Safe Materials for Indefinite Immersion in Nickel Plating Tank?

[nocus]

I'm a relative newbie to nickel plating. My initial attempts with the Caswell electrolytic nickel plating kit were quite successful but I can't live with the green chemical mess that the fine bubbles of the aquarium agitator makes around my tank. Another thread on this forum stated great success with an air bubbler that uses large bubbles without the mess and this is the route I am now going. I wish to submerge (permanently if possible) a Polypro (PP) tube with holes in it in my plating bath but my question is what materials can I use to weight it down and so sink it to the bottom? My initial attempts in a water bath were with stainless steel hardware (as a tester) but I understand stainless may/will corrode in the nickel bath. Though PVC & PP would be obvious choices I understand they will float in the bath. There is some indication that Titanium would be a good choice, but I'm not sure whether titanium will also eventually corrode as well.

So, can anyone suggest a material that will sink in a nickel bath that could remain within the tank indefinitely and not corrode or otherwise contaminate the bath? If the answer is no material would be good for this, would Titanium be my best choice as long as I remove it each time following a plating session?

[amerdunbar]

I had the same problem. I'm using the 6 gallon tank (4.5 gallon copy chrome). I had my compressor hooked up to the air tube on the filter pump for extra aeration, however the pump keeps it up a few inches, and I had problems with it directly blasting the part. If I turned it to the side, I got pits in my plate. I plan to go with bigger tanks eventually, where I'll use the rigid plastic threaded plumbing where the up tubes can be fastened to the sides of the tank out of the bath.

But for now, I used 3/8" PEX tubing, heated it and made two loops, the bigger being close to 10" in diameter. I used electrical tape to secure the loops together at one point where I bent the tubing up to connect to my air hose. I drilled small, random holes in the tubing loops, then just wedged the loop down to the bottom of the tank The filter pump sits on it, and helps hold it down, should it ever come loose. I used it for several hours and it worked perfectly. The bubbles are random, like a boiling pot, and it gave me one of the best looking platings I've had so far.

Another option is hot glue - it works great for plugging places I don't want plated, but you would have to have a clean dry tank to use it, and I don't know how well it would hold up over time in a tank. Like I said, works great for parts, but they're only in the tank for an hour or so at a time.

[CarWiz]

I'm using the EN process but thought this tidbit might be appropriate.
On the last use of my supposedly "Titanium" tank heater, it plated out in nickel. I never had the problem before (About a year of use) and it came with the kit I purchased. Either it's not titanium or had a thin coating that burned off. I'm not sure which but I thought Ti wouldn't plate in the nickel baths. This stuff did. Just some info to add to your decision.

[nocus]

Thanks for the feedback Amerdunbar & CarWiz.....

Amerdunbar....your comments on hot glue in the bath are helpful though not perhaps definitive since I presume you're not yet sure (?) whether long-term continuous exposure of such glues in a nickel bath may contaminate the bath or not. If I'm mistaken about this, and you know that there are no problems longterm with continuous exposure, then please update this thread.

CarWiz.....I don't understand how the heater could plate out if it is not electrically connected to one of the electrodes? Perhaps it just oxidized in the acidic nickel bath?

So, I'm surprised 88 people have viewed this thread already and yet very little feedback on what can or cannot be left in a nickel bath indefinitely without contaminating and/or corroding terribly.

Perhaps I need to be more specific in the question of this thread....Let me rephrase.....what materials (metallic, polymer, glass or otherwise) if not connected electrically to the electrodes in a nickel bath can survive indefinitely within the bath and not cause any problems whatsoever. My bit of research thus far suggests that the following may be okey but any further wisdom from people would be good.

1) Titanium?
2) Glass, specifically Pyrex, but perhaps other types as well?
3) Stainless Steel, if in the 300 series, but perhaps others?
4) PP, PEX, PVC, and perhaps others?

I should think it would be a helpful (though minor) addition to this forum to know what materials definitively can be placed and used within a nickel bath long-term without deleterious effects to the chemistry of the bath. So, if the list of four materials above could be subtracted from, or added to, or further clarified and confirmed, this woudl be good.

[amerdunbar]

I really can't see contamination being a concern, unless the bath got hot enough to completely melt the glue, (my SP degrease tank has). Since nickel runs at 110F, the biggest problem would probably be the glue letting go of the plastic bucket, and your air tubes coming up. I've seen some pics of small tanks that had holes drilled in the sides near the top to hold rigid plastic tubing down. Probably the most ideal setup.

I'd like to see a definitive answer too - since it would be nice to be able to just use something to weigh it down.

[CarWiz]

Originally Posted by nocus

CarWiz.....I don't understand how the heater could plate out if it is not electrically connected to one of the electrodes? Perhaps it just oxidized in the acidic nickel bath?

As I mentioned, I'm using the Electroless Nickel (EN) process. There are no "electrodes". I just mentioned it because I thought Ti was unaffected by the nickel baths. As such, that claim is incorrect or Caswell is supplying heaters that are not Ti to begin with. I'm not sure which is true as I have no way to test for Ti. I do know this; My "Ti heater" is now plated in nickel!

[nocus]

Carwiz.....just did a quick search for you online and came up with a load of websites that seem to imply titanium is routinely plated by an electroless nickel process....see http://www.titaniumfinishing.com/page06.htm for example. I didn't do enough research to make sure that this is definitive but at first glance it looks like electroless nickel does plate Titanium. So, in this regard, electroless nickel and electrolytic nickel may be very different.....though it'd be nice to confirm this definitively by someone here who has experience with Titanium in electrolytic and electroless nickel baths

[nocus]

Amerdunbar....I have no direct experience to disagree with you on the glue front ..though many epoxies and plastics etc (and glues presumably therefore too) do leach various chemicals and organic compounds and even at room temperature....our bodies are loaded with all sorts of nasty's from drinking out of various types of plastics for years for example....and so what I'm hoping to obtain through this thread is a definitive list of materials that people know for sure are no problem whatsoever and in this regard perhaps others will write in and confirm your findings further or suggest certain glues (brands and model #'s that are good). I also liked you idea of drilling holes in the tank to affix the tubing and had thought of other similar approaches as well, though I would ideally like to make a rigid structure that sinks and holds the tubing and its holes in the same position every time i put it into the tank i.e., I'm not sure (unless mounting holes were to be drilled and sealed quite far down the tank wall) that under your suggested approach the tubing wouldn't roam around and cause some troubles. I have thought of doing as you say but running the tubing down the tank wall behind one of the large electrodes (emerging at the bottom) in order to hold the tubing loop in place.

[nocus]

as a further note here today, so that people can link this with another thread on using large bubbles instead of small bubbles for circulation..... see the following thread....Circulation or aeration?

[brhino1]

Afternoon guys, CarWiz Iam also in Tx started a small plating shop new at this if you get a chance give me a call 254-718-3324 central Tx area

Thanks