USB water steriliser

Finally, the secret of Laphroaig is revealed…

There's definitely something quite intriguing about the electrical simplicity of the process.

Big Clive

Hi Clive, I messaged you about the first spray bottle as a suggestion for a video. For it to be a greater percentage of Hypochlorous you need to adjust the ph down with a drop of white vinegar. You will probably find the ph of that solution is super high. The hypochlorous is more effective as a disinfectant than the hypochlorite at the higher ph. I have used Hypochlorous in a commercial form throughout the pandemic on everything from my fruit and vegetables to hand sanitizer from a company called Dew Products in Dundee, they make it shelf stable somehow so it keeps for longer and the freely available chlorine does not dissipate. I would say I have been through about 50 litres of the stuff in the last year. I also got one of these little units as a backup and it is an amazing little unit for the price. I have been amused by all the neutotypicals buying fancy sprays and wipes, panic buying, polluting the environment and breathing in all of the noxious chemical fragrance when there is such a cheap and very good alternative!

I'd guess your new job is probably involving a lot of training and certification in water treatment.

Big Clive

I'm aware of the situation with Fran, but cautious about promoting too many gofundme type events. I get the feeling that Fran may have to move out of the big city to find a more affordable workshop.

Big Clive

I think the chlorine may actually corrode the mechanism in some spray bottles. Mine seems to use a standard thread size for other spray heads.

Big Clive

I'm working my way thru my water production licenses, we are taught mg/L and PPM are same same.

I'm not sure the milligrams is parts per million it should be measured in parts per million but that's a weird measurement everything is done in parts per million for swimming pools

Jonathan Hughes

PPM is mg/l just FYI.

Amperometric titration, will help determine which chlorine residual you are reading with those test strips.

My initial thought was ideal for large camping bottles compared to using fiddly tablets.

Andrew Donaldson

Clive, off topic, but you should go to Fran’s Patreon. It appears that she is getting evicted again. Not that you can do much, but you have a much bigger audience than I do, and can perhaps mention it or some way help get her the support she needs

Rocco Rizzo

The anode will be an MMO anode and a titanium cathode. You can make some chlorate with it if you like.

Mike Hanley

Yes, I believe that is the case! Of course, if you can guarantee the polarity like you can in this case, you can skimp on the kathode, as it will always be reduced to clean metal, hence it probably being stainless-steel! I've put one of these exact units through weeks worth of time, and the electrodes are both still in excellent condition! I plan to take one up on the boat next time I'm up there, and use sea water to make a bleach supply for cleaning etc.

William Taylor

During the pandemic, when all the disinfectant were soldout in the shops, I purchased a spray bottle (https://www.banggood.com/84-Disinfection-Water-Maker-Electrolytic-Generator-Sodium-Hypochlorite-Disinfectant-Liquid-Making-Machine-USB-Charging-Phone-Sterilizer-p-1652844.html) to create chlorine. The device worked well, and in 5 min the battery powered bottle was able to create strong chlorine, so that I had to dilute. Better than noting in that period, but I used it not more than 3 or 4 time, because I was conscious that the chlorine would have destroyed soon the device, so I always moved the chlorine in another plastic bottle just after the creation, and washed immediately the electro bottle.

Roberto Coli

I use a full size version for my swimming pool. Plates are made of titanium. Think cheaper ones are coat with titanium. Has a large control box attached. Much nicer to swim in than a chlorine pool with conventional tablets etc.

I have the trigger spray one. The quality is poor and it stopped spraying, plus it’s too small.I removed the element from inside and added some wires. I now put the element in a jug of salt water connected to my bench supply. I then fill standard trigger spray bottles.Very chlorine smell. Great for bathroom, gets rid of smells and prevents/kills mould.

Mick Spanner

Pretty sure the electrodes are Titanium with a Platinum or similar metal plating. Not as costly as it sounds.

A very good and well presented experiment and tear down... Now try with the light turned off and see if the Chlorine strengths are higher.. Chlorine breaks down in the light..

I was waiting for you to discover these ones, they are my favourite! Ok, The math I did suggested that to convert 1 teaspoon of salt, which is approx 0.1 mol, fully, it would take about 2.8AH. I usually do about 1/2 mol, about 29g of salt in half a littre, which takes around 14AH to convert. I also do the last bit in the fridge with a power bank, as super high concentrations tend to degrade back to salt water if too hot. This will give you super strong bleach, good for toilets, showers, and bleaching things! I've already ruined a jumper by getting some of that on it! I like this device because it doesn't have an annoying timer that stopps vastly short of converting even a fraction of the salt they recommend you use! Your little scoop that comes with it, could take maybe 1.5AH to fully convert, around 3 hours or more at 400 to 500MA. Try that and see how you go!

William Taylor

I love my spray bottle electrolysis chlorine making devices they’re awesome at making chlorine from salt 🧂 water 💧!!!

Zane Revai

I've built industrial sized water electrolysis units that were intended to be used in the food industry. You definitely don't want to be drinking the results because it's salty diluted household bleach. The machines I had to build had all manner of issues in use. The bleach would eat away at various materials, even corroding 316 grade stainless steel at an alarming rate. Then when the largest unit was running it was also splitting some of the water molecules, so hydrogen would escape the system filling the container. To make matters worse the oxygen was finding a source of carbon somewhere in the system, possibly piping and bonding with that to create carbon monoxide which filled the container to such a level it wasn't safe to stand in there. Needless to say, the units never caught on and I don't think the company they were built for is still operating.

Matthew Halfpenny

To sterilize water for drinking typically you would electrolyze there chlorine solution to a known PPM and add it volumetrically to the dirty water to achieve the proper PPM needed to sterilize the water. That’s how most of the municipal water systems I have seen work anyway! I’m just the comms tech not a biologist but I have spend enough time in the scary room full of chlorine cylinders working on telemetry systems to pickup how the process works!!