it be that you have a layer of cleaner that is insulating the topmost of small items that are not heavy enough to push through it? I would not expect insufficient current to cause this, but perhaps a greater current would expand the deplating zone a little further around the anode.

 

[futurama140]

I had a similar thought, but it seems the previous suggestion to raise the end of the cathode to avoid touching the bottom was all I needed to do. my basket is inert and raised off the ground, but it seems there was still a short. i guess the anode must be below the entire cathode as well, i had figured if the tip of my cathode went a little lower it wouldn't hurt but it did. now the thing is back up and running. I have no scale to weigh my milspec pins before deplating, but i'm hoping for at least a quarter ounce when i'm done. I can only do about a dozen or two dozen pins at a time due to the low amperage and tiny basket I have, so I might get through the last handful of pins by tomorrow.

 

[futurama140]

Hey, I cannot find kadriver's post on using a PC power supply for the deplating cell. has the thread been removed? I've read and tried the tutorials of the power supply modification, but as soon as I hook the power up to the cell it shuts down. anyone have any clue what i'm doing wrong here?

 

[patnor1011]

Hey, I cannot find kadriver's post on using a PC power supply for the deplating cell. has the thread been removed? I've read and tried the tutorials of the power supply modification, but as soon as I hook the power up to the cell it shuts down. anyone have any clue what i'm doing wrong here?

It is a thread about how to modify power supply to use in a cell.
If you insert: power supply kadriver you will easily find that post. Anyway I did it for you.
http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=11677&p=114313&hilit=power+supply+kadriver#p114313