[track73]

I want to get the rust and grime off a 1969 intake. I'd like to use electrolysis but i don't have a manual battery charger. I have 2 automatic units and would like to convert one so I will be able to use it for that reason. My question is has anyone done that to a Harbor Freight Cen-Tec charger? If so how was it done?

[25stevem]

If you want to convert one then you will need to do this.
The wall power cable feeds the primary / input side of a step down type power transformer.

The the output side of the transformer feeds rectifiers to change that lower output voltage to dc volts.

After that the dc voltage goes into a regulator circuit to sence the charge level / current draw of the battery.

It’s this regulator that you need to bypass and run the negative and positive voltage from the rectifiers right to the units output cables.

Note. If your using a voltmeter to figure this out ( which you should!) that the output side of the transformer may read less than 12 volts A/C.
This is because when A/C is converting to DC the voltage potential goes up, this may be as high as a 1.4 to 1 ratio depending on the rectifier configuration used in your unit.

[ZeGermanHam]

Seems kinda like a lot of work for the task at hand if you don't already have everything needed for electrolysis. If I was tackling this job and didn't have access to a media blaster, I'd probably do the following:

1. De-grease & pressure-wash
2. Coat with CitriStrip, let sit 24 hours, then brush (or pressure wash) off old paint
3. Submerge in Evapo-Rust for 24 hours

It'll come out looking practically brand new.

[25stevem]

Well if you go thru the 1/2 hour process of modifying a charger in this way you will have something you can use over and over again with the cost of only baking soda and water and maybe another attractor rod which could be scrap metal.

Never mind the people who do not have a pressure washer and would then need to rent one if a friend did not have one to lone out.

[ZeGermanHam]

To each their own. De-greasing can be done with a garden hose, and as I mentioned, you can remove the softened paint with a stiff brush if you don't have a pressure washer.

I've never personally cleaned up parts with electrolysis, but the DIY examples I have seen of it online haven't impressed me all that much.

The parts I've cleaned with Evapo-Rust, however, have amazed me with how clean they came out.

[dataway]

I did some electrolysis before I had a blasting cabinet. Works ok if given time. Messy, but the upside is it's extremely cheap and requires the bare minimum of equipment.

If you modify your Cen-Tech charger you're going to want the AMP settings to still work, you don't want to use the higher settings, 2 amps is what I would use.

Not sure what your budget is but you can get variable DC powe supplies on Amazon for under $50. That would let you set voltage from 0-30 and 5-10 amps to tailor these settings to what works best. Plus you'd have a cool power supply to use for other projects.

[many birds]

I’ve done the electrolysis rust removal on a couple of Ralley II wheels. I took a 12v 2A DC power adapter from some old electronic device and used a volt meter to figure out which wire was positive and negative. It took a couple of days for each wheel. It requires a direct path from the sacrificial anode to the part you’re derusting. So, for a wheel I needed a multiple anodes (I used rebarb) to get all the sides and kept moving the wheel every few hours to make sure it was getting all sides. I tried this on a header and was not impressed—it was difficult/impossible to get the entire header clean with all its curves. Works great on nuts/bolts and other small, random items.

I’m not sure how this would work on the inside of the runners on an intake—unless you could pass a thick steel wire (don’t use copper) through each runner without it touching any part of the intake.

[mzbk2l]

I've done it to cast iron pans and been very impressed. I have an old cheapy Century 2/6 amp manual charger. As many birds said, getting the anode as close to the contours of the part being cleaned makes a noticeable difference. I've used expanded metal wire mesh and pounded it into the shape I wanted. Make sure you hook it up correctly, as you can quickly put some pretty good pits in your part if you do it backwards. Ask me how I know.

[SRR]

Go hit up a couple Thirft stores or CL, I got one that was like new for $15.00 and it works great.

[F ROCK]

I've used electrolysis on several items.
ended up going back over the items with rust remover.
waste of time, because with rust remover, you'll spray the item, scrub a little, rinse, repeat as necessary.
With electrolysis, you'll set up the bath and machine and wait for results. and make adjustments as needed.
It takes much longer to get the same result as rust remover.

[ZeGermanHam]

Originally Posted by F ROCK

I've used electrolysis on several items.
ended up going back over the items with rust remover.
waste of time, because with rust remover, you'll spray the item, scrub a little, rinse, repeat as necessary.
With electrolysis, you'll set up the bath and machine and wait for results. and make adjustments as needed.
It takes much longer to get the same result as rust remover.

This comment reflects the results I have seen others achieve with electrolysis. The outcome pretty much always seemed to look like it was nowhere near as clean as would've been the case with rust remover. And that was after the time spent buying a charger, learning how to modify it, taking it apart, setting everything up, etc.

Easier IMO to just throw your parts in a bin with some rust remover and give it a day. No electrical work needed.

[Schurkey]

Using a Hazzard Fraught battery charger for electrolysis? Don't burn down the garage.

When it was me, I bought a quality battery charger rated for 24V charging in addition to the usual 12V. 36+ volts would be even better. Electrolysis works GREAT, but you MUST have voltage to promote current flow, you MUST have adequate sacrificial iron/steel, and you MUST position the sacrificial iron as close to the part to be de-rusted as practical without actual touching.

Again, depending on the piece to be de-rusted and the sacrificial iron/steel, you may need to clean the crap off of the sacrificial iron as it rusts away.