Originally Posted by
Tremorfalcon
The negative plate produces the hydrogen while the oxygen is produced by the positive plates.
I wonder about neutral plates, if they are used as a barrier to current flow then wouldn't they also cause voltage drop and should be calculated into the "number of plates equation"? So with 12 volts wouldn't you only use 6 plates, even with neutrals, such as +NNNN-?
It isn't the plates per se that drop the voltage, its the space in between. In a +NNNN- configuration you have 5 spaces. 12 volts divided by 5 spaces is 2.4 volts per plate. If you put the positive lead of a multimeter on the + plate and put the negitive lead on each of the other plates in turn you will see the voltage drop talked about.
ps. If you try this make sure your electrolyte is below the top of the plates. Otherwise you are just measuring the voltage of the electrolyte itself which could be anything between 0-12v.
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Some days I get the sinking feeling that Orwell was an optimist!