Electrochemistry Silver Cell Parameters - Best practices

[4metals]

These are some typical values copied from Butts and Coxe. Silver, Economics, Metallurgy, and Use. An often quoted source on anything Silver

	Raritan Copper Works	American smelting & Refining	US Metals Refining Company	Canadian Copper Refiners ltd	Internatinal Nickel
Electrolyte Ag grams/liter	80	40	45	130	75
Cell type	Thum	Moebius	Thum	Moebius	Thum
volts per cell	3	2.7	4	2.5	4.4
amperes per cell	150	450	200	550	175
current density
Amps per sq ft anode	50	40	60	55	57

I have worked extensively with commercial systems from Italimpianti and Oro Studio both of which run cells at 60 grams Silver per liter 3.5 volts and 50 ASF.

 

[BGDOCK]

Solid Silver you could put a 1 to 3 amp. Fuse on the anode side , in between the anode basket and the output of the power supply .
An automotive glass fuse or a resettable breaker style could used, I like the resettable beaker style myself ,
Or you could harvest the crystals as they grow close the anode basket .

 

[Solid Silver]

Solid Silver you could put a 1 to 3 amp. Fuse on the anode side , in between the anode basket and the output of the power supply .

I like the idea of a resetable breaker, but would it provide any additional benefits or protections to a power supply with overload protection and the ability to limit the amperage?

I've played with limiting the Amps to 1.5, but it drops the voltage obscenely low, too low for production of reliably clean silver, as I understand anyway. Hence why I'm trying to pursue the question of amperage.

Seems like everybody agrees on somewhere between 3.0-3.5 volts, but the jury seems split on best methods for amperage. Many say to let it run with the wind, just as many say 1.5amps is preferred.

In order to get 3.5v at 1.5a, I could simply reduce the density of the electrolyte, essentially correcting for any possible imbalance in proximity to the cathode, I suppose, but is that ideal?

I think the only real hazard I've found associated with higher amperage is shorting at the anode, due to localized crystal growth, or is there another risk I haven't come across yet?

 

[BGDOCK]

Shorts are not good for any circuitry , I would rather have two safeties , one before your power control circuit board and then the fuse on the device .
10 buck investment for 2

Jeff

 

[Solid Silver]

Shorts are not good for any circuitry , I would rather have two safeties

Sir, you have persuaded me.