Ano power supply issue

[Drcemento]

Ok - thanks to KMDPB and his videos i have started down this chemical filled path today... sooooo frickin' cool and excited. anyway. got through stripping and prepping a few old regs, pump handles and whatever else i had laying around and got my drain cleaner (not the kleen brand but it is virgin sulpherica acid) diluted 1qt to 1 gal. put in my lead cathode, ran a copper pipe over the bucket , used titanium wire and fired up my power supply.

its seemed to be going great. but after a half hour i checked on it and things were not "reacting" like they were. took me a minute to figure out My power supply was going for a bit - could see allot of bubbles on the lead, then the voltage would drop off to almost nothing. I could restart it and it would go for a bit again then stop.

assuming this is a connection issue? or could be a power supply issue? its a constant current supply. the CC light comes on during the time its running then it switches to CV when it stops. tried tightening the wires, jiggling and moving everything around to no avail. I did notice you had allot of alligator clips on your copper pipe and lead. - I could not find those fancy double lead wires I see in your video.

[KMDPB]

Are you using aluminum or titanium wire to connect your parts? If using aluminum they will anodize after awhile and become non conducive. They are a one time use thing which is why titanium is superior but more expensive. If you are using titanium make sure your connections are tight, really tight. I would guess it's a bad connection issue probably not the power supply. How many amps are you pushing? I have many aligator clips for a couple reasons. But maining you can't push more than like 3 amps through one without burning them up. It could visually smoke or just fail. That could be your problem. Check for continuity with a multimeter.

[Drcemento]

I'm using titanium which is fairly thin. makes sense that it may be a connection thing.

• there was some smoking along the wire when the power was going.
• can you use copper wire? - I have a bunch of that. i've also seen guys using thicker welding rod with spring like connections
• I started at 7 amps and 13 volts - the parts were small though. I will do some calculations and try to get the correct numbers for the surface area
• the clips did not smoke or fail.
• did your power supply just come with 2 clip leads? is there a special name for them - cannot seem to find something like that

will get back to it again tomorrow and try again. have a great new year and thanks for the responce!

[KMDPB]

Yes you can use thick copper wire but anything not shielded will oxidize quick around the sulfuric acid mist. The connector are called banana plugs. You can get banana plugs with clamps so you can attach your own wire and make your own leads.

[Drcemento]

I can't tell you how many times i've been talking to a vendor about something till I'm blue in the face only to have them finally get what I'm try to describe and say oh.... you mean XXXX! thank you - banana plugs was the correct term to unlock the bounty of amazon.

[Drcemento]

As Ice T once said "today was a good day" it all came together and each cycle got better. lots was learned and a few odds and ends ordered. so frickin' fun.

[KMDPB]

Very nice!

[sonixr7]

Wow! Great to see potentially new alternatives adding to the paintball community.