Аннотация:Results of an experimental search to determine excess tritium in D2O-based solutions after their electrolysis with hydrogen-sorbing cathodes of palladium and intermetallic compounds were presented. The cathodic current density, duration of electrolysis, solution composition, and cathode mass were varied widely in the experiments. A number of experiments were set up with the aim of determining excess tritium in the evolving gas and also in the cells with nickel anodes at high current densities. The major technical errors which arise in cold-fusion experiments, the general principles of designing such experiments, and the potential of different methods for detecting the fusion products were analyzed. Particular attention was given to the special features of liquid scintillation methods for the electrolyte solutions and to the problems of setting up blank tests. It was seen when analyzing the data obtained by liquid scintillation and gamma-spectrometry in a series of about 100 experiments that indications are lacking for cold fusion occurring at rates of greater-than-or-equal-to 2.10(-18) s-1 in the systems investigated.