lucky123 - 16-6-2008 at 08:41
I was wondering if anyone could help me figure how much it cost to run a chlorate cell? If you run it with a half a cup of salt no ph control with
acid or dichromates added just table salt and a battery charger that is set up on the 6v setting with amps at 4. I figure it needs to run about 506
amp hours approximately to complete the salt to chlorate conversion with no ph control (help me if this sounds way off I new at this)... How much
will this cost extra on your electric bill when your done? Any help explaining this math problem would be greatly appreciated...
woelen - 16-6-2008 at 09:37
Keep in mind that 4A at low voltage is not the same as 4A directly from the mains.
You have a 6V charger, working at 4A. This makes 24 Watts of power. Probably the thing is inefficient and it consumes 50 Watt of power from the net.
If this thing runs for 506 amp hours, at 4 A this is just over 125 hours. At a power of 50 Watt, 125*50 Wh is used, which is 6.25 kWh.
So, expect your bills to be extended with an additional 6 to 7 kWh. I don't know the price of electricity where you live, but I estimate that this
whole exercise will add appr. $2 to your bill (assuming appr. $0.30 per kWh).
If you want more precise computations, then I need to know the precise current, drawn by the charger (or power consumed by the charger), and the price
of electricity. But with the outline of the computation I have given, you should be able to do some more precise math.
lucky123 - 19-6-2008 at 15:53
How would I get the current drawn from the charger for more precise calculation? Also battery charger is inefficinet so it will draw more than 24
watts you say, but what about a computer powersupply are they more efficient for this project or provide a more regulated current? Thanks for the
help with the calculations my electric bill was over doubled when doing this project is it possible my charger is very inefficient and how would I
test it? Something just doesn't add up.... Any idea's why this could be?
tentacles - 19-6-2008 at 16:53
The only way to know for certain the power consumption would be using a "Kill-a-watt" or a meter to measure the current draw and voltage to calculate
the wattage consumed. Kill-a-watts are like $17.
I don't see how a battery charger could double your leccy bill, unless all you run is a lightbulb. A 10 amp / 12v charger could only draw about 3A at
115V before it'd overheat and shut off / burn out / start a fire. Even drawing 2A would make for one hellish hot transformer.
I was looking at those inverter welders the other day, you can get a 50A 100% duty cycle for pretty cheap. Of course, that's typically a constant
current 30-35V power source.
batery charger
lucky123 - 27-6-2008 at 17:20
Really?? Kilowats are like 17 dollars (stated by a poster above ) and if it consumes 6 some that is quite expensive!!! Also curious about the 10amp
12 v battery charger I had it run at four ampes at six volts constant.... Is this in danger of overheating the unit or ruiing the charger?
not_important - 27-6-2008 at 18:22
You misunderstood. The "Kill-a-watt" is a power meter, see http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-...
You pay for electric power by the kilowatt, one word with metric multiplier 'kilo' at the front and unit of power 'watt' at the back.
A 20 amp 12 volt supply at maximum rated current is outputting 240 watts. Unlikely it is drawing any more than 300 watts total from the mains, or
less than a kilowatthour if used for three hours. Look on your power bill to see what that will cost you.
Battery chargers are fairly good at protecting themselves against overcurrent and overheating, provided you don't block the airflow. Check it every
hour or so, protect it from any spray from the electrolysis cell.
Lewis - 15-7-2008 at 20:57
That was an entertaining mistake. 
I have a chlorate cell running out back at the moment. It uses a 5V 20amp switching power supply with a titanium cathode and a Multiple Metal Oxide
coated anode.
Needless to say, after investing in this top of the line equipment, the thing runs like a top. However, I'm inherently lazy, so I electrolyse KCl and
simply harvest the precipitated KClO3 from the bottom of the cell.
I never bothered to measure the kWh of the setup, but you can be sure it's negligible.
Chlorate cells are essential to any home experimenter. They ensure access to increasingly watched chemicals at the price of a bag of water softener
salt. 