Does size matter?

[HomeGrown]

I ended up stopping in at a hydraulics supplier, and they had 1/2" tubing in-stock, which they normally don't carry. I snagged a 7' stick of it for $44.

Another reason I can't really go with 1.25" dia. is that I would have to remake the outer tube carrier and space everything out farther (they're spaced @ 1.25" now). Doing that, it would no longer fit inside a 4" PVC pipe, unles I clustered them together all touching. That may not be a bad idea anyway though.....
The additional surface area would be nice for a high-voltage, high-frequency setup though.

The way I have the spacers set up on my 3/4" tube, I drilled holes much the same as shown on my 3-cell setup, except I drilled them 1/4" and use pieces of zip tie cut 1" long and folded into a /\ shape through the hole. This means that I don't have to do a thing regarding spacers for the 1/2" tube, they're already in place. When I take it apart to put in the 1/2" tubes I'll get some pics.

[Boltazar]

HomeGrown What type of plastic do you use to support and space, tight fit or set screws Thanks

[HomeGrown]

HomeGrown What type of plastic do you use to support and space, tight fit or set screws Thanks

I use some sort of a UHMW material. Very much like a non-brittle type nylon.
I was originally planning on using roll pins (a.k.a. spring pins) but after drilling the holes with a standard wood boring bit, they were a perfect size with a nice snug fit. That saved a lot of headache with assembly/disassembly.

I got my 1/2" electrodes cut & prepped tonight, shortened the 3/4" tubes, and got all 7 cells assembled. I either need to make a new lower plate for the 1/2" tubes, or find some sort of spacer to assemble it with. Will probably opt for the latter, because it's easier.

Here's a pic of how the tubes go together with the zip tie spacers. Works pretty well, and really simplifies assembly.

[JDog Newb]

This is a very interesting discussion. I just read all the post here and almost forgot my question. If the positive is connected on the end, and the negative in the middle of the plate arrangement and you wanted to get more negatives, could you not just reverse your wires connected to your bolts going thru the top cap?

PS- I am greener that anyone on this site, so if I ask a dumb question, don't worry, I can take the jokes!!!!

[Boltazar]

JDog Newb There are no dumb questions This is all new to everyone once

HomeGrown I'm trying to figure out how you connect the tubes to the electric, dyeing to see the results, LPM, Amps, Temp, keep us posted

[HomeGrown]

Before the tubes are pushed thru the plastic pieces, I put a piece of stainless steel shim from each hole on the outer 6 tubes to the hole for the center tube, so all 7 tubes are electrically connected.

More to come...

[Greenspank]

I want to get this stright... I used 1/4" stainless rod in pvc and used stainless washers and nuts to mash together 10 larger stainless washers in a plate design, one side + and one side -. I droped the contraption in water and hooked it directly to a car battery with a 15amp fuse. It bubbled... but I had no major hydrogen production. This thing would only last about 5min's before the fuse would burn. If I am reading this post correctly.. I am smarter I think. I need neutral plates to get the HH seperation?

I just found a place today that has all the stainless I'll need!
I'm bran freaking new at this...

[JojoJaro]

I don't understand the appeal of using tubes for electrodes. It seems to me that it is harder to fabricate, harder to assemble, harder to wire together, and does not have that great of a surface area relative to the space it occupies.

Am I missing something? Why are tubes superior to plates, or cones?

[c02cutter]

Actually tubes do offer the advantage of a lot of surface area to minimal space. This concept has been used, and successfully before. There are many ways to do it and it works. To do it is expensive, and takes the equipment involved to produce the cell. Not really a standard back yard mechanic design. Beautiful work I must say!!!

[JojoJaro]

Actually tubes do offer the advantage of a lot of surface area to minimal space. This concept has been used, and successfully before. There are many ways to do it and it works. To do it is expensive, and takes the equipment involved to produce the cell. Not really a standard back yard mechanic design. Beautiful work I must say!!!

Yes, theoritically I suppose, tubes do offer more area, but only if you can really pack them tight together. Many tube designs simply do not do that.

Plates, you can customize to the size of your container and pack them tight.

I believe cones/funnels have the best 'Surface Area to Size' ratio. I am thinking of a design that will pack 480 sq.in of area into an 11" X 3" cylinder. I'd like to see a design that can achieve this level of density.