Hydrogen Crucible

so im doing some back garden casting in my workshed and im running out of butane.

a butane torch like my dremmel burns through about a half a letre in a minute so at £3.00 for a 10 litre can, im running up a cost melting anything. Now im a Free diver so lead weights are really important and i use lots of them. they are expensive to beu so i make my own out of plumbing solder. if you add up the costs, a lead weight cost about £10.00, i reckon its a can for each weight, including teh butane costs im not saving much money by making them myself. (especially when you count how much time it takes).

We've all been in Chemistry learning aboutelectrolysis so i decided to try to make my own gass. this is how to save a shit ton of cash on Butane, and get a pretty efficient casting foundry at teh same time.

Step 1: Hydrogen Crucible

so this is the shed, its not too big so i have to be tidy, the other one is how i used ot make the weights in wooden blocks drilled out. ( you got to click on it)

you can see how inneficient it is and then there is refinement, + it takes much longer to make them bigger and keep them hot while they get refined.

so here is the solution.

you will need.

• a tuppaware box.
• silicone sealer.
• some pyrex tubing.
• some scrap metal.
• a drill.
• some screws.
• alligator clipped wires.
• some lantern batteries. (as high voltage as you feel safe using)
• if you want to a microwave transformer, unmodified.
• salt
• water (duhh)
• soldering iron and solder.

1. drill two holes in the tuppaware box at the top, about as wide as the tubig you have is.
2. cut the tubing in half, about 500mm long for each strand should do.
3. put one tube into each whole and seal it with the silicone.
4. drill 2 wholes in the side of the box.
5. take the srap metal, try to use 90˚ axels, and swrew lots of metal on to it, any shape will do but remember you are trying to maximise surface area.
6. put them on the insude of the box, put the axels against the wholes where there are wholes on teh axel for screws and screw the metal onto the side.
7. repeat steps 5 and 6 twice and mount them on opposite sides of the box, make sure that the two bits of metal dont touch and try to have as much surface area.
8. solder some wire (pretty strong wire) onto the screw and seal teh gaps using teh silicone, make the whole thing air tight but insure that the wires stay connected.
9. wire up as many of teh batteries as you can using the alligator clips, series is fine and has less resistance.
10. find a stand and mount the tubes on the underside of a tripod using zip ties.

ready to go.

the final picture is the generator.

in order to opperate fill teh box 2/3 full of salt water and turn on.

when the gas starys flowing you will notice boubbles forming on teh electrodes, thats out gases, once you see them, its working. you should keep the tubes close together when you light the system, remember, if it traces back it wont do any damage because its just going into water,

enjoy.

Step 2: Science

so what does electrolysis mean.

well, lysis means to break or split and electro just mean with electricity, to tecknically it means split with electricity, what is happening is that the current flows and splits h20 into two ion, H+ and o-, so you have two electrodes, the h+ goes to teh negatove electrode or anode, and the 0- goes to the positive electrode of cathode.

in the at the positive electrode the o- ion looses its extra electron which is what keeps it in the water, that electron runs back into the cuircit and into the positive electrode this is what make the cuirit complete. The oxygen is then released as a gas. that electron that just left the oxygen ion goes to the negative elctrode, (because electricity runs negative to positive), there it is given to the H+ ion which make s the hydrogen ion into just, hydrogen, at the electrode they combing to form H^2,(sorry working on a mac) and that is released as a gas. Into the tube, and out ot where it us burned.

Step 3: