med-lg electrolysis tank

I would prolly use a ubiquitous blue plastic barrel, less work...

red is pos, black neg

yep, fixed the reversed labels on the leads.

Don, it's a great system to play with,I have cleaned every tractor I have taken down with it and really like how it works. A couple of comments on your design if I may-

I highly recommend the 30/55 gallon plastic drums you see for sell everywhere, if you intend to do larger pieces the IBC 275 gallon totes with the top cut out are great (and have a bottom drain) I have done very small pieces in a plastic cup up to cutting a trench and lining it with plastic to do WC frame rails. I've used four picnic table benches in a square and a tarp for some large rear wheels. Most anything non-metallic will do!

Your washer basket, most are porcelain-coated, it must be bare metal, you will find removing that coating to be quite the chore, along with the fact that what ever you use for an anode must be cleaned often as the part is cleaned. Removing your part, removing the basket, then scraping or brushing it clean would be a lot of unneeded effort! You could also find if cleaning a smaller part that you end up with too much amp draw with that much surface and no way to adjust it. I use old mower and bush hog blades. They can be clamped around the edges and moved up or down as more area is needed and are easy to scrape clean. You will find if doing really rusty pieces that the anodes will need cleaning more frequently to keep the reaction going and the easier it is to get to them, the better. Also realize the anode will not last too long, it will become Swiss cheese as it is eaten by the reaction.

As far as the question of the next step, I wash my part with a hose and scotch brite
pad to remove the black coating you will find on the freshly done piece, then blow dry with air and then a spray of a metal etch containing phosphoric acid, I use "must for rust" found at Lowes and Home Depot because its cheap. I have found that treated parts will be fine for over 12 months if kept inside.

the question about disposal, as long as you're using metal for the anode, the fluid is just iron rich water, I just drain mine off in the woods with a garden hose (caution, it will stain EVERYTHING it touches!) then let the container dry a few days and the rust, dirt, and paint will harden in the bottom and can be bagged and thrown in the trash.

A couple of rules you must follow -

1-if you hook up the power backwards, your part will be ruined
2-don't let copper, brass, Aluminum into the tank, the alkaline solution will attack it 

here's you some ideas of what it can do and clean -http://s33.photobucket.com/user/Joecdeere/slideshow/Electrolysis

Some cheap lemon juice, and water will clean up the slime.  I find that some tater peelings in a 5 gallon bucket of water, cleans up small parts like wrenches and bolts very well...

wiplowboy wrote: Do I understand Potato peelings and water in bucket Do you have to keep the bolts suspended. Thanks for all the info.

I've never had it take more than a couple of days for a big heavy housing, smaller pieces or pieces with only light rust can be a few hours, but I tend to not keep an eye on it all the time because the reaction will stop when the last of the rust is gone. The water can get really nasty, but I tend to only change it every few months if using it a lot. The main thing is to keep it alkaline to help the current move and as a bonus, it really loosens up old paint.

If you're doing something really rusty like the lift linkage these nuts came off of that was laying in the mud for who knows how long and you want to be able to get it apart, then it's best to just let it "cook" for 3-4 days so it can really get into everything!

I like this process for cleaning parts too. I have a medium sized fiberglass container for the water and Arm and Hammer washing soda mixture. I bolt the steel sacrificial anodes around the inside of the tub, and wire them together.  a 2x4 across the top to suspend the parts. I try to connect the wire from the power source to the part if possible. The direct link is better than going through the hanger. Yes if the part wont totally fit let it hang out and reverse it tomorrow.
 Yes this process is a little messy. have a hose handy. Dont clean these in the kitchen. I scrub the part with a wire brush to remove the paint and rust and black smut.
I use a 12 volt battery between the charger and the tank/ parts.
I have used this process for most of the parts for 4 tractors and half a dozen implements.
Warning this thing is working when your not! It can clean parts faster than you can finish them!:)

Regards,
 Chris

Thanks for the link WF owner. I printed the info for future reference.