Rust Removal using Electrolysis

What you need:

A non-conducting container - a large plastic bucket works really well.

Battery charger - big is better, however even one able to produce 6 to 10 amps should do.
Sacrificial electrodes. Concrete reinforcing rod works well (rebar) cut into lengths
Do not use stainless steel! The results are a health hazard and illegal.
Arm and Hammer LAUNDRY soda, also called washing soda. (see below for details)
Wire and/or cables for connecting electrodes together.
Water
Small lengths of small chain (used to suspend the rusty parts in solution) or some other means to
suspend the part to clean into the solution.

The Setup:
Using a plastic, or non-conductive bucket (not metal), mix a solution of 5 gallons water
to 1/3 to 1/2 cup laundry soda. Mix well so all soda is dissolved. Adding more soda will
not make it go faster. Do not try to use other salts. You won't get better results and
dangerous effects may occur. Caustic soda, for example, is far too corrosive. Solutions of
ordinary table salt can generate chlorine gas (toxic) at the positive electrode (anode).
Clean the electrodes so they aren't too rusty - especially at the top ends - they need to
make good electrical contact with your wire or cable AND with the water. Take them to a
wire wheel and give them just a real quick going over. Place electrodes in bucket around
sides, so the clean, rust free ends stick up above the bucket. Use clamps or some means to
hold them in place around the perimeter of the inside of the bucket or container so that
they cannot move freely or fall into center of bucket. The electrodes must not touch the
part(s) to be cleaned, which will be suspended in center of bucket. Whatever you use, it
shouldn't be copper, and will get a bit messy if it gets into your cleaning solution. Tie the
electrodes together with wire or cables. All electrodes need to be tied together, electrically speaking, -one big electrode. This will become the grid. Since the cleaning
process is somewhat line of sight it's best to surround the part to be cleaned to some
extent with the electrodes.
Suspend part to be cleaned into bucket so it hangs in the middle, not touching bottom,
and not touching electrodes. I place a piece of rebar across top of bucket (see photo
below) and bolt a small piece of chain or hook to the part to be cleaned, and clamp the
chain on the rod so that the chain hangs from the rod, and suspends the part into solution
below. The part to clean then becomes the "cathode". Attach battery charger - place
NEGATIVE LEAD (this is critical!!) on the piece that is to be cleaned. Attach
POSITIVE, or RED lead of charger, to electrode grid formed when you placed
electrodes, or rods, into bucket and tied them all together. Make sure electrodes and part
to be cleaned are not touching each other. Do not get this backwards! If you do, you'll use
metal from your part to de-rust your electrodes instead of the other way around. Now turn
on the battery charger. If the current is too high on the battery chargers current meter
there are a number of things you can do to reduce it,

Increase the distance between the part and the anode

Dilute the solution by adding more water
If you have a 6/12 volt charger set it to the 6 volt setting

Within seconds, you should see a lot of tiny bubbles rising from the part suspended in the
mixture. Do not do this inside, or in a closed area
those bubbles are the component parts of water - H2O - hydrogen and oxygen. The
hydrogen will burn explosively Remember the government made bombs out of
hydrogen.
The rust and gunk will bubble up to the top and form a gunky layer. More gunk will form
on the electrodes after some amount of use, they will need to be cleaned and/or replaced the electrodes give up metal over time. That's why re-bar is such a nice choice - it's cheap
and easy to get in pre-cut lengths. Now you just have to wait.
The time required to clean a part will depend on many variables:

size of the part

current used
how badly rusted the part is

The process is self-halting; when there is no more rust to remove, the reaction stops. This
is handy because you don't have to monitor it, and because you can do large parts where
they are not totally submersed at one time without worrying about lines in the final part.
If necessary it is acceptable to leave the operation on overnight so long as it is not in an
enclosed space (see the safety precautions below). You may have to move the piece
occasionally for better cleaning as the best cleaning is done on the part that is in direct
view of the anode (line of sight). If a piece is too large to fit in the bath you will
obviously have to rotate it at some point. It may also be necessary to take the part out of
the bath and clean it with a wire brush to remove some of the now loose scale which will
look like a dark sludge.
Once you are done, the part should be dried immediately, the part is very susceptible to
surface rust after being removed from the solution. There will be a fine layer of dark grey
or black residue on the part that can be easily removed, a grey scrub pad works great, and
once it is removed, the part can be primed or painted as needed.
You can pour the waste solution on the lawn and it won't hurt it. Do watch out for
ornamental shrubs, which may not like iron rich soil.
How large an item can you clean? Well, it's up to your imagination, your budget because it takes water, your time and patience. On a very large scale using a tank made of
plywood and lined with plastic, a DC welder for power supply and hundreds of gallons of
water. You will need to use more electrodes with larger parts and a larger "tank".
Washing soda
Washing soda should be in the laundry section of your grocery
store. It comes in a yellow box, made by Arm & Hammer, but it's
NOT baking soda. If you're interested, washing soda is Sodium
Carbonate (Na2CO3), baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate
(NaHCO3), and Borax is Sodium Tetraborate Decahydrate
(Na2B4O7*10H2O), all different chemical compounds.

Safety Precautions:

Make sure no spills can get to the battery charger. (Electrocution potential)
The leads from the charger are relatively safe, but you may still get a bit of a shock if you put
your hands in the solution or
touch the electrodes while the charger is running.
Turn off the current before making adjustments to the setup. Just as a "spark" can cause a
charging battery to explode in
your face, this process produces similar gases because this process splits water into hydrogen gas
(at the negative electrode)
and oxygen (at the positive electrode).
Hydrogen will burn explosively if ignited. All flames, cigarettes, torches, etc. must be removed
from the area, and sparks
caused by touching the leads together must be avoided. The work should be performed outside or
in a well ventilated area to
remove these gases safely.
Washing soda solutions are alkaline and will irritate the skin and eyes. Use eye protection and
gloves. Immediately wash off
any solution spilled or splashed onto your body.

Why you should not use stainless steel:

Many people using the electrolysis method for rust reduction swear by stainless steel,
stating (incorrectly) that it's not consumed, stays clean and seems safe. Stainless steel is
indeed consumed when used in the electrolysis process, although slowly. The main
problem with using it is the hazardous waste it produces. Stainless steel contains
chromium. The electrodes, and thus the chromium consumed, and you end up with
poisonous chromates in your electrolyte. Dumping these on the ground or down the drain
is illegal. The compounds can cause severe skin problems and ultimately, cancer.
Hexavalent chromate is poisonous. These compounds are not excused from hazardous
waste regulations where household wastes are. These compounds are bad enough that
government regulations mandate elimination of hexavalent chromate by 2007 for
corrosion protection.
Does your electrolyte turn yellow? That's a sign of chromates.
If you have been using stainless steel for the anodes (positive electrodes), wear rubber
gloves when working with or near the liquids. If you need to dispose of it, allow it to
evaporate into powders and dispose of the powders in sealed containers during your local
"hazardous waste clean-up days".
Best bet - don't use stainless steel no matter how tempting it is.

Assembly Procedure Results

Grind a flat spot on the end

of the rebar and tack a bolt
to rebar

I used 5/16"x5/8" bolts and

3/8"x12" rebar

This looks like a good

guinea pig

Flat washers on both sides

of the plastic bucket and 10
gauge wire connected to
each bar

All setup and ready to plug

up the charger

Within seconds bubbles

start to form

One hour later the water is

getting cloudy

3 hours into the bath I

decided to see the damage

This is it after drying it off

with a shop rag

...and then hitting it with a

wire cup on a hand drill

It don't look bad for 5

minutes of labor