My First Dry Cell (And Proud Of It!)

[BeaverRat]

Well, here it is... It seams that wet cells are outdated so I decided to put together a simple dry cell. It consists of:

Lowes SS Cover Plates (13)
1/4 Inch Threaded Rod (6)
1/4 Inch Nuts
1/4 Inch Hose Barbs (5)
Stanton Trading HDPE Endplates (2)
.040 Shower Pan Liner
Plumber Mat
Reservoir
Wires/Connectors

I just finished building it and it's looking great! It is currently set up as -NNNNN+NNNNN-. I will build the reservoir tommorow and start it up for some flow tests. I'll post the results here as soon as I have some. I hope it does well!

Here are some pics...

[hhoconnection]

Very nice build, I am interested in seeing what kind of production you get out of it. Good Job!

[lhazleton]

Looks nice! I never thought of using switchplates for a drycell reactor.
One thing to watch though: The way the wires are connected to the plates
may give you some problems. I used to connect mine that way & they would
find a way to loosen a bit, arc, get hot & start to deteriorate.
Good luck with it.

[BeaverRat]

Thanks, I was origionally using 304SS Sheet Metal 18 Gauge but I butchered it all trying to cut it with shears. I managed to cut out 13 squares but they were not flat at all and I couldn't get a good seal. I figured I would give it a try with cover plates. It works well but you have to be very carefull about shorts because of the bent up edges. I wish they made flat cover plates!

So if this way isn't a good way of connecting the plates, what is a good way? This is the only way I could think of, so anything else would be greatly appreciated...

[lhazleton]

A while back I saw a post somewhere where a guy using switchplates was able to flatten them. I believe he just used a hammer & anvil, but I'm not positive. Also, 18ga. is awfully heavy. The latest reactor I've built is with .028", and this is the thickest I've ever used.
I'll generally use .022".

[BeaverRat]

Ok, I tested it today and it worked pretty well. There is a problem though... It just won't take anything above 6.5 amps. Running at 6.5 amps it has a MMW of about 5, but I really want to be able to get it up to 15 amps. Do you have any ideas of why this is happening? I will take a video of it happening tommorow.

[lhazleton]

What is your e/lyte concentration? Running 5 bi-polar plates per stack, you should be using a 28%KOH solution (3.25lbs 93%KOH per gal. of distilled water).

[BeaverRat]

My reservoir is about 1/2 gallon... How much sodium hydroxide should I put in? Right now im at about 3 teaspoons... Is that not enough to pull 15 amps? I am using the shower pan liner gaskets (.040)

[BeaverRat]

ok im at 25 teaspoons of Sodium Hydroxide in a half gallon of water! Only pulling 4.5 amps! Is this normal?

[hhoconnection]

If you are using Sodium Hydroxide then something is wrong. I would toss it, check everything again and start over. I use about 3 teaspoons of Sodium Hydroxide per gallon with a 6" EBN cell and I can pull 10 amps cold (60-70 degrees) and it will creep up to about 25 amps over the span of about 5 hours and run about 115 degrees. This is running 5 neutrals by the way.

[lhazleton]

I don't know what the concentration should be using sodium hydroxide. I won't use it except for plate conditioning. I prefer KOH at 28%.

[BeaverRat]

What do you mean by 28%? How many Teaspoons per gallon?

[BeaverRat]

OK, Im at 60 teaspoons of Sodium Hydroxide, and that is WAY too much and it's only pulling 5.5 amps (producing .4 LPM). There is clearly a problem somewhere in this setup and I think I have an idea at what might be causing it. When I bought my plates at lowes they all had a matte finish on the back except for 2. Those two had shiny reflective backs. Im thinking somehow those are messing up the current flow in the cell. I am going to replace them with the old matte kind and see how it works. I have an old wet cell with lots of plates that I can salvage! (I know they work too) If anyone else has any ideas let me know.

[BeaverRat]

Thanks for the suggestions... I am actually a junior in highschool though doing this for fun (not a project). I do know the precautions that must be taken when dealing with HHO and Lye. It still doesn't seem right though because with my other wet cell configured as +NNN- I added 1 teaspoon of Lye and it ran at 15 amps no problem, even at the start during conditioning. Oh, and the PSU is actually 13.8 volts, isn't that the correct voltage for 5 neutrals?

[BeaverRat]

SS 304 Plates
+NNNNN-NNNNN+
2.25 volts (measured) per gap
3 teaspoons Sodium Hydroxide/half gallon electrolyte
13.8 volts input
1.5 amps current draw.

Is there any particular reason why my cell won't pull very much amps? I am shooting for 15 amps, but no matter what I do I can't get there! Is 3 teaspoons/half gallon not enough electrolyte? If I short it out to +NNN-NNN+ it will pull 11 amps at this e-lite concentration, but I heard that that is not enough neutrals...

[lhazleton]

Like I mentioned before, a 28%KOH e/lyte is 3.25 lbs. of 90% pure flake per gallon of water.
Also, how thick are the gaskets?

[BeaverRat]

Dang... thats a lot of electroylte! 3 pounds per gallon! So no wonder I wasn't getting production. But why is it that people say that they are getting 20 amps at 2 teaspoons? Oh, and I am using 1/16th inch gaskets.

[lhazleton]

3 lbs. per gallon is if you're using KOH. If you're still using NaOH, that's a totally different mixture.