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The time has finally come...new chassis time


L19MUD

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I had most of the above items galvanised.  The front radius arms, third from the top, will require the chassis end threads to be recut.  This will require a 20mm x 2.5mm die, not usually included in the typical tap and die set.  The rear upper arms, top two items, which I reinstalled today, are quite difficult.  I found that installing all the fixings, but keeping them loose, and not locating the tapered bottom fixing of the levelling unit into the fulcrum bracket, LR 1987 110 Parts Catalogue p. 440, Item 16, until the two bolts, same page, Item  17, are installed.  During galvanising the threaded hole in the underside of the chassis for fixing the canvas strap to the levelling unit became totally blocked with zinc. This needed drilling out with a 5mm drill and then the thread recut with a 6mm x 1mm tap.

The rear radius arms, bottom of the photo, will also need the threaded ends to be recut, another 20mm x 2.5mm die job.  Also, of course, all the non-threaded holes, such as on the axle ends of the upper rear suspension arms and the rear shock absorber chassis brackets, in the fifth row down, will need the holes drilled out to clear zinc, and maybe paint.

I had the front shock absorber brackets, p. 436 Item 7, galvanised. When they were removed from the zinc bath they were hung with the narrow end down.  This resulted in molten zinc accumulating in the narrow end, the top when installed,.  This resulted in the shock absorber bushes not seating properly.  To fix this I had to use a propane torch, called a Tiger Torch over here, to heat the end of the bracket to melt out the excess zinc.  If you get the chance, specify hanging by the narrow, normal top, end.

I hope my experiences, and grief, may help you, or anybody else doing a chassis galv exercise.

Mike

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Well the first batch are done and they have come up great. Any tips to get the dirty black film off? I put the A frame ball joint bracket round the wire brush on the grinder quickly but wonder if it will wash off with something? 

 

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I ended up doing a mixture of pressure washing, brushing off in water and then a very quick whiz round on the bench grinder wire brush. Very pleased with batch 1

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I put batch 2 in on Sunday then checked last night. I did not have much scum on the top this time despite still seeing bubbles and pulling them out briefly to inspect they have not cleaned up as well

Guess I need to pull the anodes out and check/clean up. I presume the water won't also need changing? 

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The solution never wears out, so yes, you probably need the anode cleaning with an angle grinder + cup brush -you will soon see why I went with stainless!

Parts look great, get them painted soon or they will flash rust.

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3 minutes ago, Bowie69 said:

The solution never wears out, so yes, you probably need the anode cleaning with an angle grinder + cup brush -you will soon see why I went with stainless!

Parts look great, get them painted soon or they will flash rust.

Great thanks. I didn't have any stainless kicking around but next time I go to the scrap yard I will make sure I get something! A stainless sheet that could be wrapped around the inside of the drum would be ideal, could just wipe it with a broom then without taking it out.

I did see a few articles advising against stainless though on account of it being dangerous? I don't see how/why?

 

Painting starts tonight - no need for my usual coat of Kurust first now though

 

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8 minutes ago, L19MUD said:

I did see a few articles advising against stainless though on account of it being dangerous? I don't see how/why?

The more detailed write ups I have seen are predominantly from ultra green types in the US that don't like chromium going into the soil, but there we are :)

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Why not to use stainless detailed here:

http://antique-engines.com/stainless-steel-electrodes.htm

The by-products are classified as hazardous waste for a reason, so even if just for personal peace of mind rather than environmental reasons, I'd advise caution against it. Using stainless won't stop the electrodes getting furred up - the removed rust is still drawn to them - they just won't waste as quickly. Mild rebar is a very cheap source of electrode material and stainless is expensive, so I can't see how it makes much sense either way.

 

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I've been watching this electrolysis discussion with interest. It sounds great! 

However if you are left with 30 gallons of hazardous waste to dispose of, daily electrode maintenance and what seems to be a bit of investment if starting from scratch, why would you not just get them blasted and save a pile of hassle ?

Mo

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2 hours ago, lo-fi said:

Why not to use stainless detailed here:

http://antique-engines.com/stainless-steel-electrodes.htm

The by-products are classified as hazardous waste for a reason, so even if just for personal peace of mind rather than environmental reasons, I'd advise caution against it. Using stainless won't stop the electrodes getting furred up - the removed rust is still drawn to them - they just won't waste as quickly. Mild rebar is a very cheap source of electrode material and stainless is expensive, so I can't see how it makes much sense either way.

 

I will continue with the Re-bar!

