Re:Making high-performance batteries from junkyard scraps
by jakeogh on Thursday November 03, 2016 @05:06PM
(#12867951)
Hydrogen is a pain to work with. Other than being explosive in air, it leaks unless the seal is near perfect. On the flip side, it's easy to obtain via electrolysis. If argon is acceptable it would be much easier to work with. The pdf reads like a mixture was used. I have done some work @ 1300C where we needed an inert atmosphere, so we plumbed an argon tank to the furnace and ran it at a slight positive pressure.
How the heck you do that "at home" won't be easy. Maybe take an old oven (outdoors), stick it on the cleaning cycle, then put the steel electrodes in a sealed pyrex container (?) filled with argon/hydrogen?
Maybe fill a steel pipe capped off with hydrogen, then heat that in the oven (where the inner surface becomes the electrode) - that might actually work ok (if a bit dangerous). Though how to seal it properly to prevent the hydrogen from leaking out might be a challenge.
If the pipe idea could be worked out - then a series of brass rods or plates could be used suspended (and electrically insulated) from the steel pipe, to form the battery electrodes (similar to how a regular alkaline or carbon-zinc cell is constructed).