What is BEST? Solid or Perforated or Mesh

[dennis13030]

I'm fishing for some recommedations.

Which type of plate(electrode) functions best and why?

Solid?

Perforated(holes through the solid)?

Mesh?

[Ronjinsan]

Hi Dennis

I have tried all of the above and probably the best was (believe it or not!) some perforated plate from the inside drum of a washing machine!! The worst was from fine mesh...Oh it produces well but wears out very quickly, makes sense I suppose. The problem with using any "Junk" Stainless is getting it straight! Eventually you will come to the same conclusion as most dedicated tinkerers and go and buy some nicely cropped to size 316l plates and carefully sand them in the lengthwise direction until they are nice and smooth. You see basically any stainless of any shape will work, it depends on the amount of electrolyte you use and ultimately the amperage you draw which will determine your heat factor........and thats what counts! All the best!

[dennis13030]

Thank you Ronjinsan for the input.

316L SS seems to be the preferred plate metal. You mentioned sanding it. What do you think about it being polished?

It also seems that control over the plate-to-plate voltage is the way to manage the heat. With the plate-to-plate voltage is between 1.5V and 2.5V, the heat is manageable.

I don't know if you are familiar with how a diode functions. When a diode is forward biased(positive voltage put on the anode and negative voltage put on the cathode) it will not conduct very well until the applied voltage is larger than its threshold. With an applied voltage larger than the threshold, it conducts very well and without much inline resistance you will get a lot of current(and heat). It seems to me that a 2 plate cell has a threshold(plate-to-plate voltage) between 1.5V and 2.5V.

What do you think?

[Stratous]

I read someplace that polishing the plates was not good, but dont get me to lying. I havent tried it, so polish one up and see.

[lsone85]

I believe the propose of sanding it to crate micro pecks in that metal and creating more surface area. And that should make the cell more efficient in production.

[Stratous]

Its my personal opinion that the more plate surface area you have the better heat control and the more production you will have on a basic cell. Thats not to say that mesh wont out produce but mesh gets hot quickly and mesh wont last as long as plate. I have played with several different designs, my take is that plate is the best overall.

[computerclinic]

Will coarse sanding work out well? I read some forum posts that recomend this due to surface area and bubble release.

Im also interested in knowing why the different alloys of 316, 316L, and 304 are debated to be the best for production and longevity. I have no clue on which one to choose and stick with. So far, everyone seems to preffer 316L...WHY?

[Johnh]

Nickel seems to aid in hydrogen production and chromium may reduce it a bit. 316 is the most common SS with a fairly high nickel content and the lowest chrome. 384 would probably be better if this is fact but its hard to get.
Rough sanding or filing is reported to aid in bubble release but a before and after test I did didn't have a measurable effect on production with a 10 litre test I didnt want to store more than that and I havent got a flow meter working yet.
Ive got a little cell made with cupro-nickel plates that works OK but I havent had a chance to measure the output yet. and I need to make some small stainless plates the same size so I can do some comparisons. The stuff is too expenxive to put in my big cell unless it shows a lot of promise.
Regards
John

[Arctos1]

Just getting started, and would like to try building a Smack Booster. Local Lowes was out of plate covers, so I was wondering if perforated 304 SS would work (I have a supply that I got at a surplus auction several years ago). The perforations are 1/8" dia and close together. I'm wondering if plates oriented horizontally instead of vertically would work better for bubble release, and how about longer and narrower plates in this horizontal orientation?

[BoyntonStu]

I'm fishing for some recommedations.

Which type of plate(electrode) functions best and why?

Solid?

Perforated(holes through the solid)?

Mesh?

Fishing?

Nylon mono filament?

AKA Real estate without holes is best.

BTW I thought of this: A pair of Nylon or other highly perforated insulating hard material with 1/8" thickness of SS wool or shavings held within the sandwich.


Lots of surface area.

I hope that this helps.


BoyntonStu