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18 minutes ago, Mo Murphy said:

I've been watching this electrolysis discussion with interest. It sounds great! 

However if you are left with 30 gallons of hazardous waste to dispose of, daily electrode maintenance and what seems to be a bit of investment if starting from scratch, why would you not just get them blasted and save a pile of hassle ?

Mo

Fair point but in response ;

- If using mild steel it is not hazardous and can be poured on the grass without hurting it

- If you rig it up so you can quickly clean them and put back together I don't see that as a huge issue

-I would assume that the majority of people on this forum have already got a battery charger, some scrap steel and a waterbutt/dustbin? Only actual cost to me was £10 for the washing soda

- Blasting can be damaging to thin items and threads etc - this is not. Blasting also involves me doing a 20 mile round trip to drop off and collect and then I get charged for it!

 

Also it has been fun! :-)

 

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2 hours ago, lo-fi said:

Why not to use stainless detailed here:

http://antique-engines.com/stainless-steel-electrodes.htm

The by-products are classified as hazardous waste for a reason, so even if just for personal peace of mind rather than environmental reasons, I'd advise caution against it. Using stainless won't stop the electrodes getting furred up - the removed rust is still drawn to them - they just won't waste as quickly. Mild rebar is a very cheap source of electrode material and stainless is expensive, so I can't see how it makes much sense either way.

 

 

I've read that before, honestly, he is not a scientist, and basing everything on hearsay, also based in the US of A, well  that can mean many things.

 

Another yank, but at least seems to understand what is going on:

Quote

You should also consider the concentration and volume of Cr(VI) that you might produce. Stainless steel is anywhere from 10-30% chromium by mass and the most common cookware is 18% chromium. So how much stainless steel do you dissolve when you use it as a sacrificial anode? My guess is not very much (milligrams?) and only 18% of that is chromium. Only some fraction of that will become Cr(VI) as /u/uberhobo explained. The EPA maximum contaminant level goal for Cr drinking water is 0.1 mg/L and is based on all the Cr being Cr(VI). That's water you can drink - not what you have to worry about pouring down the drain. At this point you are only worried about disposal, because there will be negligible Cr(VI) stuck to your clean pan if you wash it well.

As long as isn't a regular activity and you aren't doing your treatment on an industrial scale, there really shouldn't be an issue with discharging such a small amount of chromium into your municipal wastewater system. If you are really worried you could run the water through a clean drinking water filter (e.g. Brita or PUR) and then dispose of the filter as hazardous waste. The ion exchange resin and activated carbon in the drinking water filter should capture all or most of the Cr. If you are going to do this regularly, then you need to consider a real wastewater treatment system.

TLDR - consider the amount of potential Cr(VI) created and make your judgment from there. If it's a one time thing with a small volume, there shouldn't be a problem with disposing of it into municipal wastewater.

 

Pragmatism reigns.

 

 

Also:

Quote

Using stainless won't stop the electrodes getting furred up - the removed rust is still drawn to them - they just won't waste as quickly.

Not true, I can confirm that the rust that forms does not stick to the stainless and falls to the bottom of the tank, therefore you have no reduction in performance as you clean more items, it just keeps going.

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16 minutes ago, L19MUD said:

Fair point but in response ;

- If using mild steel it is not hazardous and can be poured on the grass without hurting it

- If you rig it up so you can quickly clean them and put back together I don't see that as a huge issue

-I would assume that the majority of people on this forum have already got a battery charger, some scrap steel and a waterbutt/dustbin? Only actual cost to me was £10 for the washing soda

- Blasting can be damaging to thin items and threads etc - this is not. Blasting also involves me doing a 20 mile round trip to drop off and collect and then I get charged for it!

 

Also it has been fun! 🙂

 

We'll, I can't argue with that 😊 though I suspect it's just rather too much effort for lazy old me 😉

Mo

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With stuff that's hazardous, but not necessarily immediately/obviously so, I'd rather err on the side of caution and encourage people to do likewise. I've met too many old boys with cautionary takes who've slowly harmed themselves with one thing or another, not realising at the time. 

Electrolysis is a fantastic process, though! Just to be clear, using only mild steel the only bi-product is essentially washing water with rust in. Safe for the garden (providing the plants don't object to iron oxide) or drain. If you let it settle, you can drain the water leaving the rusty sludge to scoop out of the bottom, though. I have two setups: one large tank and one small. I tend to hook the big one up to a DC welder, with the battery charger being quite adequate for the smaller one. I'd encourage anyone to give it a go, it's absolutely fantastic :)

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