Engine internal corrosion?

[Helz_McFugly]

well nothing stands out as to why its not producing. if its pulling that many amps it should be pumping away. maybe a leak in the res.? if you open the res. up, is it pumping the e-lytes back in there pretty fast? how much KOH do you have in there again?

[redrat100]

Dry cell, thanks Helz, good info in the thread.

The pictures help a lot Matt, good job. Nothing looks odd about the cell. I suspect you may be having a bad case of vapor lock. With gravity/convection set ups like yours it is difficult to keep the cell full of electrolyte because of the internal pressures and temperatures. Some people have good luck with this method, most don't. One of my dry cells also had this problem, high current draw with low output. I first had to prime the cell with electrolyte, or water to get all of the air out of it. That worked for a little while until the internal pressure prevented the cell from refilling. (even with a check valve between the cell and reservoir). The solution that worked was putting a pump in between the cell and reservoir. I use a Jabsco 42510-0000 pump with no ill effects. 12v, 1.6a designed for boat galley faucets and cheaper than the Shur-flo. Available from West Marine. I tried a generic windshield washer pump. It worked well for about 45 minutes then it smoked. Whatever pump you get, it must be rated for continuous duty.

That is my suggestion to you: use a pump.

[350matt]

hello gents

If you open the cap of the e-lyte tank whilst the cell is on then yes you do get a regular sputtering of gas and fluid back into the tank.

When I first fitted the tank I did have trouble priming the cell but I raised the tank a bit and fitted a larger bore feed hose and fittings and it then self fills OK - admittedly this is when its off when its running the gas displaces some the e-lyte so its uncovering about a 3rd of the plate area.

I'll look into the pump option as its sounds like it might help.

I'm currently unsure how much KOH I'm running ( suspect about 20% tops) so I've bought some more and will do a complete flush with fresh water and 28% mix by weight at the weekend along with fitting a bubbler.

Cheers for the advice chaps I'll keep you posted