Summary for feed and bleed system Discussion
Feed & bleed for plating line process tanks is discussed as a way to stop manually pouring acid and to better control cleaner and activator baths. In the opening question, the poster asks how to add HCl to an acid dip bath without hand pouring; a peristaltic metering pump is suggested as a simple option. In a related question, Scott Foley asks about using feed-and-bleed on alkaline cleaners and acid activators to reduce waste-treatment volume, hold bath equilibrium longer, and improve adhesion, while seeking dragout and concentration calculations. Bill Hemp replies that such systems are sometimes used with overflows, titration for a few weeks, and metering pumps, but notes the setup can be complex and may require lab work to establish the numbers. He also recommends contacting chemical vendors, since they should help determine the right approach and equipment.
Q. I have been working in electro plating process in that acid dip bath is there it contains HCL acid which was poured manually till now in the bath Now I want some ideas or technique to pour the chemical in the bath without manually.
Thara
– Tamilnadu, India
March 4, 2025
This is a meeting place for camaraderie & sharing, not a free consultancy. So some readers don’t engage with anonymous posters.
A. Hi.
Metering pumps are a relatively inexpensive commodity item which you can use to continuously feed a small amount of acid directly from a 55-gallon drum into the process tank. You can add an overflow outlet to your acid tank, and an equal amount of solution will overflow.
The more difficult step is probably deciding what feed rate to use, but historical records of how much you have been adding manually should be a good starting point. How big is your HCl acid activation tank, about how much acid do you currently add, and in what form do you get the acid (drums, tanker truck delivery, etc.)?
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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⇩ Similar, related, Q&As — oldest first ⇩
Q. I am a manager of a medium size barrel plating shop. We are looking into the use of a feed & bleed system for our Alkaline cleaners and possibly our acid activator tanks. This would minimize the volume being sent to waste-treatment each week, maintaining an equilibrium state for a longer period of time between bath dumps, and minimize adhesion problems.
With all of this said, I would appreciate any information in this area concerning dragout, concentration of feed tank solution, equations to figure the process, etc. thanks
Scott Foley
– Springfield, Missouri
2000
Scott you may not have received a reply due to the magnitude of what you are asking for. Normally a barrel plating operation has drag out and tends to control somewhat the cleaners for contamination.
Some shops have set up feed and bleed systems utilizing overflows in these tanks, including the acid tank, titrating for a few weeks, and set up metering pumps. Or add manually. Need a lab tech to spend some time getting these numbers. You can purchase automatic titrators and feeders that are computer controlled. Suggest you contact your cleaner vendor for ideas.
Ask all your chemical vendors, that’s their job to find out what you want to accomplish. Hope this helps.
Bill Hemp
tech svc. w/ chemical supplier – Grand Rapids, Michigan