Starting a new batch

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You're welcome. New setups can always be a finicky learning experience, but once you get it, you got it. There will be a little adjustment needed back and forth between the volts, and amps adjustment knobs, but I'll type you through it if you need. We'll get you growing crystals, no worries.
 
Ok, I have purchased 104 Canadian dimes, I have another 130 to get this week, I have started a semi new design based on the original set up with some added parts, the basket will be from a fruit drink type glass, the strainer and top are two pieces, I will have to use a hole saw to open the top, there is a straw hole that I can fit the wire through for the cathode and after opening up the basket cover I can add the filter and anode / Silver shot, I have dialed in the DC Power source as discussed previous.. Now, for the electrolyte what is the best measurements for the Nitric acid and Distilled water, I will be dissolving 3-5 ounces of silver, according to my calculation, the 144 dimes should have about 14 troy ounces +/- so I hope to at least be able to pour a 10 ozt pure bar after harvest, any and all comments, advice or critique is most welcome, thanks for taking the time to read the thread, Mike
 

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Gwar said:
Ok, I have purchased 104 Canadian dimes, I have another 130 to get this week, I have started a semi new design based on the original set up with some added parts, the basket will be from a fruit drink type glass, the strainer and top are two pieces, I will have to use a hole saw to open the top, there is a straw hole that I can fit the wire through for the cathode and after opening up the basket cover I can add the filter and anode / Silver shot, I have dialed in the DC Power source as discussed previous.. Now, for the electrolyte what is the best measurements for the Nitric acid and Distilled water, I will be dissolving 3-5 ounces of silver, according to my calculation, the 144 dimes should have about 14 troy ounces +/- so I hope to at least be able to pour a 10 ozt pure bar after harvest, any and all comments, advice or critique is most welcome, thanks for taking the time to read the thread, Mike
Click to expand...
Look at you, color coordinating, pretty sweet. I'm liking the basket idea, what are you using as the filter? Also, I would make sure your filter doesn't go to the bottom of your basket, but to the 4.5in. ish mark from the cathode. I'm glad you have the power supply dialed in, what are your numbers? The computations you have to make the electrolyte are a great baseline, what happened to the electrolyte you already had?
 
Hello AMS-Pro, I still have the original electrolyte, I may add it to the new batch if needed, I have the power supply at 3.50 V and 2.00 amp, for starters, I am going to purchase a different type of filter, one not far off from what sreetips has used in some of his Youtube presentations.
 
Good. As far as the new batch goes, you should the computations you have to dissolve the coin silver into the nitric. The only thing you should really have to do once you have your silver nitrate, is figure out the silver ratio grams/liter that you want to use. I personally like starting with 150 grams/liter but the ratio you want to use can be adjusted to your setup once you have your silver nitrate. I know some people like to go as low as 50-65 grams/liter, but I feel that's almost too low unless you have your setup fine tuned. That should be a good start on your power supply, make sure you time your growth from start to finish. Your power levels will affect your crystal growth rate, higher voltage/amp can cause faster thinner growing crystals. But start, and stop time will be helpful in your spreadsheet to figure out the best volts/amps for your setup. The vacuum bag filter is what you're referring to as far as sreetips goes right?
 
A tip for once you get to this point, you will have to refill your electrolyte as it evaporates, or gets used up. You could either change it out, or refill it. If you decide to just refill it, using an electrolyte with 30-33%% silver to liter ratio of what you started, is a good baseline. I wouldn't worry about that at the moment, until you get consistent, but that may come up, once you get consistent results and start getting tuned in. I only bring it up so can make a note that you need to research on it once you start getting consistent results in your crystal growing. Never hurts to plan ahead.
 
I'll be watching for it, and rooting for you. I think they will, you seem to have more things dialed in to where they need to be. I'm curious on your numbers with the power supply while in operation, as well as what the ohm resistance on that cathode is. What's the surface area of your cathode (sides, and top)?
 
Alright, so 10.25 sq. inches of surface area. Using an amp range of .17a - .35a per square inch, you should be good at 2 amps, just stay towards the lower end on the amp range. Once you start running the cell, let me know what your numbers drop down to once the resistance builds up in the cell. Your volts , and amps will start to drop as your resistance builds, so you may have to adjust to keep them in range. You don't want too much on amps and volts, or you start getting copper impurity. Too little and you wont get growth, which you've already experienced with your last cell. If you are able to keep your amp reading at 2 during operation while adjusting voltage as needed over time, you should be good. Start adjustment with your V-fine knob as you notice it, to keep your amps consistent.
 
I'll add that once you have to start touching the V - course knob, you'll want to center the V-fine knob first, then adjust the V-Course to get back into your set range, then back to V - fine for precision adjustment. I can clarify further if needed. There is a better way to do this, but it's a little more technical. I would just use this method first, so you don't get lost in the tuning process. Later on, when you get used to how your equipment reacts to your setup, then you could work on an advance technique of tuning.
 

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