# Home anodizing questions



## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

I am almost ready for it. Need to clarify some things.


 What powersource is best for the process, strong enough, cheap and versatile? I thought of battery charger, just not sure. 
 How do you dispose unneeded anymore acid? 

Last question is really bothers me.


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## odtexas (Oct 2, 2008)

Battery charger works great. You can get a real nice power unit from Caswell, but the battery charger will get the job done for our applications.
Neutralize the weak acid solution with baking soda, lots of baking soda. It will foam up when you add the baking soda to the acid solution so add just a little at time so you don't make it overflow the container.
The solution will last a long time so you can put the container in a 5 gallon bucket and store it somewhere for later use. Punch a small hole in the top of the bucket lid keep fumes from concentrating. 
If you do want to dispose of the solution then you should take the excess solution in to a recycling center. I am lucky and have a site about 2 miles from my house that takes old batteries and the such.


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## zen bicycle (Mar 23, 2007)

Make sure it is a manual battery charger. Not a smart charger. A smart charger will try and compensate so it reduces the voltage which means no anodizing.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

BTW guys, are we all talking about battery chargers for cars battery?


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

Itess

I have converted a car battery charger to have an adjustable voltage which I set to 12v. The max amps it will allow is 5A which is plenty for anodising a light housing. 

Give me time to get the links together and I'll send you all the info. It was really easy to do and the parts were no more than £10 and the charger was about £30 from Amazon.

I couldnt find a manual charger that had a high enough current output and bench top power supplies cost a fortune!


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

Thanks guys! One more question: what to do if I don't need to anodize internal surface?


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## troutie-mtb (Sep 20, 2007)

Piesoup 
where did you get the acid from


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## Rich_SC (Oct 10, 2009)

In the us you can get sulfuric acid from an auto parts store...I get mine from a guy who works in a university biology lab. You'll want 15-18% solution.


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

troutie-mtb said:


> Piesoup
> where did you get the acid from


I've got a mate who works in a motorbike shop. There was surplus on the shelves. Might be worth going to your local bike shop and asking.

Or here
http://www.reagent.co.uk/sulphuric-acid-ar/battery-acid.html

Itess, I will put the schematics up tonight.


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## MtbMacgyver (Jan 23, 2007)

I used sulfuric acid (battery acid) from an auto parts store.


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

In the United Kingdom of England you can't get it from autoparts stores unfortunately. I found the bike shops often have surplus as new OEM batteries tend to come with extra acid.


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

Itess said:


> Thanks guys! One more question: what to do if I don't need to anodize internal surface?


You paint on a liquid mask.


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## lsocoee (Oct 29, 2009)

anyone have a link for an inexpensive dumb charger in the US? Everything I find is "smart"


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## Vancbiker (May 25, 2005)

Somewhere in the past I read that you can use a "smart" battery charger if you connect it to a car battery in parallel with your anode and cathode leads. The anodizing is discharging the battery and the charger senses that voltage drop and then applies current to charge the battery. True or not? I've not tried it YMMV!


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

cosmoworks said:


> You paint on a liquid mask.


What paint, for example?


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## Rich_SC (Oct 10, 2009)

lsocoee said:


> anyone have a link for an inexpensive dumb charger in the US? Everything I find is "smart"


harbor freight has a cheap manual charger.


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## lsocoee (Oct 29, 2009)

Rich_SC said:


> harbor freight has a cheap manual charger.


You have any links? I had already searched there and all the chargers I found had an automatic trickle charge.


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

Here is the link for making your power supply. 
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1143.0

This it the charger I converted.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-...4?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1266052493&sr=8-14

There is a large heatsink inside which contains the electronics needed to make the charger smart. 2 input and 2 output connectors. One set of wires come from the transformer and the other pair go straight to the leads, one via the ammeter.

The pair from the transformer will be the input to your DIY circuit and the other pair become your output.

I left the ammeter in series and plan to add a voltmeter. At the mo I set the volts with a mulitmeter. The other handy feature is the 24/12v switch already installed. When set to 12v, this reduces the load on the DIY circuit. Perfect for anodising.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

piesoup said:


> Here is the link for making your power supply.
> http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1143.0
> 
> This it the charger I converted.
> ...


Wow, great! :thumbsup: Looking for a charger now...


