toyot111

Re: placement of anode baskets in tank

hi, i'm new to this and could use some help. i'm plating zinc onto potmetel holley carburetor's and wondering if anyone could tell me about the formula for calculating the amount of zinc anode to be used, and placement of the anodes in the tank. also any clearance's between the anode and the piece to be plated. i have a 22" x 21" x 19" deep tank with a penguin agitation pump. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks,

skelton

Re: placement of anode baskets in tank

toyot111,

welcome to the wonderful world of metal finishing.....welcome to finishingtalk.com too!

why may i ask, are you zinc plating a carburetor? i am no 'Cooter' from hazzard county, but i believe your carb may be zinc alloy/if not an aluminum alloy and not pot metal, correct me if i am wrong, maybe you are just using the slang term "pot metal"???

regardless all three base metals have similar characteristics in that you just do not plate any of these without the proper pre-cleaning and pre-plate process, i.e. a copper strike......but that's another topic (focus skelton)

as for you question regarding anode baskets, i am going to assume you may have 2" dia. SHG zinc ball anodes in titanium baskets, which of course will not require much anode surface area due to the size of your tank and the assumed maximum current of your rectifier, again, relative to the size of your tank.....i am guess maybe 100 amps or less??? which relates to approx. 5 sq.ft. of anode surface area @ 20 asf or approx. 60 - 2" dia. zinc balls in 2 - 6 anode baskets (depending on style of basket)

as for placement, 2 - anode bars on each side of tank (parallel) w/1 - 3 anode baskets on each anode bar, w/plenty of distance from anode to cathode....and you will be ready to plate your holley carburetor....woo hoo!!

i hope this helps, good luck.


Skelton, hOST
FinishingTalkLive
www.finishingtalklive.com

toyot111

Re: placement of anode baskets in tank

thanks for getting back to me, i have a 200 amp lamda rectifier. i'm using zinc slabs about 8" x 2.5" x 1" thick. carbs. are zinc alloy. from your message, i have to run the anode baskets which are 12" x 12" x 3" along the two sides of the tank. not on all four sides. if so thats good because i have anode bars running parallel on two sides built into the tank. i'm assuming the pump will keep the bath agitated enough that anodes are not required on all 4 sides of the tank. like i said this is just a hobby i'm getting into and any help or advice you can give me would be GREATLY!! appreciated. if you ever want to learn how to run a track excavator let me know, thats what i can do. and i'm told i'm not to shabby at it. thanks, mike

DustinGebhardt

Re: placement of anode baskets in tank

Why are you trying to plate zinc on to a zinc alloy?

-Dustin Gebhardt, CEF

Advanced Manufacturing/Finishing Engineer

Moen

Sanford, NC

DustinGebhardt

Re: placement of anode baskets in tank

Regarding the anode placement:

The anode placement helps determine the "line of sight" for the deposition of the  zinc metal onto your carb.  If you use two anodes, you will build up more zinc on the sides facing the anodes.  Now, you can help offset that by increasing the spacing between the anodes and your part.  This will make the deposit more uniform, but it will never be as uniform as using anodes on all sides of your part.

Increasing the solution flow will also help prevent burns in the high-current-density areas of the part.  It won't help with deposit uniformity.  As long as you have a good amount of flow across the entire part (coupled with enough wetter) you shouldn't have to worry about burning the part unless you really crank up the current.

Ideally, you'll have anodes on all sides of your part if you want maximum uniformity.

As for the amount of anode surface area that you need, I'll make some assumtions.  First, I'll assume that you are using an acid electrolyte.  You will want the same amount of anode surface area as your part surface area AT THE MINIMUM.  Most people have 1.5-2x the anode surface area than the part surface area.  You will have to calculate the surface area of your carb and use that number to determine how much anode surface area you need.

Does this help, or am I on the wrong track?

-Dustin Gebhardt, CEF

Advanced Manufacturing/Finishing Engineer

Moen

Sanford, NC

toyot111

Re: placement of anode baskets in tank

ok, yes your are very helpful, your the pro. i'll try it!! thanks for your help, mike

SFA

Re: placement of anode baskets in tank

How did that work out for you Mike?