The Mudbrooker's Guide to Cast Iron: Electrolysis Tank With Stainless Steel Electrodes

This is the second attempt at building a bigger electrolysis tank to try out stainless electrodes. The first try didn't go well so this one went perfectly, right?

[@Rockhunter329]

From the perspective of a retired analytical chemist, folks using the hexavalent chromium tests should be very cautious as far as saying nothing was detected. Those tests were almost certainly developed to be used with tap water, well water and MAYBE filtered river water. The intended use of these tests (that you can buy off Amazon etc) was not an alkaline sodium carbonate solution. To be sure the test works, you'd have to spike your unused electrolysis solution with hex chromium to make sure the test responds appropriately.

[@lorettacomer4748]

Awesome video! Looks like the stock tank was a great choice for doing multiple pans. I know the video was fighting you every step of the way, thank you for sharing with us.

[@TheMudbrooker]

Apart from not tightening the drain plug, it went a good deal smoother this time around.

[@raymond5194]

Thanks Mud. Nice set up. I'm setting up my lye tank again. Found what I guess is a century BSR dutch pot with lid and a 9a Wagner skillet Sidney O.

[@billie-leelawhon3941]

Thank you Mudbrooker! Appreciate the stream and knowledge. 👏👏👏👏

[@TheMudbrooker]

You're welcome, Billie-Lee.

[@richardfromcanada6129]

I am happy you got your tank up and running. It made for a great video, and does a darn good job of cleaning the pans too. Thankyou for showing how it's done. I will start looking for parts to assemble one as well... it looks very handy for tough rust. Have a good one Mudbrooker!

[@TheMudbrooker]

They work on pretty much any iron or steel object, old tools, machinery parts, you name it.

[@CastIronRestore]

Its amazing how clean the stainless steel anodes are vs regular steel. I'm looking forward to the test strip results, this would be a great alternative and money saver.

[@TheMudbrooker]

They're back ordered at the moment, but that shouldn't matter too much, I was planning on running the tank a while before testing it.

[@turdferguson5300]

I use stainless steel in my tank because it's easier to clean. We aren't using enough amps to cause a problem. If you live close enough to a scrap metal yard it's a good place to get your stainless. I let my pans soak in the lye tank while they wait their turn for the e-tank as you mentioned. I have two 3/4" copper pipes that I hang my pans on. I connect a charger to each of the pipes and let them share the sacrificial anodes. If you have a paint mixer for your drill it makes a good mixer for the lye and laundry soda powder.

[@chobojawz8808]

Doesnt Stainless steel have the chance to produce hexavalent chromium?

[@turdferguson5300]

@@chobojawz8808 I'll try to describe my set up and I've never had a problem. My tank is a 55 gallon plastic barrel cut to 30" tall. I have two sheets of stainless steel sheet metal bent to contour the barrel. They cover the entire surface of the barrel on the inside. I use a Schumacher 200 amp rolling charger. The highest amperage I've seen it produce is 38 amps. I can clean 2-3 pieces at a time. The more surface area of cast iron the higher the amperage. I have the charger setting over a floor vent so I can turn on the hvac fan to keep it cool. Here's the kicker, it's set up in a bathroom that we no longer use. The tank is setting in the tub with the charger over the floor vent. The door stays open with the fan on so I'm sure that provides ventilation. I've had the charger leads arc above the tank several times without a problem. I clean my own pieces as well as two estate sale companies so it's had a lot of pieces in it. This tank is almost a year old. I can't tell ya what to do but that's my setup. Just a crazy tip, your anodes and tank will stay cleaner longer if you put your pieces inside a pillowcase. It acts like a filter to catch most of the crud. I wash it out between pieces. I zip tie a pool noodle to the top of mine to keep it above the surface. Steven at Cast Iron Collector uses a stainless steel tank with no problems. From what I've seen at the amperage we use it hasn't been an issue. This should be the last tank I'll have to build. Hope this helped.

