How thick should the stainless be?

[Sparkie]

Aussie alert

G'day everyone.
I have been lurking on these forums for a while and have finally started getting bits together for my hho setup.
As the title says, How thick should the stainless be?
I have just picked up three pieces of 1/16" thick,8" square 316 stainless for a hefty price of $3.00AUS ....How lucky was that.
My only concern is that the thickness is going to reduce the effect. I am pretty sure it doesn't matter but maybe someone knows if there is such a thing as optimal thickness.
Also while I am on the subject how big should the plates be?
I am going to go for 6 plates at 6" by 2 1/2" as that is about the best use for this stainless. That will give me 2 volts per layer in a + NNNN - block. The remainder I can use for the supply rails.
This should be sufficient for a test panel.
That will do for my first query in what I hope will be an excellent experience.

TIA Sparkie

[Ronjinsan]

Ahhhh we have an Aussie! Hiya Sparkie....I have tried all sorts of thicknesses and eventually stuck with .9mm 316. Dont ask....I just think it seems to work best, it aint cheap though. Well worth buying when you finally decide on a permanent cell to build. My plates are 75 x 120 (sorry for the decimal) and I use a +nnn-nnn+ configuration in a vacuum system. The 1/16th should work fine, make sure a/ its straight b/ trimmed and even, and c/ sand it nice and smooth in the vertical plane. Best of luck, hope to hear some progress results soon! Cheers

[Sparkie]

Ahhhh we have an Aussie! Hiya Sparkie....I have tried all sorts of thicknesses and eventually stuck with .9mm 316. Dont ask....I just think it seems to work best, it aint cheap though. Well worth buying when you finally decide on a permanent cell to build. My plates are 75 x 120 (sorry for the decimal) and I use a +nnn-nnn+ configuration in a vacuum system. The 1/16th should work fine, make sure a/ its straight b/ trimmed and even, and c/ sand it nice and smooth in the vertical plane. Best of luck, hope to hear some progress results soon! Cheers

Well I have cut the plates today and drilled 3 holes down the center to put 3/16 nylon bolts and nuts through it.When I get them.
The configuration will be +nnn-nnn+ as suggested.
Having to go back to work tomorrow means my project will be on hold for a while. The main thing is I have started.
I will definitely be keeping an eye on this forum in the mean time.
Thanks for all the help
Sparkie

[Ronjinsan]

Ahhh the rigours of life....work work work....pay for petrol petrol petrol...to get to work work work.... goes round and round!

[Phantom240]

I also wondered how thick my plates should be. I'm going to order some .020" stainless this week through where I work, cause we do a lot of fabrication and so I can get it a lot cheaper. lol.

[Ronjinsan]

I also wondered how thick my plates should be. I'm going to order some .020" stainless this week through where I work, cause we do a lot of fabrication and so I can get it a lot cheaper. lol.

Dont get too thin! I found that from .9mm up is fine!

[tbhavsar]

I am trying to follow ‘Ronjinsan’ configuration of 120mm X 75mm but can not find 0.9mm (~ 18,19 gauge). Currently I am working with 22 gauge (i.e. 0.65mm); I hope this would be OK.

FYI - AWG to square mm Wire Gauge Conversion

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/aw...uge-d_731.html

[Ronjinsan]

Sounds perfect...only reason I went for .9 was for rigidity and longevity ! Sounds bad! Remeber though, gap is important, you can go froma very small gap to what appears to be large but the only difference will be the amount of electrolyte you will need to use. 2mm is a good spot even up to 3mm then the amount of electrolyte is not too huge! I made a cell out of the SS from a washing machine drum once....hey the plates were very thin but it kicked HHO no problem, I just had to use more spacers to stop it warping! Bast of luck

[h-power]

I was making my cell plates out of 22g ss and using baking soda. Within 6 weeks the plates were eaten through. Have now switched to 18g and KOH. Also have decreased plate spacing from 5mm to 1.5mm. Production is about 800ml/min and draws 7.5amps. I'm installing it into my truck today.
I want to see if the plates degrade over time with the KOH. If not I will go back to 22g because it's much easier to work with.

[Ronjinsan]

Sounds like a good test H-Power, I have had my .9 plates running for 2 months now in KOH and I took the cell out yesterday and checked it out....no wear at all so back it went with the same mix!