How To Recycle Scrap Metal Into Electricity

1 -- JUNK POWER: THE NEW ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

What is it? -- 1
Why use it? -- 2
Where did it come from? -- 3
Junk Power for Fun and Profit -- 5

2 -- HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE HOME-MADE BATTERY

Basic Components -- 11

3 -- HOW POWER CELLS WORK

Uncle Mickey's Electrochemical Laws -- 15
What goes where inside the cell -- 17
Calculating Power -- 19
Calculating Energy -- 20
Georgie Ohm's law -- 20
Conductance -- 21
Basic Battery Design -- 21
Voltage -- 22
Table 1: The Electromotive Series -- 23
Current -- 24
Shape of the Electrodes -- 25
Thickness of the Electrodes -- 26
Distance between the Electrodes -- 27
Electrolytes -- 27
Table 2: Electrolytes -- 28

4 -- FINDING ENERGY SOURCE METAL

The Negative Electrode -- 31
Elements Above Hydrogen -- 32
Elements Below Hydrogen -- 34
Fuel Sources -- 35
Salt Fuels -- 37
Recycling "Fuels" From Other Cells -- 38

5 -- SELECTING JUNK CELL COMPONENTS

Mix and Match Cells -- 39
The Positive Electrode -- 41
Copper -- 41
Carbon -- 42
Cell Containers -- 44
Super-Cells -- 47
Electrolytes -- 48

6 -- SAFETY FIRST

Things to Always Do -- 51
Things to Never Do -- 52
Handling Acids -- 52
First Aid for Acids and Alkalies -- 52
Poisons -- 53
Mixing Chemicals and Ventilation -- 54
Disposal -- 54

7 -- THE TEST CELL

The Basic Test Cell -- 57
Aluminum/Copper Test w/ Water -- 60
Open Circuit Voltage Test -- 61
Current Under Test Load -- 61
Test Load Resistance -- 61
Calculating Cell Power -- 62
Internal Cell Resistance -- 63
Testing Component Arrangements -- 64
Electrode Area -- Current Density -- 65
Electrolyte Resistance -- 66
Ampere-Hours: How Long and How Tough -- 67
Testing A New Electrolyte -- 68
No Slop Bottles -- 68
Sample Test Cells, Table 3 -- 69
Test Cell Comparison, Open Circuit Voltages -- 70
Using and Making Electrochemical tables -- 70
Testing Metal Electrodes -- 71
What to Look for When Testing Scrap Metals -- 73
Low Cell Resistance -- 73
Local Action -- 74
Plating -- 74
Electrode Changes -- 74
Polarization -- 74
Changes Over Time -- 75
Strange Gasses -- 75
Temperature Changes -- 75
Testing Cell Configurations -- 76
Comparing Test and Commercial Cells -- 76
Comparing Test and Backyard Cells -- 77
Selecting materials from your test results -- 78
Testing Unknown Metals -- 79
Cleanliness -- 80

8 -- BACKYARD BATTERY BUILDING

Cells in a Series -- 82
 Internal Resistance -- 83
The Dry Connection -- 83
Ventilation -- 86
Saving the Hydrogen -- 87
Cleaning -- 88
Electrode Separators -- 88
Bridges -- 89
Electrolyte Shorts -- 90
Junk Power Cells from the Past -- 90
Bucket of Bolts -- 92
Mix and Match Cells -- 93
Other Cell Types -- 93
Lead Acid...Car Batteries -- 95
Edison Cell -- 95

9 -- DEALING WITH POLARIZATION

Polarization -- 97
Catching Hydrogen -- 98
Mechanical Hydrogen Removal -- 98
Recirculating Electrolyte -- 100
Pumps -- 101
Whistle Pump -- 101
Big Horn Mountain Pump -- 101
Percolators -- 102
Jet Pumps -- 103
Convection Pumps -- 103
Electro-chemical Depolarization -- 104
Other Depolarizers -- 106
Use the Hydrogen -- 107
Fuel Cells -- 107
The Air Electrode -- 109
What's New -- 110

10 -- OPERATING YOUR OWN SCRAP METAL POWER UTILITY

Tin Can Power -- 111
Frying Pan Cell -- 112
Bigger and Better -- 114
Recycled Car Batteries -- 115
Dry Cell Recycling -- 116
Yogurt Cup Power House -- 116
Checking Out the Scrap Pile Power Supply -- 117
Two Ways To Greater Power -- 119
Portable Power -- 120
Battery House -- 120
Cell Arrangement -- 122
Connecting Wires -- 123
Operation -- 123
Cleaning Parts -- 124
How Big? -- 125

APPENDIX 1: TABLES

Electromotive Series, Table 1 -- A1
Electrolytes, Table 2 -- A2
Sample Test Cells, Table 3 -- A3
Test Cell Comparisons, Open Circuit Voltages, Table 3 -- A3
Energy Densities for Various Metals -- A4
Resistor Color Code -- A4

APPENDIX 2: COMPUTER PROGRAM

Cell Parameter Calculating Program -- A5

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