Sodium Hydroxide Engine Dipping

[matt]

Hi all,

I have been prepping my listeroid the "Utterpower Kit Engine Beta Test" method as documented by Quinn.

Quinn has had great success when dipping cast iron, full of filler and paint, into a mixture of hot water and Drain Cleaner (Sodium Hydroxide).
I have seen the photos that show a completely stripped cylinder block after 24 hours in the solution.

When I try it, I get only minimal stripping after 2 weeks soaking!!!!!!
The red oxide used inside the main bearing housings just wont budge!!
What am I doing wrong???

I made a second batch of super concentrated mixture with only 4 inches of water in the bottom of a bucket. Still minimal success!!!!!

Quinn bathed the whole crankcase in a plastic garbage bin and it worked a treat for him.


Please help me!!!!


Matt

[MacGyver]

That's odd. I used Drano (the dry crystalline kind, not the liquid stuff) mixed with water and soaked a *lot* of small parts (governor linkage, nuts, bolts, etc) to clean them and without fail all the paint was stripped overnight.

Are you using liquid drain cleaner, or the dry stuff (mixed w/water of course?)

[MeanListerGreen]

I used to work in a chemical plant.  We had a steam jacketed sodium hydroxide dip tank.  We were instructed never to dip cast iron in the tank.  Having said that.  A little heat should help activate your solution. 

[matt]

MacGyver and MeanListerGreen,

Yes it was the crystalline Drano - a 3 or 4 inch high cylindrical container - I can't remember the actual weight of it.
And yes I did use very hot water.

Thanks for the info.
I just don't know why it is not working for me.
I did everything that Quinn documented in the Utterpower beta test report.

regards,
Matt

[rcavictim]

What kind of water are you using, the liquid kind or the powdered stuff?   

[rsnapper]

I used some the Roebic brand caustic that is avaliable in the plumbing separtment at the big box store. I put a small 12 volt bilge pump in the bucket for some agitation. I think the pump is rated about 300 GPM. Worked fine after a couple of days of soaking with the pumps running. I think I did use warm water to begin with but it quickly cooled. A little of that red stuff did remain but quickly came off with a power wire brush. Just be careful with this caustic stuff and use the proper PPE.

[oliver90owner]

I will jump in before rcavictim has the chance and says he wants one, he wants one

300 gallons per minute, even with small US gallons is some pump   What lift is it rated at?  Finally, how many amps does it draw?

I am presuming you mean 'per hour' or maybe litres per hour?  But I had to ask   --- 'Cos I want one too, if you were right!!

Regards, RAB

[rcavictim]

I will jump in before rcavictim has the chance and says he wants one, he wants one

300 gallons per minute, even with small US gallons is some pump   What lift is it rated at?  Finally, how many amps does it draw?

I am presuming you mean 'per hour' or maybe litres per hour?  But I had to ask   --- 'Cos I want one too, if you were right!!

Regards, RAB

Rab,

I believe GPM to be correct.  That would be Grams Per Minute and is for pumping the aforementioned powdered water.     The beauty of powdered water concentrate is that it is light and cheap to transport.  Once it arrives where you need it just add water and voila!

You just never know what useful tidbits of information you will pick up on these forums.   

[oliver90owner]

rcavictim,

The beauty of powdered water concentrate is that it is light and cheap to transport

Can you spell out exactly how much lighter that 300g 3 Newtons of powdered water is than the liquid variant?

I have always found that dried water is lighter to transport

water is OK but you have to be careful handling dihydrogen monoxide - could be dangerous!

Regards, RAB

[MeanListerGreen]

If you want to try some pure sodium hydroxide, you could try one of the myriad of bio diesel forums to see where to purchase some.  I think they use it as a catalyst or activator or something.

[rcavictim]

Farmers buy pure lye crystal powder in 5 gallion plastic pails and smaller from feed and farm supply stores. 

I bought a pail full once ~22 years ago for a hot water engine dip tank and it worked great.  Recently I bought a smaller plastic jug of the stuff locally to clean an oil sump made of 3/4" plate and H-channel of paint and crap.  In that case I was able to bring the solution to a boil in the oil pan with a tiger torch (propane wand 250k BTU's).  Once hot I let it sit for 24 hours.  Inside the paint was gone and it was clean.

[trigzy]

The 300 GPM pump I have has a 10HP motor, and a 2" suction & discharge.  12V bilge pumps are rated in Gallons Per Hour (GPH).

Steve

I will jump in before rcavictim has the chance and says he wants one, he wants one

300 gallons per minute, even with small US gallons is some pump   What lift is it rated at?  Finally, how many amps does it draw?

I am presuming you mean 'per hour' or maybe litres per hour?  But I had to ask   --- 'Cos I want one too, if you were right!!

Regards, RAB

Rab,

I believe GPM to be correct.  That would be Grams Per Minute and is for pumping the aforementioned powdered water.     The beauty of powdered water concentrate is that it is light and cheap to transport.  Once it arrives where you need it just add water and voila!

You just never know what useful tidbits of information you will pick up on these forums.   

[matt]

An Update.....

I Left the second super concentrated batch for a week.
After I removed the lister parts I found.....

1. most of the filler gone,
2. some remaining green paint turned blue
3. Only a fine cover left of the "red oxide" on the underside of the parts.

I rotary wire brushed the remainder with good success.

There was definately some very dirty casting crud underneath the red oxide paint.
This is bad because it is the inside the engine side of the parts.

Anyway,  after a thorough wire brush and high pressure water blast, I primed and painted these parts.

They now look way better than they previously did!!!!
I would rather see mild casting errors under paint instead of half a ton of that body filler slapped over everything.

Thanks for the advise.

regards,
Matt

[rsnapper]

My error guys, GPH!