making potassium (per) chlorate

[Tesla]

It looks like there's hot glue there, but it's just a reflectionfrom the camera flash. Since I'm doingthis outside and don't need a vent tube, I just cut a slot in the lid to allowme to adjust the spacing. Darn, I was afraid of that Do you think it would hold up better if I raised theanode/cathode high enough so that the anode bolt would be out of the kclsolution?@ Mabuse00. The smell is kind of hard to describe. Kind of has an earthy dirt smell to it. As for the "rust" I just figured that was normal, but I don't really know.

 

Edited January 10, 2012 by Tesla

[WSM]

I just got 2 MMO sheets from laserred.

Say, did your stuff has this acid smell to?

Mine also have some kind of "rust" on them, please see the pictures.

What do you think? Is that OK?

I'm too busy at the moment to try anything with them, my chlorate experiment certainly has to wait some time. Is there anything necessary to preserve them for some time?

 

Hi mabuse00,

 

Yes, mine has (had) that smell, too. As for the "rust", I treated mine with HCl like Swede did, and after about 15-30 minutes rinse them in water. I believe it is rust and it converts to yellow iron chlorides and washes away with the hydrochloric acid treatment. Once treated and rinsed, wrap them in paper or clean rags till you are ready to use them; they'll be fine.

 

Enjoy!

 

WSM

[mabuse00]

Fine, thanks for your answers

[WSM]

It looks like there's hot glue there, but it's just a reflectionfrom the camera flash. Since I'm doing this outside and don't need a vent tube, I just cut a slot in the lid to allow me to adjust the spacing. Darn, I was afraid of that Do you think it would hold up better if I raised theanode/cathode high enough so that the anode bolt would be out of the kclsolution?@ Mabuse00. The smell is kind of hard to describe. Kind of has an earthy dirt smell to it. As for the "rust" I just figured that was normal, but I don't really know.

 

Hi Tesla,

 

There was something about your statements that troubled me and I'm sorry it took this long to respond (I've been rather busy). I do my work outside too, but cutting the lid to adjust spacing is unneccessary; just leave the lid off. The electrode spacing can be decided by clamping the electrode leads (if long enough) between two slats of wood clamped together with metal all-thread rod and wing nuts with washers.

 

The arrangement I'm trying to describe is like the wooden slacks hangars that keep your dress trousers neatly pressed while hanging in the closet, only this one is bolted together instead of levered together and should be long enough to reach across the top of the bucket and rest on the edges. If you take a meter stick (or yard stick in the US) and cut it in half in the middle of its length, and then hold the two pieces together against the flat faces; you get the idea I'm trying to describe.

 

After you decide on the optimal electrode spacing for your cell, then the bucket lid can be drilled or cut for permanent mounting of the electrodes and other accessory ports. I like the idea of Swede's BCA (bucket cell adaptor) more and more as I think about it. A piece of 1/2" thick (12.7mm) grey PVC plate bolted to the lid (with a hole previously cut out to accomodate the various ports in the BCA) and sealed with an O-ring. The BCA will have various ports to take different fittings if they're used or plugged if they're not. I'm presuming filled tubular titanium leads on the electrodes so they'll be securely held in PVDF or PTFE compression fittings and prevent any unwanted shifting or movement (and no salt creep to eat your electrical connections!!!). I recommend using a vent (a minimum of three ports used, including the two electrodes and a vent) to run fumes away from where you're working and away from your attendent equipment (power supply, etc.). I think Swede had at least six ports in his prototype BCA; check his blog to be sure.

 

I'm not a fan of just letting the fumes go without channeling them safely away (if only a couple feet or one meter away, even outdoors) because it's better to control where they go than risk blasting yourself with chlorine. I'm also careful to vent the hydrogen upward and away from any source of ignition (wouldn't want to blow the lid off my experiments and alarm others; and yes, it could happen if you're careless!).

 

Better safe than sorry...

 

WSM

Edited January 15, 2012 by WSM

[WSM]

While the mathematical approach may be nice, the practical approach seems to favour running the cell for an hour then titrating back to original pH then adding that much every hour. With a less concentrated acid it may be possible to use either a bellows pump or a peristaltic pump on two timers -every hour(ish) the pump runs for so many seconds.

http://www.iwakipump...uk/products.php and look at the KB range - it's a bellows pump of selectable stroke and time period. Someone in the USA please look for redundant film processing machinery. A professional E6 machine should have about 20 replenishment pumps, and process E6 is fading into obscurity with the advent of digital so the machines are being scrapped and there may be salvage to be had.