[@Wiencourager]

Last time I was in a pawn shop they had several big changers like that. Seems to be a good place to look for them. I have an old 40 amp power supply I got at a ham radio swap meet that I am going to try.

[@ricksanchez3176]

A peanut from the gallery, keep an eye on your cathode poles. Stainless steels if they are different alloys like to swap elctrons and will turn to powder without hardly showing a sign, but then again they have cathodic protection, so maybe not. I was interested to see if your chain and C-clamp screws started to de-zinc'd? Awesome video as always.

[@TheMudbrooker]

They don't seem to be shedding zinc.

[@melodyannduke1849]

how often do you change the water and add washing soda

[@kenmitchell3355]

I like your videos. I saw 2 then had to subscribe. What are your thoughts on cleaning a chrome plated Weber cooking grate in an electrolysis tank? If the safety of stainless steel hasn't been determined yet I just wonder. Stainless steel has chromium and nickel along with small percentages of a few other metals while chrome is just chromium plating over metal. So it seems as it would be the same but with science there are too many variables leading to forming carcinogens. Thanks for taking the time to make great videos.

[@TheMudbrooker]

I wouldn't advise it, I did end up getting traces of hexavalent chrome in my solution. I'm not sure why, others have used stainless electrodes and always come up negative for hexavalent chrome. Could be ph/mineral content of my water, the amperage I use or any number of things. One would think that unalloyed chrome plating would be less likely to produce hexavalent chrome, but like you said there's too many variables to be sure.

[@kenmitchell3355]

Ken Mitchell 0 seconds ago I’m using plain old rusty steel sheet metal as the sacrificial metal (anode). Would you say it’s still a no go to put my chrome plated Weber cooking grate in the e-tank since I’m not using stainless as the sacrificial metal? Thanks for the speedy reply earlier.

[@peterevans8194]

I am not sure if using stainless steel is a good idea or not, but if you are going that route, for a small tank, why not use a stainless steel pot or dog bowl and attach the positive crop clip directly to it? For a larger set I reckon a stainless steel drum and the plastic drum from an old washing machine has possibilities as well...

[@ricksanchez3176]

I guess if the stainless cathodes start getting crusty, you could reverse the polarity with a sacrificial electrode in place of your pans and repassivate them before changing water.

[@rottiesrule5285]

sir i have a question for you....i am just starting collecting cast iron..have learned alot from you..i found a cast iron square pan that i'm redoing...after running stove cleaner and then the electrolysis tank.. the pan came really clean in great shape and ready to be seasoned..only markings i can find on it is a v on the handle no heat ring. size of pan is 7 1/2 x7 1/2 has egg shaped hanger in handle.was wondering if you might have an idea what kind of pan this is? any help with this would be greatly appreciated...thank you

[@TheMudbrooker]

Is the handle squared off on the end, kinda curved and has a "thumbprint" shaped divot near the base of the handle? If so, it's a Wagner Ware

[@rottiesrule5285]

@@TheMudbrooker no sir it doesn't...it's a flat handle with a little bit of a dimple at the hanger on the bottom side.it doesn't bell out when it meets the pan top and bottom is flat..does bell to the sides

[@TheMudbrooker]

@@rottiesrule5285 Could be a Birmingham Stove and Range, Lodge usually has straight sides. It could also be an import.

[@rottiesrule5285]

@@TheMudbrooker thank you for the info..i would tend to lean towards maybe the BSR as knowing where it came from..it was owned by a friends grandmother he had it and another couple of skillets both of them are BSR they have the ridge that meets the pan..a corn stick pan was a wagner...

[@davidstalter6006]

What's wrong with just using pieces of rebar or iron for electrodes??? They worked just fine for me when cleaning cast iron skillets.... Just wondering..

[@PipeHonka]

Why not use TWO suspension chains to prevent the pans from spinning. One can be the electrode connection and the other just a second wire to stabilize the pan

[@talmanyurkovich4486]

This is very informative but the final part is missing. How do you season the pans and stop them from rusting again. I cleaned mine after dipping them in hypochlorite acid for 2 days. They came out great but I left them for a day and thought; I’ll season them tomorrow. Went out next day and they were covered in rust again! So I assume you have to season them straight away after the E tank process or the oxygen in the air causes them to rust pretty much instantly?

