A couple questions on Smack's construction

[paztruk]

S/S plates

I've seen them at Home Depot a little pricey at $1.59 each but not sure of the grade of S/S

[mr. peepers]

I got mine from lowes @ 1.29.

Fun thing to do...take a picture of the item code/price on your cell phone, take it over to competitor and show them. They will beat the price by 10% usually.

[rickoff]

Yes, mr. peepers, the Lowes plates are what I used too. They are 302/304 stainless blanks. They are made by Cooper Wiring Devices, who also manufacture 2, 3 and 4 gang stainless blanks, as well as a coax plate that has a center hole of 5/8" diameter. You can see more info on their plates here: http://64.239.63.88/catalog/pdf/Q%204.pdf Incidentally, I wrote a note to Cooper Wiring Devices to ask if they would consider manufacturing plates already prepped to the specifactions for a Smack Booster (roughened surface with sharp ridges, and 5/16" holes). I pointed out the fact that a lot of people are going to be building Smack Boosters, and other boosters that also use the stainless blank wall plates. When I hear back from them, I will post a note here, and in the "Smack Booster" thread as well.

Best Regards to everyone,

Rickoff

[mr. peepers]

Great initiative Rickoff. Thanks!

[rickoff]

Well, mr. peepers, it seemed like the logical thing to do. There must be thousands of people, worldwide, who are downloading the free plans and building Smack Boosters. Prepping the plates has to be the most difficult and time-consuming task of the booster construction process, and I gladly would have purchased pre-prepped plates if they had been available. My thought, of course, was that the manufacturer probably had no idea what their stainless blank plates were actually being used for. They would simply asume that electricians are taking in more business these days. Seems logical, from their point of view, right?

[Danny EscapeHybrid]

I have put orders in to several companies for the plates, both single wall switch and dual coax blanks. These companies listed having several thousand of them, yet I get my payment returned and told they are temporally out of stock...

Makes ya wonder if there is something else going on somewhere or people are buying them in bulk for some reason. I know its not the housing market cause I work in that.

Danny

[alaska49]

Conditioning Methods

Can someone expond on how the conditioning should be done? How does the Coke bottle method work?

I live in Alaska and was wondering if any other Northern people have run a HHO system during the winter and what is used to keep the water from freezing. I have used denatured alcohol when I used a water mist system several years ago at a 10% mixture and it worked well. Will alcohol cause a bad reatiuon with the system?

[rickoff]

Reply to Alaska49

Hi Alaska,

I'm not quite sure what you are referring to as "the coke bottle method," or what that would have to do with conditioning plates, but as for the rest:

I live in Maine, and it can get pretty cold here too. If you are using KOH as your electrolyte, that will inhibit freezing rather well. As to breaking in and conditioning your plates properly, see this link, and start reading at the second paragraph:

http://www.energeticforum.com/renewable-energy/2383-smack-booster-running-hot.html#post24617

In addition to what is stated there, you will want to freshen your electrolyte mix after a week or two. You can save your current mix at that time by carefully pouring it through a couple of paper coffee filters placed in a plastic funnel, and saving it in a clean container for reuse. This will filter out impurities caused during the plate conditioning process, and which will probably have caused some discoloration of the electrolyte. You can fill the booster with distilled water, and reverse the polarity of the external connections for a few minutes to help dislodge any contaminant particles that may have become attached to the plates, and then dump that water out. Then a final rinse with distilled water. The plates, when properly conditioned, will appear to have a slight discolorated coating on them, and that is normal, so don't take the plate array apart to scrub that off. Simply inspect the plate array for any any signs of arcing at the edges, and for possible loose connections. Inspect the insulated connector straps, that attach to the array, for any flaw. Also inspect the through-cap bolts, stainless washers, and rubber washers. Make certain that the metal washers do not make contact with the PVC cap, as they will transfer heat that can melt the cap and cause failure.

That's about it. If anyone thinks of something I forgot to mention then I am sure you will hear some more good ideas. Good luck to you Alaska, from the man in Maine.

Best regards, Rick