Added; This seller may direct you to replenishment pumps salvage in the USA, durst-pro-usa on ebay

 

Arthur's suggestion to use chemical pumps salvaged from decommissioned photofinishing equipment payed off in my obtaining several high quality, low cost pumps to move toxic or corrosive liquids around safely and efficiently.

 

After I acquired several of the bellows pumps, I noticed the magnetically coupled chemical pumps offered on eBay by the same seller and bought some smaller ones as the larger ones were too powerful for what I'm trying to do. In particular I like the MD-10 series made by IWAKI (see item numbered 170763776712 on eBay). The seller of these surplus units is offering two pumps for $60 or best offer plus shipping ($12). I was able to negotiate getting the pair delivered for $25 each.

 

When I got them I took them apart, cleaned them, reassembled them and tested them with water and they work very well ! They take 1/2" ID tubing and move a lot of liquid (about 3.1 gallons or 11.7 liters per minute) with low power consumption and are quiet in operation. They use the liquid being pumped to lubricate the ceramic bearings so the pump has to be primed but this is easy if you design it's use outside of, and at the lower end of a holding tank. I plumb everything with PVC plumbing fittings and vinyl tubing. So far, so good!

 

I've set one up to run my salt dissolving tank and the high flow rate should greatly facilitate making my salt solution in short order (my old chemistry professor said moving liquids dissolve up to seven times as much salt as still liquids in a given amount of time!). Since my small experimental system has a total capacity of about 8 gallons (30 liters), this high capacity salt solution system will be handy. The "Monster" has a capacity of 100-120 liters (up to 32 gallons) and I've already prepared a tank to make about 100+ liters of salt solution per batch, with a side port for salt solution delivery without re-plumbing the system.

 

This sounds like a monstrous system but in reality the whole thing will fit in a small garden shed, if properly set up. A wise, kind old friend once said, " What do you need all that chlorate for?!", and frankly I don't. The challenge is what intrigues me and that's why I do this; the fun of seeing if I can!!! When I prove it I'll probably donate the cleaned salts to the rocket club and we can use it for propellants or smoke tracking experiments or some other "safe" use of it .

 

WSM

[WSM]

I've set one up to run my salt dissolving tank and the high flow rate should greatly facilitate making my salt solution in short order (my old chemistry professor said moving liquids dissolve up to seven times as much salt as still liquids in a given amount of time!). Since my small experimental system has a total capacity of about 8 gallons (30 liters), this high capacity salt solution system will be handy.

 

I thought I'd show a photo of the pump set up to run the salt dissolving tank:

 

 

The tank is set up with a port and ball valve near the bottom. The pump is next and connected with thin-wall vinyl tubing (1/2" ID X 5/8" OD) and the output goes to a fitting in the lid of the tank. The tank is made of a section of 12" schedule 40 PVC pipe with PVC flat plate on the bottom and a loose lid of the same material. When the pump is energized you hear the liquid splashing inside the tank but the pump is practically silent (I had to touch it to feel it running if not for the splashing sounds).

 

These are very nice pumps and certainly worth the cost. Buying them surplus for pennies on the dollar is a major plus!!!

 

WSM

[WSM]

The "Monster" has a capacity of 100-120 liters (up to 32 gallons) and I've already prepared a tank to make about 100+ liters of salt solution per batch, with a side port for salt solution delivery without re-plumbing the system.

 

Here is a photo of the large capacity system preparations so far:

 

 

This tank is an eBay purchase from several years ago and a major find! It's polypropylene and rectangular in shape (18" X 18" X 24" tall, outside dimensions). At 18" of fill it is roughly 25 gallons or about 95 liters. The photo shows the bottom port with the tank fitting and 1/2" PVC plumbing. All the fittings are threaded and put together with teflon tape. I plan to put a 90^o elbow on the inside fitting to reach down to the bottom of the tank with a simple PVC filter to keep large crystals from plugging the port.

 

I used a ball valve to open and close the whole assembly and a Tee fitting leading to the hose barb going to the pump and up to the lid of the tank. The side leg of the Tee goes to another ball valve and a hose barb for dispensing the salt solution (for use in the cells). I did it this way for convenience, so I don't have to change the setup to collect the salt solution. I put a piece of vinyl tube between the hose barbs to keep spiders and other pests from getting in the fittings until I press this system into service.

