Pickling with No chemicals. A Machine can do it?

[H80N]

Just for those who don't know, "pickling" stainless is a process to chemically remove welding stains from the work. Obviously, the previous respondents to this thread don't have a clue. Obviously, the previous respondents have no business responding to a purely technical question such as this, since they have no clue. The OP is looking for an electical way to accomplish the same thing, I'd respond but I know no more about this than most of the smart-asses here, and not about to stick my foot in my mouth. I am more than willing to hear from somebody who knows something about this.

Oh Really??

Look up Passivation, Pickling and Electropolish of stainless steel... THEN get back to us..........

you could start here....

http://elkhornelectropolish.com/passivation.php

[kevhead63]

And check out http://www.delstar.com alot of info on pickling.

[custom969]

The answere i was looking for was Electrical weld cleaner and i found a specific machine at the following site. I'm waiting on a responce from customer service (i want a demo video to see if it can handle 16" pipe all day long). Let yas know how it goes.

http://www.capitalweldcleaners.com/?...FWcHRQodiX5oEw

[H80N]

The answere i was looking for was Electrical weld cleaner and i found a specific machine at the following site. I'm waiting on a responce from customer service (i want a demo video to see if it can handle 16" pipe all day long). Let yas know how it goes.

http://www.capitalweldcleaners.com/?...FWcHRQodiX5oEw

now we have something to work with........ but this process is hardly "Chemical Free"..... it relies on "Phosphoric Acid" and electricity to electroclean weld areas....

this is chemically and electrically a spot "Electropolish" procedure.... this scheme has been around for a very long time... it involves Acid and Electricity and can be pretty messy..
We tried it for weld cleaning in a large shop that made 304 SS cleanroom furnishings for the semiconductor fab indusrty.... for our purposes anyway it was not practical.... we ended up leaving that step to our electropolish contractor..
wet corrosive chemicals mixed with electricity on the shopfloor were not a good solution for us...

If you want more info on this approach here is a search link..

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=...fr=yfp-t-701-s

BTW... I cannot blame the guys for making a little fun.... try to ask a more specific question next time and you will get a more focused response... nobody wants to try and guess what a poster "Really Means" when they ask a vague question... there are a LOT of very knowledgable folks here that are willing to share their knowledge...... none that I am aware of are mindreaders....

[H80N]

As you explore this approach, pay particular attention to the cost of "cleaning solution".... the additional cost and manpower of a dedicated wet cleaning area where the cleaning process can take place, then corrosive residue solution can be rinsed off and neutralized.... be skeptical of any claims that this process is easily done at the weld station..... we found that not to be the case in a production environment...

ALSO.... many of the "Cleaning Machines" are lightly modified chinese inverter welders... with all of the problems built in.... make sure that the supplier can certify where the power supply is actually manufactured... not packaged or labeled.... just sayin....

[LarryO]

The TigBrush works better than the unit you listed.

Uses a lot less solution

[custom969]

I'll get specific here. The situation I’m in is that the shops I’ve been hired by does pickling some of the time because the boys on the floor tend to avoid/don't do it. So I’m looking for an alternative that would be more appealing for them or easier to remember. The parts being fabricated generally are 2"-16" schedule 160 316 or 304 stainless steel. Sometimes we get something different but the bulk is this.

We do our fabrication in the shop but as for the cleaning that can take place in the yard as it is a large yard.

So I’ll open the floor to some suggestions as to what could be a more viable or cost effective way to get this task done.

[H80N]

If you are still looking for "chemical free".....

have you looked into scotch brite pads on a die grinder or flapwheels..... like are popular in the sanitary stainless industry???

or

spot soda or abrasive blasting??

not knowing what industry or desired finish you need, makes it pretty tough to "guess" at a solution..... is there any spec that you have to comply with?? or is this all cosmetic and subjective arbitrary eyeball???

Note:......One of the pitfalls of the electrolytic cleaning processes is that they all require chemicals to make them work in addition to the electricity..... and the cleaning liberates stuff like hexavalent chromium and nickel salts when used on stainless steel........ Soooooooo there are some environmental and human health compliance concerns when used in a commercial setting.....

[big mike]

http://www.walter.com/Walter/US/en/Promotions

[custom969]

These spools are either adhering to ASME b31.3, ASME 8-9, Z662 + customers quality manuals/specifications. Now they never directly mention using any pickling process so it is an "arbitrary visual thing."