Quote:
Originally Posted by RASE
Hello,
I use two stacks of 3 9-volt batteries with distilled water. Works well. A couple observations and questions:
The distance between the electrodes suspended in the water has an influence on the speed of the reaction. Do you know of an optimum distance?
I use two stacks of 3 because one stack of 3 seemed to take a long time. This indicates that the reaction is current dependent as well as voltage. Any idea what the best current is?
RASE
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I keep one wire electrode straight so that it runs down the inside of my glass down to the bottom of the water.
The other electrode I bend at the middle and then curve it so that it forms a semi-circle around the inside circumfernece of the glass. In this configuration, the curve electrode is midway down into the depth of my distilled water. The other electrode is on the opposite side of the glass and runs stright down to the bottom.
The current is going to vary. As more ions disperse into the solution, the current is going to increase. My
setup had an LED in the circuit. When I throw the switch, the LED is very dim and over a few minutes it gradually gets brighter. With experience doing this you will eventually figure out at what brightness of the LED you should stop the electrolysis. (Of course if you let the power stay on too long, you eventually flow too much current and will blow out your LED)
If you want to get fancy and add a little more expense to your rig, you can build an ammeter onto your battery box. You can usually get a cheap junk ammeter from any auto scrap yard or electronics salvage store. With an ammeter you get to see a numerical value to your current and determine your own current limit by experience.
Regards,
Merkhava