First e-tank setup

[Voyage of Homer]

Just starting to clean some old cast iron I've collected from yard sales over the years. I want to try to build a small E-Tank in my shed.

I've seen people use either a battery charger or a power supply, but I'm not sure which one is better for someone new like me. I'll mostly be cleaning skillets and maybe a griddle. Is one safer or easier to use? If you know any good brands I can get, I'm all ears!

 

[ssnr4125]

Nice, also a fan of flea markets and yard sales here! For a beginner, I'd say a good old manual car battery charger is the way to go. It's what I started with and you can usually find one cheap at a flea market. I tried using a computer power supply once because I had an old one laying around, and it worked okay but was a lot more complicated to set up and wire right, so I went back to the charger. Just make sure your connections are solid and everything is unplugged before you mess with the tank. You don't need a fancy brand, like even a Schumacher or Craftsman from a few decades ago will do the trick!

 

[brace up]

Electrolysis tanks with old battery chargers are basically backyard science projects, unsafe, inefficient, and outdated. If you care about cast iron, skip the DIY junk and buy a proper bench supply or professional cleaner

 

[BigBob75]

Electrolysis tanks with old battery chargers are basically backyard science projects, unsafe, inefficient, and outdated. If you care about cast iron, skip the DIY junk and buy a proper bench supply or professional cleaner

It may work, but where's the fun in that?

 

[iron caster]

A simple manual battery charger maybe about 6–10 amps is the easiest and cheapest way to go. Automatic chargers usually shut off, so avoid those. A DC power supply gives you more control if you want to dial in voltage/amps, but it's pricier