As in another post I was trying to get a low voltage, high amperage PSU, on the order of 1500w at 1.5-2.0 for electrolysis of water. The goal is to be able to use the gases for speciality glass blowing where the glass needs ultra pure fuel (carbon bad), such as quartz work. Quartz softens at about 1,750C and propane or natural gas aren't best choices b/c of temp and carbon. H2 + O2 give about 1000F hotter flame than propane and O2. It's also going to be used in some chemistry setups where H2 or O2 are needed.
So the supposed ideal voltage for electrolysis is 1.2-1.4vdc and higher current is what produces more gas (so the common theory goes). I've found amazing results using 12v vs 5v at similar currents with 12v producing what looked like 5x the output where 7 plates were used + - + - + - + and each + or - were paralleled. This setup allows for production of gas on both sides of the plate with a stack like this effectively doubles surface area. The spacing is about .7-3mm depending upon electrolyte used (spacing leads to all kinds of different issues like heat, voltage drop, etc. The problem is that there is no easy way to separate gases this way as they are so close together that they mix - can be dangerous with high outputs - which I need.
Another option is to put plates in series allowing for higher voltage to be used. If using 14vdc some people will make 10 separate cells (lots more material cost for the cell casing) in series and only one side of the electrode can be used so it would look like this: (+ -) (+ -) (+ -) ... with 10 of those. This will allow for separating the gases somewhat easily but as said a lot of trade offs - more casing material (isn't cheap) and can't use both sides of plate = more electrode material needed.
I may be able to use lower voltages like 12, 24, 36, 42, 48 or 60vac then rectified as I have higher amperage supplies that can produce this in the KW range.
I recently came across the use of "neutral" plates )N)which are plates in between the + and - plates with an arrangement like this for a 14 v supply + N N N N N N N N N - which should spread the voltage across all the plates, giving about 1.4v per plate. In this setup the plate has the same charge as the final plate that it is facing so each N plate has both a + and - side so it produces both O2 and H2. This can't separate gases easily either
Finally I came across a posting on YT here is a quote from the comments section which I am trying to decipher "The 'Secret' to separating the Gases is to have Neutral Plates. So say if you have a 10 Plate Cell you'll have + N1 + N2 + N3 + N4 + then a Divider - N1 - N2 - N3 - N4 - Then both N1's are connected, N2's are connected, N3's are connected & N4's are connected. Then all the Oxygen collects on the + side & all of the Hydrogen collects on the - side. Discard the Oxygen & just use the Hydrogen in a Car." - obviously I have a use for both the H2 and O2... This comment was in response to someone who had done the + N N N N N N - setup - and described it as explosive. I think I understand what he means here, that there would be some wire to connect each N# plate to that same N# plate - but IDK if that would make the V drop.
So I need to be able to use a higher voltage by adding whatever number of plates in series to drop voltage to a proper amount.
If anyone has experience with this I would greatly appreciate some pointers on what direction to go in as I've tried all the above except the last example as I'm not sure what it means.
I'd eventually like to look into the PWM and maybe magnetism with regards to electrolysis as they have been reported to greatly increase outputs but I feel I need a solid setup before I venture into those avenues.
So the supposed ideal voltage for electrolysis is 1.2-1.4vdc and higher current is what produces more gas (so the common theory goes). I've found amazing results using 12v vs 5v at similar currents with 12v producing what looked like 5x the output where 7 plates were used + - + - + - + and each + or - were paralleled. This setup allows for production of gas on both sides of the plate with a stack like this effectively doubles surface area. The spacing is about .7-3mm depending upon electrolyte used (spacing leads to all kinds of different issues like heat, voltage drop, etc. The problem is that there is no easy way to separate gases this way as they are so close together that they mix - can be dangerous with high outputs - which I need.
Another option is to put plates in series allowing for higher voltage to be used. If using 14vdc some people will make 10 separate cells (lots more material cost for the cell casing) in series and only one side of the electrode can be used so it would look like this: (+ -) (+ -) (+ -) ... with 10 of those. This will allow for separating the gases somewhat easily but as said a lot of trade offs - more casing material (isn't cheap) and can't use both sides of plate = more electrode material needed.
I may be able to use lower voltages like 12, 24, 36, 42, 48 or 60vac then rectified as I have higher amperage supplies that can produce this in the KW range.
I recently came across the use of "neutral" plates )N)which are plates in between the + and - plates with an arrangement like this for a 14 v supply + N N N N N N N N N - which should spread the voltage across all the plates, giving about 1.4v per plate. In this setup the plate has the same charge as the final plate that it is facing so each N plate has both a + and - side so it produces both O2 and H2. This can't separate gases easily either
Finally I came across a posting on YT here is a quote from the comments section which I am trying to decipher "The 'Secret' to separating the Gases is to have Neutral Plates. So say if you have a 10 Plate Cell you'll have + N1 + N2 + N3 + N4 + then a Divider - N1 - N2 - N3 - N4 - Then both N1's are connected, N2's are connected, N3's are connected & N4's are connected. Then all the Oxygen collects on the + side & all of the Hydrogen collects on the - side. Discard the Oxygen & just use the Hydrogen in a Car." - obviously I have a use for both the H2 and O2... This comment was in response to someone who had done the + N N N N N N - setup - and described it as explosive. I think I understand what he means here, that there would be some wire to connect each N# plate to that same N# plate - but IDK if that would make the V drop.
So I need to be able to use a higher voltage by adding whatever number of plates in series to drop voltage to a proper amount.
If anyone has experience with this I would greatly appreciate some pointers on what direction to go in as I've tried all the above except the last example as I'm not sure what it means.
I'd eventually like to look into the PWM and maybe magnetism with regards to electrolysis as they have been reported to greatly increase outputs but I feel I need a solid setup before I venture into those avenues.
