Re: Production of CS: improved setup

I really like what you did with the unit.
Did I see stirring going on in there or are you allowing the water to agitate by convection?

I also like the cathodes surrounding the electrodes. I've found this to be the most effective in terms of dispersion and anode wear. Which went-on to show that the electrolytic process was not concentrated in one area as is often the case with simpler units. I still haven't tried adding a very fine cathode in the centre of the Anode array, though I get the feeling it could improve the propagation of ion donation as and wearability even further.

That being said, what are the sizes(dia.) between your anode and cathode?

A good rule of thumb it so aim for a dominant anode /cathode arrangement. ie, if your cathode is 10ga. then your cathode would benefit from being smaller ie, 12ga. Which in turn helps mitigate premature voltage drop and promote the production of positive processing phases.

However, since you're unit is making use of what looks like several cathodes. Then you'd need to adjust your cathodes so that the total wetted surface area is less than the Anode so as to end-up with a dominant anode in your setup. Which is likely why you're seeing very low volts prior to the completion of your run.

Otherwise you may find that will not have enough time before your cathodes become saturated with oxides. As the the next step would be to adjust your current to bring your process, cathode build-up and voltage drop together. That is to say that all three control points will come together at the same time. ie, your voltage has hit 9v, your electrodes are in need of cleaning and you've moved sufficient silver into the solution to complete the task with as little change-out as possible(efficiency).

One tip that may prove useful is to allow your cell to heat up to the point where there's no longer any bubbles on the electrodes. This serves as a good benchmark for maximal temp and water conditioning prior to processing.

PS. can the external bath withstand the boiling water temps?