 

WSM

Edited January 16, 2012 by WSM

[pyrojig]

Man that is a jewel!!!!! I love the pics ....Do the plants come with it complementary , they do add a nice green decor to the setup.

Very nicely done. Keep" em coming .

 

http://i918.photobucket.com/albums/ad24/pyrojig/SNC01233.jpg

 

Here is something interesting that I just had to post. I took a pic of a few Kclo3 crystals that are really beautiful. I believe that a more basic solution is the cause to this type of crystal formation. More acidic created a cubical type v.s. a pallet or thin layered larger crystal.

Anyone else have similar results with the formation of crystals due to the ph?

Edited January 16, 2012 by pyrojig

[WSM]

Man that is a jewel!!!!! I love the pics ....Do the plants come with it complementary , they do add a nice green decor to the setup.

Very nicely done. Keep" em coming .

Here is something interesting that I just had to post. I took a pic of a few Kclo3 crystals that are really beautiful. I believe that a more basic solution is the cause to this type of crystal formation. More acidic created a cubical type v.s. a pallet or thin layered larger crystal.

Anyone else have similar results with the formation of crystals due to the ph?

 

Speaking of jewels, what size are those crystals? I could dip one in a thin polymer preservative and hang it on a chain for my Wife to wear (I'd think it was beautiful at least...).

 

The plants are provided by nature, weeds actually. I think one of the previous owners had some as a ground cover and I can hardly keep the stuff from taking over (oh well... it does make a good photographic backdrop ). Thanks for the kind words.

 

WSM

[pyrojig]

They are anywhere from 1/2" wide x 3/4" long ( smaller ones on bottom) to over a 1" dia + for the ones above it.

[WSM]

They are anywhere from 1/2" wide x 3/4" long ( smaller ones on bottom) to over a 1" dia + for the ones above it.

 

NICE! Almost a shame to grind them up to make things with. Keep going and growing!

 

WSM

[Tesla]

Hi Tesla,

 

There was something about your statements that troubled me and I'm sorry it took this long to respond (I've been rather busy). I do my work outside too, but cutting the lid to adjust spacing is unneccessary; just leave the lid off. The electrode spacing can be decided by clamping the electrode leads (if long enough) between two slats of wood clamped together with metal all-thread rod and wing nuts with washers.

 

The arrangement I'm trying to describe is like the wooden slacks hangars that keep your dress trousers neatly pressed while hanging in the closet, only this one is bolted together instead of levered together and should be long enough to reach across the top of the bucket and rest on the edges. If you take a meter stick (or yard stick in the US) and cut it in half in the middle of its length, and then hold the two pieces together against the flat faces; you get the idea I'm trying to describe.

 

After you decide on the optimal electrode spacing for your cell, then the bucket lid can be drilled or cut for permanent mounting of the electrodes and other accessory ports. I like the idea of Swede's BCA (bucket cell adaptor) more and more as I think about it. A piece of 1/2" thick (12.7mm) grey PVC plate bolted to the lid (with a hole previously cut out to accomodate the various ports in the BCA) and sealed with an O-ring. The BCA will have various ports to take different fittings if they're used or plugged if they're not. I'm presuming filled tubular titanium leads on the electrodes so they'll be securely held in PVDF or PTFE compression fittings and prevent any unwanted shifting or movement (and no salt creep to eat your electrical connections!!!). I recommend using a vent (a minimum of three ports used, including the two electrodes and a vent) to run fumes away from where you're working and away from your attendent equipment (power supply, etc.). I think Swede had at least six ports in his prototype BCA; check his blog to be sure.

 

I'm not a fan of just letting the fumes go without channeling them safely away (if only a couple feet or one meter away, even outdoors) because it's better to control where they go than risk blasting yourself with chlorine. I'm also careful to vent the hydrogen upward and away from any source of ignition (wouldn't want to blow the lid off my experiments and alarm others; and yes, it could happen if you're careless!).

 

Better safe than sorry...

 

WSM

 

 

Hi WSM, thanks for the reply. You can't see it from my first pic, but my spacing device is just a piece of threaded plastic rod with acouple of nuts to secure the shafts of the electrodes (cant get the pic of it to upload for some reason). Thanks for the idea though. Since I already have this done I thinks all stick with it, but it's always good to have a plan B. Since I live out in the country I'm not too worried about having to channel the fumes anywere, needless to say I will have some vent holes.

