Alkaline zinc bath heating: simple, smart heater advice

Summary for alkaline zinc bath heating Discussion

alkaline zinc bath heating is discussed as a simple temperature-control problem: plating baths need the right temperature, and while process heat can sometimes require cooling, Mike’s bath was dropping to about 60 °F after cold weekends. The excerpt notes that common heating methods are steam or hot-water pipe coils/platecoils or electric immersion heaters. In response, the answerer says electric heat is relatively expensive in energy terms, but the actual heat needed here would be small because the bath only needs to be held around a low setpoint, such as 75 °F, and only when the tank is idle. The practical recommendation is to install an electric heater, set it to the lowest satisfactory temperature, and leave it on so it cycles off automatically when rectifier heat is present and back on overnight if the bath cools.

Plating baths only work well when they are at the proper temperature for the specific plating process, so sometimes they need heating. But the large wattage consumed by the plating process can add a lot of heat to the plating bath, so they sometimes need cooling.
The most common heating methods are pipe coils /platecoils immersed in the bath with steam or hot water flowing through them, or electric immersion heaters.

Q. Our alkaline zinc bath temp has been near 60 °F in the mornings, especially after a cold weekend.

Are there any ways to heat the bath up safely? We can cool the bath but converting the cooling system to heating would not be easy.

Would an immersion (or 2) heater work?

Thanks.

Mike A
Lab Tech – Huntingdon Pennsylvania
November 25, 2024

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A. Hi Mike,

Although electric heat is relatively expensive energy-wise, this will be a very small amount of heat due both to the rather low temperature you need to hold (say 75 °F?), and the fact that this need is only when you are not operating (the heat loss from a quiescent tank is much less than from an agitated one).

I would get an electric heater, set it for the lowest satisfactory temperature, and just leave it there — the power will go off by itself when rectifier power takes over and only go on when the temperature drops too low overnight.

Luck & Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey

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