Thread: Solar Panel Voltage Control

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Brian.
I would love to see some pics of your set up and the results of the 2 methods.
Andrew

A few I took today.

What everything has started out looking like ................................



The solar panels currently supplying power - seems to be working well without the voltage controller / regulator. I did have them set up on the roof of the camper trailer, but that has now been set up for a potential buyer to come around and have a look at it, so have moved solar panels down onto the cage on my other trailer.



A couple of pics of the actual tub where the electrolytic cleaning is happening. At present, I am running two anodes (one at each end of the tub) which I will pull out and clean tomorrow. I usually get up to 1/2 inch thick rust scaling on these plates before cleaning with hose and wire brush, and then returning to the tub. When I was using a smaller tub for cleaning smaller items, I only had one anode set up in one end of the tub - seemed to work well enough.



A couple of the finished products. First, an old bench vice that I found that was covered in rust and grease, and was almost siezed solid (took a bit of gentle persuasion with an FBH and some cursing before I eventually got it all stripped down. Came out well though, and I now have two bench vices in my shed.



And the first of two camp ovens I wanted to clean, plus a heavy old cast iron kettle / air humidifier that was a rusted out mess.



The second and larger camp oven that I want to clean is in the tub now. After that, I only have the lid of that camp oven to do, and that round grill / frying pan. Should be all finished in a few more days. Takes a bit longer using only the solar panels for power, as you only get effective cleaning during daylight hours. But I'm not in any rush ............... and solar power is not costing me anything.

The electrolyte solution in the tub is simply rain water from the tank and washing soda (sodium carbonate - NOT sodium bicarbonate from the kitchen) added at two and a half cups per 10 litre bucket of water. It is recommended not to use tap / scheme water if your water is chlorinated - no problems here as I installed a large rainwater tank alongside the laundry a few years ago, and we always have plenty of rainwater in that.

I usually make up a fresh batch of electrolyte solution for each item that I want to clean. By the time you finish each item, there is usually a layer of rust colored froth / scum about an inch thick floating on top, and the solution itself is dark brown, approaching black with rust and carbon removed from the cast iron.

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Brian.
Using your method,do you need to remove old caked on oils etc???? Thinking both in cooking implements(BBQ grills,camp ovens etc) and machinery parts(engine blocks,gearbox casings,diff casings etc).
Nothing planed at the moment,just filing away the knowledge
Thanks
Andrew

That old bench vice had a lot of old, dried out caked on grease and dirt in the underside channel where the threaded rod runs - I scraped most of it out but there was still a fair bit left in there. It all came out over the first day in the tub - I had to change the electrolyte at the end of the first day with that one. It was only in a small tub, and the solution was very dirty with a thick layer of froth / scum on top - such that I could not actually see if there was any bubbling going on.

The only camp oven that had any significant amount of caked on oil on the inside was the one that is in the tub now - and it seems to have cleaned out quite quickly in the tub with no help from me so far.

Nothing comes out of the electrolysis process looking as clean and shiny as in any of the pictures above. In general, everything comes out a dull grey - not attractive at all, but clean and absent of any sign of rust. I hose clean and dry everything off (weather has been quite warm up here recently so it generally only takes a couple of minutes for things to be dry after I remove from the tub and hose them off.Then I hit them with copper wire brush/es. I have a range of different shape / size copper wire brushes in the shed, from the big wheel on the end of one of the bench grinders, plus a couple of different ones that fit into angle grinders, down to a few smaller ones of different shapes that are used in electric drills. Doesn't take much effort at all with the appropriate sized wire brush/es to remove any loose stuff and remaining crud, and this process tends to result in a "shiny" finish. The next step after that is a good thorough wash in the kitchen sink before being placed in the oven to dry and seasoning applied.