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

I forgot to add, you must remove the heatsink from the battery charger. It isnt needed. The circuit I made has a max of 5A so make sure the battery charger you get is rated for at least 5A. You can buy a bare bones transformer but they are expensive. The charger comes with a case, switches and leads! 
Remember to check the datasheet for the correct pins on the LM338. I didnt and just assumed, but I assumed wrong and it didnt work!

Sorry if it seems I am stating the obvious to you, I dont know your background


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

Itess, did you give it a go??


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

piesoup said:


> Itess, did you give it a go??


Not yet. Still busy with another parts. I have a blog but it's in Russian  But looks like I found the charger: Einhell BT-BC 15 Batterie-Ladegerät Ladespannung umschaltbar 6 V/12 V/24 V, für Bleiakkus 10 Ah - 300 Ah

BTW, I am unable to find LM338T in Germany, only LM338LK, it's packaged in another case, not so convenient.


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

That charger look perfect!
The voltage selection is useful to set your max voltage, then using the DIY circuit, you can fine tune it to suit your needs. 
Have you seen the madmodder forum i posted a few posts above? Easiest just to follow the circuit diagram on post 48!

Let me know if you need a hand as I have built a few of them now and all work great!!


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

piesoup said:


> That charger look perfect!
> The voltage selection is useful to set your max voltage, then using the DIY circuit, you can fine tune it to suit your needs.
> Have you seen the madmodder forum i posted a few posts above? Easiest just to follow the circuit diagram on post 48!
> 
> Let me know if you need a hand as I have built a few of them now and all work great!!


Thanks! I just sorted out my problems with Maxflex, then I need to finish handlebar mount (the thread is worthless without pics )


















Then I need to make a window with Acrylite AR cover and only then I am going to anodize the case. It's much work yet to do.


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

Nice brackets! Did you make them on your mill?

Now, the LM338LK, is it in a metal case with 2 wires underneath? If it is, you can still use it, the metal case acts as the output.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

piesoup said:


> Nice brackets! Did you make them on your mill?


Yes, I made them by myself. But "mill" is a very strong word for my drilling machine with compound and rotary tables 


> Now, the LM338LK, is it in a metal case with 2 wires underneath? If it is, you can still use it, the metal case acts as the output.


Yes, it is. Thanks, gonna buy it then. I just don't like the idea of using heatsink as conductor.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

Another question.
Can I use aluminium plate as cathode?


I don't have lead plate.


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## zen bicycle (Mar 23, 2007)

Yes, just make sure you have enough surface area on the aluminum cathode


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## yetibetty (Dec 24, 2007)

itess, I have used my drill press to do my "milling"for over a year now with a cross slide vice and have just bought a rotary table. Have you got a picture of your setup as I'm not too sure how I'm going to get it all to work with the rotary table.

Thanks


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

yetibetty said:


> itess, I have used my drill press to do my "milling"for over a year now with a cross slide vice and have just bought a rotary table. Have you got a picture of your setup as I'm not too sure how I'm going to get it all to work with the rotary table.
> 
> Thanks


I will make it. I am going to make a 14mm hole in the case but I don't have a drill for that, so I am going to mill it with the rotary table.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

zen bicycle said:


> Yes, just make sure you have enough surface area on the aluminum cathode


Thanks!


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## piesoup (Feb 9, 2009)

Itess, have a look here http://www.finishing.com/344/13.shtml

they recomend 6063 aluminium as it lasts longer. I use lead at the moment, scavenged from a car battery. Will try the Ali as it is supposed to use less power. 
Also, don't put your cathode on the bottom of your tank, the bubbles can damage your part to be anodised.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

piesoup said:


> Itess, have a look here http://www.finishing.com/344/13.shtml
> 
> they recomend 6063 aluminium as it lasts longer. I use lead at the moment, scavenged from a car battery. Will try the Ali as it is supposed to use less power.
> Also, don't put your cathode on the bottom of your tank, the bubbles can damage your part to be anodised.


Thanks for the tip! I didn't think about bubbles.


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## Itess (Feb 22, 2009)

One more question: can I keep the acid solution in a plastic benzine can for long?


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## cosmoworks (Jan 22, 2008)

Itess said:


> One more question: can I keep the acid solution in a plastic benzine can for long?


Sulfuric wont eat up plastic, so you can keep it in plastic for as long as you want. Also regarding lead, it's easily found at your local sporting store in the form of fishing weights


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