[sage]

I just got a really good idea for a tank agitiator from a friend in the plating business. He doesn't use this idea in his plating tanks but somewhere else in his process )can't remember where he said). He suggested using a paint mixer.
Richards - the company who makes paint supplies like scrapers etc, also make a small paint mixer which is actually a squirrel cage fan about 4" in diameter on the end of a metal rod. You spin it with a drill normally and submerse it in a can of paint. Guaranteed to be the best mixer they say - I agree.
Using a drill I put it in my 6gal tank which is about 24" x 12" x 10" deep. It really moves the liquid - too fast actually so I tried one of those battery screwdrivers which turns at about 180rpm. The round shaft fit snugly in the hex hole on the screwdriver.
Perfect !!! The water was moving qround the tank at a very nice rate. It doesn't take up too much space. All I need now is to make a bracket to hold it over he tank in the middle (where it works best) and maybe connect it to a power supply instead of the batteries.
It has a metal shaft but I don't expect any problems with that as long as it doesn't become part of the electrical circuit. I'll have to see how the plastic squirrel cage hold up in the acid.
So there you go - for $8 a tank agitator.
The reason I didn't go with air (even though I bought all the fittings and pipe) is becasue I wasn't too keen on all the bubbles bursting on the surface causing spattering of the acid. Never actually tried air so it may be a non-issue and also don't like the idea of pumping acid outside the tank especially when I don't need to for cooling or anything.
I'll report on my success with the paint mixer later.

Sage