 

Edited January 17, 2012 by Tesla

[WSM]

Here is a photo of the large capacity system preparations so far:

This tank is an eBay purchase from several years ago and a major find! It's polypropylene and rectangular in shape (18" X 18" X 24" tall, outside dimensions). At 18" of fill it is roughly 25 gallons or about 95 liters. The photo shows the bottom port with the tank fitting and 1/2" PVC plumbing. All the fittings are threaded and put together with teflon tape. I plan to put a 90^o elbow on the inside fitting to reach down to the bottom of the tank with a simple PVC filter to keep large crystals from plugging the port.

I used a ball valve to open and close the whole assembly and a Tee fitting leading to the hose barb going to the pump and up to the lid of the tank. The side leg of the Tee goes to another ball valve and a hose barb for dispensing the salt solution (for use in the cells). I did it this way for convenience, so I don't have to change the setup to collect the salt solution. I put a piece of vinyl tube between the hose barbs to keep spiders and other pests from getting in the fittings until I press this system into service.

WSM

 

I finished the salt solution pump intake in the large capacity system by using some 1/2" fittings (PVC and PVDF) and assembling them as seen in the photos below:

 

 

These photos show the same assembly but one is in the proper operational position with the intake pointed down to the bottom of the tank, and the other turned up so the filter holes can be seen. The plug with the filter holes is hollow and I drilled small holes in the bottom (7) and two each in each face of the hexagonal head (12) for a total of 19 holes. My hope is the amount of flow through the intake will be adequate for the pump and desired fluid flow in the whole system.

 

More later...

 

WSM

Edited January 17, 2012 by WSM

[WSM]

I finished the salt solution pump intake in the large capacity system by using some 1/2" fittings (PVC and PVDF) and assembling them as seen in the photos below:

These photos show the same assembly but one is in the proper operational position with the intake pointed down to the bottom of the tank, and the other turned up so the filter holes can be seen. The plug with the filter holes is hollow and I drilled small holes in the bottom (7) and two each in each face of the hexagonal head (12) for a total of 19 holes. My hope is the amount of flow through the intake will be adequate for the pump and desired fluid flow in the whole system.

More later...

WSM

 

I did some research in the Merck Index and discovered that at 25^oC (77^oF) both NaCl and KCl's solubility is 1g / 2.8ml H₂O. I did the calculations and figured the smaller salt solution tank filled to 17" (43cm) should produce enough solution to fill the experimental system (~8 gallons or ~30 liters). The larger salt solution tank is designed to fill "The Monster" and I learned that it can handle two 40 lb bags of salt with 27 gallons of water (36.32Kg / 101.7 liters H₂O). It sounds outrageous, but the numbers don't lie. I better look for a sale on distilled water somewhere (or build a water still!).

 

More later...

 

WSM

[pyrojig]

I did some research in the Merck Index and discovered that at 25^oC (77^oF) both NaCl and KCl's solubility is 1g / 2.8ml H₂O. I did the calculations and figured the smaller salt solution tank filled to 17" (43cm) should produce enough solution to fill the experimental system (~8 gallons or ~30 liters). The larger salt solution tank is designed to fill "The Monster" and I learned that it can handle two 40 lb bags of salt with 27 gallons of water (36.32Kg / 101.7 liters H₂O). It sounds outrageous, but the numbers don't lie. I better look for a sale on distilled water somewhere (or build a water still!).

 

More later...

 

WSM

 

Sounds like a beast!!!

Im sure you could scale down the Monster tank and have a less cumbersome unit. It seems that even half that size will do amazing amounts of production . It would require more frequent refilling's, but for the space saved scaling down the monster may be worth it( unless space is of no consequence .) Are you planning to use passive heating to maintain the 25C or if I recall right, you where going to use a tank heater ?

[oldmanbeefjerky]

impressive!

 

Hey, i just got some old chlorinator cells from the pool shop (manager was upset that it took up so much room, silly guy kept the power supplies as well. 20 power supplies to 3 cells).

When i cracked them open, i was very surprised with what i saw!

On all of them, they were disfunctional because the cathodes had been obliterated and covered in gypsum and insoluable copper calcium compounds.

I found on one cell, the cathodes were corroded through and through, snapping like super rusted sheet metal.