[@TheMudbrooker]

Acids do remove rust well, but as you saw they'll rust again pretty quick. Whatever you do to remove rust you don't need to season them right away but you do need to scrub them, wipe them dry, wipe a little oil on them and dry them on the stove to drive off any moisture.

[@talmanyurkovich4486]

@@TheMudbrooker I’d heard the term ‘flash rust’ so thought that meant instantly once the air hit the metal. I’ve got the rapeseed oil ready and waiting. So just to clarify; E tank Quick wash and scrub Heat up to remove water Oil and let it cool Heat up again More oil Done Thanks for the advice, from Northern Ireland UK.

[@TheMudbrooker]

@@talmanyurkovich4486 Almost, Etank Scrub Wipe dry Oil Heat it dry Get the oil on as soon as possible, even if there's a bit of moisture after wiping it dry, it won't rust if you oil and heat it right away. Once you've oiled and heated it you can season it at your leisure.

[@89ruger]

I have done some reading and using stainless steel for electrolysis is toxic with the chromium. If you have ever watched the movie erin brockovich movie

[@FuriousTortoise]

Right. But PG&E wasn’t using a homemade electrolysis tank. They were dumping hexavalent chromium (Cr-6) into their industrial tanks to prevent rust. The issue wasn’t their SS leeching chromium it was the fact they dumped their grey water into unlined ponds that seeped into groundwater. I’d like to read a study about how much current it takes to release a significant amount of chromium into the tank from SS anodes. From everything I’ve seen and read it must take more than we typically have access to. I’m not entirely convinced SS anodes are safe enough to trust with my cookware until I learn more about the process.

[@bowe1978]

if you take into concideration the heat and voltage used in an E-Tank compared to industreal use, the E-Tank is safe! Read more!!

[@EmmittBrownBTTF1]

With the chrome in stainless, I'm assuming the electrolyte is not salt, hexavalent chrome is a bitch. Washing soda is commonly used because of this.

[@wojowojtanik8228]

Have you ever tried aluminum For the electroids.

[@Rockhunter329]

Aluminum wouldn't be a good choice. Aluminum itself is attacked by caustic solutions.

[@carlr.campbell4772]

There is not enough chorme in the solution to worry about, have been an electrplater for 40 years and stripped alot of chrome in an alkaline cleaner tank.

[@RustyNail5856]

nice video, but your camera was a little to close.

[@stevennolan2675]

There is no steel in stainless steel... I don't get why people use it in electrolysis tank 🤔

[@trplankowner3323]

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, by definition. Most stainless steel alloys contain some carbon. Therefore, any stainless steel that contains carbon IS steel. Now whether a set up like this to do electrolysis for cast iron cookware should have an iron sacrificial electrode for the positive side may be debatable. I suppose that might depend on your objective for the electrolysis process is. Personally, I would like to see a lot of sacrificial iron in the tank, because I want to keep as much iron on that cookware as possible.

[@stevennolan2675]

@@trplankowner3323 cheaper magnetic stainless is usually an alloy of nickle, which will attract a magnet, and Chrome. Higher grades are chrome/ molybdenum

[@trplankowner3323]

@@stevennolan2675 From what I'm reading, you seem to be confusing Inconel with stainless steel. Stainless steel is an an alloy of iron with carbon (which makes it steel), chromium and usually nickel and probably other elements. The chromium is what makes it "stainless", or more accurately corrosion resistant. However, it is steel, by definition.

[@stevennolan2675]

@@trplankowner3323 wow, thanks for forcing me to take a minute to research this, I guess should do that BEFORE making a comment 😅

[@hbrucewilliamson1787]

Stainless steel is steel with chromium and nickel added to resist corrosion. Common grades have 18% chrome and 8% nickel

[@fideauone3416]

I've always read that you should not use stainless. Maybe they are wrong.