Dry cell nozzles

[cpaiin]

Hey all! I'm having problems with my hho dry cell, in attaching the nozzle to the cell (the connection is a threaded nozzle on one end and barbed on the other). The threaded side goes onto the cell and the barbed side to the hose (probably obvious). So I'm having trouble connecting the nozzle to the plastic cell plates. How do you guys do it?

Here's what I've tried:
First I used small plastic nozzles and glued it in, but eventually it would leak. Then I tried brass ones with a different kind of glue (first set I used liquid electrical tape and marine goop, then I used Gorilla glue). It seems like every glue I used would eventually disintegrate in the KOH solution. Using brass nozzles probably wasn't a very good idea either since I think they were touching the plates and making a bit of HHO.

Any ideas appreciated!! Thanks!

[cpaiin]

Pictures of any of your systems would also help.

My main concern is securely attaching the nozzle to the plastic plates while taking up minimal space and trying to avoid glues. (unless you know of a glue that's unaffected by KOH)

[Havens78]

I use plastic barbed connections, threaded into the plastic and secured with marine 'GOOP'. Nice tight hose clamp around the hose connections as well. Works just fine in the 1lb of NaOH per gallon of water I'm running.

[BioFarmer93]

I'm going to proceed under the assumption that this is not a joke-


There is a tool called a "tap" and it looks somewhat like a bolt, but with vertical grooves cut out of the threads in several places. Purchase a tap that has the same thread size as your fitting (barbed & threaded nozzel). You place the tap at the hole opening and turn it clockwise to cut threads into the plastic. Be sure to carefully position it vertically when you start the hole. Also, after you have taken 4 full turns into the plastic with it, back it out 1/2 turn, then proceed clockwise again for 1-1/2 turns, back out 1/2 turn again, then forward 1-1/2. Repeat, etc.. Do not "bury" the tap into the plastic, leave 1/4" of cutting threads above the face of the hole to insure a good tight fit and seal on your fitting.

[cpaiin]

I apologize for my stupidity, but thank-you very much :)

(it was not a joke, i did not know those things existed; you have helped me in defeating my ignorance!)

[BioFarmer93]

My friend, do not confuse stupidity with a simple case of method-ignorance. You were smart enough to ask, and now you know. We all have our areas of expertise and ignorance, and I'm glad to help.

[cpaiin]

Thanks, learning this might honestly be one of the most helpful fixes that I have needed in awhile. Leaky HHO cells are the WORST

[cpaiin]

is this what a tap should look like?

[Havens78]

yes that is a good tap tool for your cell nozzles. Refer back to Bio's instructions.

[cpaiin]

I think the tap is my new favorite tool :)

(and after trying to drill straight down in to the plastic plates with a hand drill, I hope everyone out there is aware of how nice it is to have a drill press)

[cpaiin]

I used the tap, put some goop around the nozzle and screwed it in, then applied a bit more goop to the outside. still leaked a bit.
Do you use teflon around the nozzle?
I've now reapplied the nozzle with teflon and a hopefully more secure application of goop.

[D.O.G]

Do not "bury" the tap into the plastic, leave 1/4" of cutting threads above the face of the hole to insure a good tight fit and seal on your fitting.

Did you follow the last bit of Bio's advice?
With a taper tap, the cut thread gets "looser" as you near the top of the tap.

Ive used teflon tape and a liquid teflon sealant at different times, either one worked OK for me, but I started with "tight" threads. I didn't need to use any glue.

[Havens78]

if you use 1/4" tap you need to use 3/8" npt fittings. using 1/4 fittings with a 1/4" tap will not give you a tight seal. And some of us learned this the hard way.

[myoldyourgold]

This takes a little practice to get it exactly right. Just do not thread the tap in to far. When done just right the last couple threads of the fitting is so tight that if you have cheap plastic fittings they will brake while tightening. Get a scrap piece and do a little practice to see how far you need to run the tap. Using goop should seal it if it is not to loose. Make sure is is really dry before you test it.

[cpaiin]

Yeah, I must have buried it a little too far.
@Havens78 Count me in for that ;)
I've been trying a combination of Goop (fully dried), then superglue and teflon wrapped around that while the superglue's still wet. I'll see how that works. I might end up buying some more plates (thicker this time) and being more careful with the threading.

[cpaiin]

Wow, the Teflon/superglue setup worked! Go figure. It probably won't last forever so I'll still have to cut a few more new plates eventually. But now my bubbler is leaking from the nozzle connection... This was pre-made so it's diss appointing, but I'm making progress! Once that's fixed and I figure out a higher amp power supply, I'll be good to go! One more question; is it 'bad' that I'm using only about 2% KOH by weight? And even with that low solution, I'm still drawing more AMPS than the PSU is set to.