I have completed my electrolysis experiment using a standard issue nickel with a second one at the positive electrode. My electrolyte is sodium carbonate (Arm & Hammer washing soda) which does not foul up the positive electrode as much as borax. For a short time it looked as though I was observing excess heat after my test nickel had been loaded with hydrogen for 40 plus hours. I performed a control and calibration run which seemed to indicate that I could not prove any excess heating.
My test fixture does not appear to be capable of precise temperature measurement since it does not have a good stirring process and the control of the electrolyte level is difficult to maintain. A positive result would be too important of a determination for me to announce without better proof. For these reasons I decided to try another experiment. First, I took the 40 plus hour nickel and heated it to red heat with a gas torch. The nickel rapidly cooled off once the torch was removed so it was apparent that a lot of excess heat was not being generated as a result of elevated temperature. No flames appeared that could suggest that hydrogen was being released so I decided to begin another procedure. I took the test nickel and heated it to a red hot state and immediately dropped it into a water bath. This was repeated a total of 5 times in an effort to generate surface cracks due to the stress of rapid cooling. The main observation I noticed was that an oxide had formed upon the surface which could not be removed by wiping. One side seemed to have a thick brown oxide while the other exhibited less. I am not able to test for the actual materials present, but that does not prevent me from proceeded with my electrolysis of the nickel. The heat treated nickel is now undergoing electrolysis along with one that is not so treated acting as the positive supply electrode. My first observations are that the brown oxide deposits have flaked off to a degree, but not completely. This material is floating upon the bath and I also found that the resistance associated with this coating does not appear too large to prevent me from driving the current to 1 or 2 amps as desired. I was surprised that it did not exhibit much if any additional resistance as compared to the original sample. I did note that green flakes of material have shown up in the electrolyte that I have not seen before when using sodium carbonate. This is an interesting consequence of the heat treating as far as can be determined. The experiment has now been running for around 6 hours and the bath temperature has been recorded as well as the input power applied at several times. I have been registering the results within an Excel file and chart in an effort to reveal anything of interest. I have collected a fair amount of data associated with the other experimental procedure using a untreated set of nickels that is also charted. I will continue to run the experiment looking for any unusual behavior or heating. Dave
