All investigations of electrochemical reactors with gas-evolving electrodes must take account of the fact that the actual current density controlling cell operation commonly differs substantially from the nominal current density used for practical purposes. Both quantities are interrelated by the fractional bubble coverage. This parameter is shown to be affected by a large number of operational quantities. However, available relationships of the bubble coverage take account only of the nominal current density. A further essential insufficiency is their inconsistency with reality for very large values of the bubble coverage being of relevance for operation conditions leading to anode effects. An improved relationship applicable to the total range is proposed. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.