ElectroScan low amps warning

[doublebubble]

This is just an update, after all the low amp issues and replacing Electropacks way too often, adding salt, constant cleaning not really curing anything we started to get an issue with the original standard push button display panel with the red and green lights, I had a new one sent out from the U.S.A from Raritan, lasted 3 months, had it replaced under warranty, lasted 3 months, after a lot of emails, testing and conversations with Raritan we finally agreed to replace the switch panel with the S.T.C ( smart toilet controller), well the whole Electroscan has never worked better since we bought it, amps are always up around the 15.9 amps, now whether the original push button display is giving false information I don't know just happy that it is now working.

[senormechanico]

I have ordered a new electrode pack, and will do an A/B test with my 35 amp regulated power supply with salt water from my dock.
The packs will be tested in the bucket with an ammeter clamp on the power supply lead and I will be stirring the water as I read the amperages.
I will post what I find in about a week.


Steve

[senormechanico]

New part (32-5000) arrived, and I did an A/B test.


I used a regulated 13.8 volt Astron RS-35A power supply connected directly to the plates which were individually tested in both fresh and salt water in 5 gallon buckets.

The water was being actively stirred with a plastic spoon during the tests.


Old plate current test in fresh at 13.8 volts measured 0.16 to 0.19 A.

New plate current test in fresh at 13.8 volts measured EXACTLY THE SAME !
As I read in a previous post about plate separation, I pushed the plates on the old unit together to be parallel with each other, and repeated the test.
No difference at all. In fact, the new plates are spread apart even more than my old unit had been.

Now, the test with salt water which had previously been used to get an adequate current for the old plate. As there was no limiting circuitry from the ElectroScan unit for this test, I added enough salt to get the old plate to produce 19 amps.
The specific gravity of that water (measured with my winemaking hydrometer) was 1.035.
Following the exact procedure in each test, actively stirring the water etc, when I dipped the new plate it drew 32 amps! Needless to say, I immediately removed it from the bucket.
I then repeated the enhanced salt water test with the old unit after having spread the plates apart. Still 19 amps as before.




The only difference between the new and old plates is a purple coating on the positive and middle plate of the new assembly. Even that, it is only on the upper side of those plates. The old plate has no coating at all.


So WHAT IN HECK IS THAT COATING?
It is obviously the reason for everyone's repeated replacements.
Maybe Raritan figured it would make a good "subscription model".

[senormechanico]

My daughter (chemistry guru) after doing some mental gymnastics says the purple is probably iodine. It must be mixed in some kind of paint to make it stay on the plates.
I am going to do some DIY experiments one of these days...

[senormechanico]

Old electrode in salt water with no added salt, only 9.2 amps.
New electrode, same as above, first instantaneous reading 18.2 amps then the controller dialed it back to 15 + amps for the duration of the cycle.

[senormechanico]

I purchased ten grams of iodine in metal form on ebay.
I wish it could have been a single piece of metal which I could connect a wire to ABOVE the vinegar/salt mix.
As it needed something to sit in, I fashioned a tiny holder out of a strip of titanium.
The plates to be electroplated were connected to the negative terminal of a 30 volt, 1 amp transformer which I plugged into a Variac. This would give me infinite control of the current. I set it to just under one amp using a clamp meter.

Everything seemed to be working fine for an hour or so. The liquid became pretty opaque, so I lifted the old electrode out to see what was happening.
I had wrapped a bare ss piece of baling wire around the positive upper and middle plates which were originally treated. Both were nicely pinkish purple.

I could not see if there was any more iodine on the other element, BIG MISTAKE.
I returned the part for just a little bit more plating.
Ten minutes later, the bucket mix had a big head of foam on it with silvery bits of titanium. Uh oh.
I pulled the power and took out the electrode.
It looked ok, but the color was more silvery looking.
I rinsed it under cold fresh water and most all of the color was back to the base metal.
I have not tried testing it in salt water...


Suggestions of what I should have done?

[Davidhoy]

@senormechanico, really appreciate your efforts to find a solution. Following with keen interest. Let me know if there is some kind of collaborative effort we can join forces on. I'll PM you with my email and phone number. I live aboard full time, so have relatively easy access to my ElectroScan.

Regards,
David

[senormechanico]

I just finished installing a Raritan Smart Toilet Controller, ditching the Start/Stop button. It is wired to start the ElectroScan when you flush.
I measured the Specific Gravity of the salt water here at my dock. It's 1.020.
The ElectroScan averages 15 amps with a range of 15.7 to 14.8.

[Davidhoy]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

I just finished installing a Raritan Smart Toilet Controller, ditching the Start/Stop button. It is wired to start the ElectroScan when you flush.
I measured the Specific Gravity of the salt water here at my dock. It's 1.020.
The ElectroScan averages 15 amps with a range of 15.7 to 14.8.

Looking through the manual for the STC, and it's hard to imagine how this would make a difference. But it appears to do so? Very curious, definitely something worth looking into further...

-David

[senormechanico]

I seriously doubt it would make any difference.
The only thing that's different is a single wire from the S.T.C. is connected to a "trigger" pin in the ElectroScan controller instead of an Ethernet cable socket.
It very likely triggers the same spot in the ElectroScan in either scenario.

[MVDarlin]

I am getting the low amp warning now. I routinely add salt. I will try the acid treatment next.

[MVDarlin]

I am getting the low amp warning now. I routinely add salt. I will try the acid treatment and cable inspection next.

[mikereed100]

I have had an ElectroScan for a couple of years now. I started getting low amp warnings after 6 months, despite cleaning every 2 months. I replaced the electrode and all was well for another 5 months until I started getting the low amps warning again. Again, I cleaned every 2 months instead of waiting 6 months as recommended. Sometimes, after repeated cleanings the amps would come up for a couple of days, but would then get as low as 9 or 10. Repeated calls to tech support were not helpful and I was told that they consider the electrodes to be a "consumable". This was news to me as there is nothing in the promo literature to suggest this and, at $600 a pop, this can get expensive fast. My wiring is brand new but I checked it anyhow, from positive to negative terminals on the battery bank, and all was well.

I noticed when I replaced the electrode that, despite more frequent cleanings than required, there was a lot of build up on the electrodes and inside of the tank. Before dropping another $600 on another electrode I tried my own recipe for cleaning. I used 3.5 gallons of water and 1/2 gallon of acid, about 2x the recommended concentration, and left it sit for 3 hours.

Walla! The amps went from 10 to 15 and it has been working great since then. I don't know what kind of long term effects this will have on the unit, but I was ready to chuck it anyhow, so I figure I am ahead at this point.