Nominal Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 The tank I made for my project got very rusty inside sitting around. I asked the local plating place about zinc plating inside and they said it was a real ball-ache and didn't work very well on the last one they tried. So I cut the lid off the tank and the pieces plated, then welded back together. Even then the inside corners weren't well plated. If you try the electrolysis I'll be interested to see how it works. I also used the full POR tank sealer kit in the past with good results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoKer Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 molasses? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 I hada quick test/play with the fuel gauge sender in a bucket. So stoked it worked as advertised. I didn't read the instructions and didnt bother about limiting the current and it did hunnidz and fizzed straight away. It DOES pit the surface if you dont limit it enough. before: anode before and after Fizzing away sender after You can really see the pitting there 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingbrick Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Assuming you pull it out once the rust has gone it shouldn't remove any non rusty material. According to the internet it will target rusty stuff as their bonds are weaker.. the pits were probably there before but you just couldn't see them as they were full of rust. Also, I believe it will strip any zinc or other rust prevention coatings from the parent metal- this may be the green sludge you have had accumulate. When the sacrificial piece gets covered in shit and rusty you need to drag it out and scrape the shit off into ya garden or whatever. For best results you need clean steel there. Now.. do ya tank! Many excite! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 One if the write ups I found suggested too much current could cause the pitting but I can't find that explanation or writeup now. I wonder if the copper wires contributed to the blue crap too? I've got a nice dead piece of garden where my oil etc goes so I'll throw the sludge there. Its great not even weeds grow I ground back the shitty steel quickly as its all I had but it worked well enough. I've plugged the tanks and its as full as I can get it, I'll leave it to chooch overnight and check it in the morning That was as far as I could get the camera in but it shows how the top half is. I got the best pieces of steel I could find and rangid them in. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingbrick Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Awesome! Can't wait to see the result. Be a bit careful tomorrow because you may get pockets of hydrogen gas inside the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 I'm interested to see the result too! Roger that I'll throw a match in from a distance 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yetchh Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 I'm Pretty sure that electrolysis only works by line of sight(as it were) so if you have lots of baffles it may got get the other side.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 47 minutes ago, yetchh said: I'm Pretty sure that electrolysis only works by line of sight(as it were) so if you have lots of baffles it may got get the other side.. I'm pretty sure it works like that too so I'll probably have to do a few movements of the steel annode inside. At the end of the day this is a cheap experiment and if it works well it's a win and if not I have learnt something. It works well on smaller things. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingbrick Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Oi get out of bed and tell us how it went Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 I got the polarity wrong last night so didn't do anything . I've got a bigger battery and no light bulb so it's getting full power as it's a larger surface area. I'll check it this afternoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoKer Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 oh lol funny not funny sorry & yea nah electrickery aint that 'direct' any electrolysis will be in the entire liquid not just between the poles (I am fairly sure of this but not 100% Positive) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 It is kind of funny. I laughed at myself. so I left it on the big battery with no current limiting for 24 ish hours and I think its worked quite well... I'm still filling/rinsing the tank so I'll get some photos inside soon I think there was a fair bit of iron in the solution. I think this might of worked WAY better than I expected. It does help leaving it for ages And yes that is a stick in the bottom to stop it touching the tank And yes I am messy/a hoarder 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 So here are some before and after shots. I think I'll need to do it another couple of times. I'll try find my chain as lots of that scaley stuff can be wiped off with my finger. Before : After: Oh an I probably should of work footware as the solution stings a bit on the old feet & hands 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 So its had about a week, I've scraped off the anodes a few times since the last fluid change. I think we can safely say this works good. Because I'm cheap I'm tempted not to use a sealer on the tank, I think as long as it is full of fuel/ has a functioning fuel cap (not a emergency style one like it had) it should be ok? What are your thoughts? You can see the high tide mark there, I might flip the tank or something to try get that last bit out. I suspect if I was more careful I could strain and re use the solution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingbrick Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Yeah I don't think there is any harm reusing that solution at all! It's also relatively non toxic so you can tip it anywhere ya want. The above tide rust shows its effect pretty well aye! Also.. definitely seal it mate. I'm positive that the tank would had a zinc coating from the factory (that electro galvanized stuff that new panel steel has) Without it I doubt things would stay nice long You could try plating the insides with zinc yourself? (I have no idea on the process) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajg193 Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Especially if you are running 95/98, a lot of fuel companies in NZ put up to 10% ethanol in the fuel. This will absorb water and increase the corrosion rate in a tank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingbrick Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Also just read that the surface left can be quite porus because of how it so selectively removes the oxide. So there's lots of surface area So it will rust fast. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris r Posted February 26, 2017 Author Share Posted February 26, 2017 Good point re ethanol, I didn't think of that. I was hoping to avoid spending 150 as I'm guessing that's what a tank will cost? I'll re fill it and see if I can get the rest of the rust gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.craw4d Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Am currently using this method on a small b + s fuel tank. An old and cheap arlec battery charger hooked straight to the tank. Water and baking soda solution. Been on for an hour and just cleaned a heap of crud off the anode Very happy with it so far. Will update later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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