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bigapple
08-01-2008, 06:27 PM
i have finally gotten around to buying 12 302 SS wall plates from home depot and im ready to set it up in my box with a sodium hydroxide solution... im trying to figure out what the best possible setup would be... rite now im just thinking of alternating polarities for each plate as +-+-+- for both sets of 6 plates... but now im wondering if it would be better to use some neutrals

thoughts?

RMForbes
08-01-2008, 06:52 PM
It really doesn't matter as long as they are in series and the voltage drop accross each gap is between 1.5v and 2.5v. I used seven plates with the anode in the middle, two neutrals between, and cathodes on the outside. I did it that way because I found it easier to make fewer connections.

bigapple
08-04-2008, 04:07 AM
finally set up my wall plates and did it in an interesting way... i derived my setup from stratous's 4 sets of plates... ill get pics tomorrow when i get large enough wire to hook it up to my car and when i buy a 5 dollar amp meter from harbor freight

i went with 2 sets of plates arranged as [+)(--)(++)(-] wrapped in electrical tape around the edges to prevent current leakage... the parenthesis represent the direction the wall plates are pointing... so 3 cells per set with 2 sets equals a total of 6 cells with 12 plates... with about 1/16 tsp of lye it was running about 7 amps and putting out decent hydroxy... im very excited to get this up and running to see if i can hit the benchmark of 1 lpm... hopefully 1.5 lpm once my cells are conditioned

as a side note, i ran a test with lye in my solution after i bought some distilled water... it is absolutely the best choice (also KOH aka potash)... these chemicals are true catalysts because they are not involved in the electrolytic reaction (source: smack's boosters on youtube)... so basically, u add the amount u need once, and just add distilled water as it goes... the only gunk u will see form on the water is the tiny bit of impurities from the air and from the container and from the oils of ur hands while arranging ur plates

NaOH and KOH are 10000 times better than baking soda... u can say goodbye to cell maintenance, thermal runaway (since u dont have to add any), and gross rust buildups inside the cell... the cell will run smoother and cleaner and will not build up as much heat... clearly the best choice