But the anodes, aside from a little bit of hard black crystal growing on the anodes, they had no noticeable signs of damage. This being annoying for me because i wanted the cathodes.

Anyone know why the anodes were in such good condition, but the cathodes were destroyed?

still, in one the anodes and cathodes were solid 1.5mm thick plates, so it wasnt a total waste, plus i got some solid titanium rods.

[pyrojig]

Sounds like a score!!!

I have the same experience with the cathodes taking the damage in a cell. It seems they are the most susceptible to attack. The mmo protects the Ti Anodes .The Ti, if any alloy is present will degrade and imbrittle . Overheating even with CP Ti will imbrittle as well.

 

Ive been having problems with my cathodes lately as well showing degrading effects. Informed by WSM that the cause may be tap water and its contaminates eating the cathodes slowly. Upon inspection of the cell after a run shows a greyish colored material right under the cathodes only. I scrub off a layer of crap after ea 10day cycle. It seems like a mix of Ti oxide and kclo3 sticking to the surface of the cathodes . I am considering not using tap water to run in my cell once it is reconstructed and gone through.

[oldmanbeefjerky]

strangely on the self cleaning ones, both anode and cathode have a protective coating of some sorts, and it seems they are in mint condition. Now i have some titanium for lead conectors, to make more anodes using proper MMO!

on another cathode sheet from other cell, when i bend it, it makes a crackling noise. somehow the thing is partially oxidiezed through and through. no matter how much i scrape off the edges, its still dull grey oxide.

[pyrojig]

strangely on the self cleaning ones, both anode and cathode have a protective coating of some sorts, and it seems they are in mint condition. Now i have some titanium for lead conectors, to make more anodes using proper MMO!

on another cathode sheet from other cell, when i bend it, it makes a crackling noise. somehow the thing is partially oxidiezed through and through. no matter how much i scrape off the edges, its still dull grey oxide.

 

If you ask me, it sounds like it has become brittle and the crackling noise is the tell tale sign. The Ti should make no noise at all when bent. I too have a dull colored oxide layer forming on the cathodes from wear and tear.

[Essohbe]

OKay, been reading up about this. I was going to make a ClO cell from a 5gal bucket. I had figured the soluability (from Merck) at:

 

There are 18.9270589 liters eqivalent in 5 Gal U.S.

Round that to 19Liters per 5 gal bucket.

19 litres x 1,000mL/1 liter = 19,000mL.

19,000/2.8g = 6,785.71g of KCl to dissolve into room temp water...

19,000/1.8g = 10,555.5g of KCl to dissolve into boiling water...

 

(10,555.5 g = 372.334 oz | 10,555.5 g = 23.2708 lbs ... OR ... 23 lb and 4.33 oz)

 

Can anyone help me with the power now? Amperage and voltages to the volume and soluability of that cell?

I dont know if a paltinum electrode made from a catalytic converter is large enough for this, it should be I would think, what say any of you?

Edited February 21, 2012 by Essohbe

[WSM]

Sounds like a beast!!!

Im sure you could scale down the Monster tank and have a less cumbersome unit. It seems that even half that size will do amazing amounts of production . It would require more frequent refilling's, but for the space saved scaling down the monster may be worth it( unless space is of no consequence .) Are you planning to use passive heating to maintain the 25C or if I recall right, you where going to use a tank heater ?

 

I'm back from Winterblast and trying to recover (too much fun, I guess).

 

Maybe I should cut the crystallizer in half (from one 30" x 48" CC to two 30" x 24" CC's). Space here is critical but the whole unit, full sized, would fit on a 30" x 72" table; not counting all the attendent hardware. A small garden shed would handle it all. Smaller is easier to accomodate though. We'll see...

 

Actually, I'm planning on passive cooling, not heating in the CC. The only heating I'll use is in the heat well to prevent crystal fouling of the float switches and pump returning depleted liquor to the RC (unless I need to heat the returning liquor between the heat well and the RC also).

 

WSM

[pyrojig]

OKay, been reading up about this. I was going to make a ClO cell from a 5gal bucket. I had figured the soluability (from Merck) at:

 

There are 18.9270589 liters eqivalent in 5 Gal U.S.

Round that to 19Liters per 5 gal bucket.

19 litres x 1,000mL/1 liter = 19,000mL.

19,000/2.8g = 6,785.71g of KCl to dissolve into room temp water...

