Well, my new setup uses 316 wire connected directly to the cell. We shall see.
if there is no different metals exposed to the water you will be able to see this difference probably…
there was for me a eureka moment when i discovered that aluminum would give 1v with copper and some amps .. and with that i understood that there is this chemical oxidation potential of the metals and so different metals cause a voltage and if they are in electric contact and with water they will be able to discharge!!
One thing you must remember also is that when you “conditioning” your cell your certainly transfering ions from one electrode to the other specialy above few volts… since stainless steel is a composition of metals the one with lower strength will go to the other electrode…. and the other electrode also is going to oxide to some extent so you may expect a voltage after conditioning for say… if you short them you may see this bubbles for for a while i guess too.. but will be much less i guess than with the aligator imersed…
my new cell i used some electroplating to solder the copper to the 304 material… i electroplated the tip of the electrode so i could solder with easy… wasnt easy to electroplate thought hahah