19,000/1.8g = 10,555.5g of KCl to dissolve into boiling water...

 

(10,555.5 g = 372.334 oz | 10,555.5 g = 23.2708 lbs ... OR ... 23 lb and 4.33 oz)

 

Can anyone help me with the power now? Amperage and voltages to the volume and soluability of that cell?

I dont know if a paltinum electrode made from a catalytic converter is large enough for this, it should be I would think, what say any of you?

 

Your gonna have to roll back through the thread and read. All your Q's will be answered if you take the time and read. If you look through the blogs, you'll find a great section on chlorates and perchs done by the author "Swede". Your goal is to match the electrodes with your power supply . The larger cell will only increase the need for bigger electrodes and supply. To put it to you this way, I run 30A to a 5gal sys and in the summer it runs around 60*C. The cell must handle high temps.

 

I think your working backwards. First source a power supply, second match electrodes to it , third build a cell that can handle the temp and electrodes you have. Titanium is the most likely metal in a catalytic converter , Platinum will not likely be what your getting.

 

 

 

@ WSM :

Sorry I was thinking backwards ... how do you figure on cooling it passively .

Edited February 22, 2012 by pyrojig

[WSM]

Your gonna have to roll back through the thread and read. All your Q's will be answered if you take the time and read. If you look through the blogs, you'll find a great section on chlorates and perchs done by the author "Swede". Your goal is to match the electrodes with your power supply . The larger cell will only increase the need for bigger electrodes and supply. To put it to you this way, I run 30A to a 5gal sys and in the summer it runs around 60*C. The cell must handle high temps.

I think your working backwards. First source a power supply, second match electrodes to it , third build a cell that can handle the temp and electrodes you have. Titanium is the most likely metal in a catalytic converter , Platinum will not likely be what your getting.

 

@ WSM :

Sorry I was thinking backwards ... how do you figure on cooling it passively?

 

I think the trick is to size the electrodes carefully so the RC gets to just about 40^oC tops and the wide and shallow CC with normal ventilation allows it to cool to below 30^oC so the crystallization will happen naturally (in the CC) as the liquor gets saturated, but stay in solution in the RC. More experimentation is required to see if I can strike the neccessary balance to have this work in my continuous system.

 

With a variable power supply, I can adjust the input power to control the RC temperature to some degree. The rest will be cell design and taking advantage of the nature of the cell materials, and as long as I work within their limits it should be fine. We'll see...

 

WSM

[WSM]

strangely on the self cleaning ones, both anode and cathode have a protective coating of some sorts, and it seems they are in mint condition. Now i have some titanium for lead conectors, to make more anodes using proper MMO!

on another cathode sheet from other cell, when i bend it, it makes a crackling noise. somehow the thing is partially oxidiezed through and through. no matter how much i scrape off the edges, its still dull grey oxide.

 

It sounds like you've got anodes covered. You need to get some good cathodes to match them and see how they work for you. I strongly recommend CP titanium as the best candidate. Also, an important thing to remember is not to leave your electrodes in an unpowered cell, but remove them from the liquor when the power is off.

 

I wonder if a lot of the damage seen in the pool chlorinators happens when the season is over and people just unplug the system and leave it exposed to the water/salt there? Any thoughts?

 

WSM

[WSM]

Sounds like a score!!!

I have the same experience with the cathodes taking the damage in a cell. It seems they are the most susceptible to attack. The mmo protects the Ti Anodes .The Ti, if any alloy is present will degrade and imbrittle . Overheating even with CP Ti will imbrittle as well.

Ive been having problems with my cathodes lately as well showing degrading effects. Informed by WSM that the cause may be tap water and its contaminates eating the cathodes slowly. Upon inspection of the cell after a run shows a greyish colored material right under the cathodes only. I scrub off a layer of crap after ea 10day cycle. It seems like a mix of Ti oxide and kclo3 sticking to the surface of the cathodes . I am considering not using tap water to run in my cell once it is reconstructed and gone through.

 

My thought was if the tap water is fluoridated, fluorine eats titanium fairly fast. It can even eat it under the MMO, causing it to separate and loose conductivity, drastically shortening the life of it and ruining the anode. Other contaminants also have negative effects on the electrodes as well. Using distilled water or water purified by reverse osmosis will solve many of these problems if the other additives (salt, acid etc.) are sufficiently pure.

 

WSM