kmann1969
Well-known member
The fumes from precipitating gold with smb are horrible, even with a respirator. are these sulfur dioxide fumes? how bad are these for you?
smb fumes!!
- Thread starter kmann1969
- Start date
Help Support Gold Refining Forum:
niteliteone
Well-known member
'm allergic to sulfur, So the fumes make me itch from head to toe and break out with a rash where I itch, every time I drop gold and the fumes touch me. Usually on my wrists from adding the SMB. (short gloves)
The Dr. told me it is "systemic" and will get worse every reaction :shock:
Definitely get a properly functioning fume hood if you plan on doing this as a hobby or more.
The Dr. told me it is "systemic" and will get worse every reaction :shock:
Definitely get a properly functioning fume hood if you plan on doing this as a hobby or more.
NeMonstr
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2013
- Messages
- 29
ericrm
Well-known member
you probably use to much smb... 1g for 1 g of gold (if you denoxed properly), if you put way too much smb, you will coprecipitate copper, make everything settle slower and give you problem ...kmann1969 said:
The fumes from SMB are just to bad, so I use ferrous sulfate and there is just a hint sulfur. It is a little harder to make, add to water and a touch of HCl let it clear over night then pour off clear apple green liquid and it is ready to use. It does makes a little more volume in waste but that terrible smell is almost gone. Have a gallon ready to use at all times.
Mitch
Mitch
Can't do SMB without a fume hood or - do it outside.
Yes, you're asking for it.
Switch to copperas, safer really.
Take your time with it, chill the solution with ice, and slowly add. The SO2 you smell means it's not reducing gold so it's being wasted.
Switch to copperas, safer really.
Take your time with it, chill the solution with ice, and slowly add. The SO2 you smell means it's not reducing gold so it's being wasted.
kmann1969
Well-known member
just bought a fume hood..not taking any chances
I agree with Lou,
Ferrous sulfate AKA copperas produces much less stink and I have found it precipitates a much more consistent volume of precipitate. SO2 and metabisulfite can produce fine dense packing sponge powders or large clumpy powders depending on the conditions, ferrous is always consistent.
I like to make up a solution using 4 pounds of ferrous sulfate crystals per gallon of warm water and add about 600 ml of Hydrochloric acid. Slowly add this solution while mixing it and the gold drops easily. I should add that, like SO2 and metabisulfite, you have to be nitric free.
THe hood however is still a good idea.
Ferrous sulfate AKA copperas produces much less stink and I have found it precipitates a much more consistent volume of precipitate. SO2 and metabisulfite can produce fine dense packing sponge powders or large clumpy powders depending on the conditions, ferrous is always consistent.
I like to make up a solution using 4 pounds of ferrous sulfate crystals per gallon of warm water and add about 600 ml of Hydrochloric acid. Slowly add this solution while mixing it and the gold drops easily. I should add that, like SO2 and metabisulfite, you have to be nitric free.
THe hood however is still a good idea.
Barren Realms 007
In Remembrance
Claudie said:
Yes. Unless you make your own.
If the crystals are bright green, I could not find good copperas or iron sulfate any time I bought it (as a soil supplement) it was always oxidized brown or white, which in reality is no longer copperas, you want a copperas (iron sulfate) that the crystals are bright green, these will reduce gold, the oxidized salt of this will not work.
Ferrous sulfate also known as copperas, iron II sulfate, or FeSO4, can easily be made with a soft fairly pure iron (not steel), transformer laminate, or the iron laminate from motors are a good source.
Transformers the laminate is normally welded in a couple of spots, you can cut the weld with a grinder, and pull the laminate sheets apart, these normally will have oils and shellac that you will want to burn off, and rinse off with water (do not do this until you are ready to use the iron to prevent rusting).
Cutting the iron sheets into small strips or pieces, tins snips work good here, and heating them with dilute sulfuric acid, I dilute the sulfuric acid to about 10% acid and 90% water, heating the solution to dissolve the iron.
This will give you a green solution of iron sulfate, once dissolved I remove the solution from the Corning Pyro Ceram dish, and filter the solution, after filtering it is returned to the dish for evaporation, and the solution is heated until a layer of green crystals form, I remove these as they build up in the dish, and put them into a jar the remaining ferrous sulfate in the dish is evaporated to crystals, once most of the ferrous sulfate solution has been crystalized.
I put all of the crystals back into the dish, add some more dilute acid, and heat to re-dissolve the crystal back into solution, (heat helps with the reaction, and so you do not have to add too much more liquid). once re-dissolved, I filter the solution again, doing so hot, so that the concentrated solution does not crystalize that bad in the filter, this saves me from adding more liquid which I will need to evaporate again, the ferrous sulfate is recrystallized to give me a more pure ferrous sulfate.
On evaporating to crystals the second time, as the crystals form, I put them into a white plastic HDPE bottle, it does not hurt to have a little of the ferrous sulfate solution and wet crystals in the bottle, the
bottle is labeled, the remaining ferrous sulfate in the dish is evaporated to crystal to fill this bottle, a little fresh H2SO4 is added to the crystals in the bottle to keep them acidic, the solution covers the crystals keeping them from being oxidized by exposure to air, with a good lid these bright green crystals can be stored, and will be ready to precipitate, or to test for gold in solution.
Ferrous sulfate also known as copperas, iron II sulfate, or FeSO4, can easily be made with a soft fairly pure iron (not steel), transformer laminate, or the iron laminate from motors are a good source.
Transformers the laminate is normally welded in a couple of spots, you can cut the weld with a grinder, and pull the laminate sheets apart, these normally will have oils and shellac that you will want to burn off, and rinse off with water (do not do this until you are ready to use the iron to prevent rusting).
Cutting the iron sheets into small strips or pieces, tins snips work good here, and heating them with dilute sulfuric acid, I dilute the sulfuric acid to about 10% acid and 90% water, heating the solution to dissolve the iron.
This will give you a green solution of iron sulfate, once dissolved I remove the solution from the Corning Pyro Ceram dish, and filter the solution, after filtering it is returned to the dish for evaporation, and the solution is heated until a layer of green crystals form, I remove these as they build up in the dish, and put them into a jar the remaining ferrous sulfate in the dish is evaporated to crystals, once most of the ferrous sulfate solution has been crystalized.
I put all of the crystals back into the dish, add some more dilute acid, and heat to re-dissolve the crystal back into solution, (heat helps with the reaction, and so you do not have to add too much more liquid). once re-dissolved, I filter the solution again, doing so hot, so that the concentrated solution does not crystalize that bad in the filter, this saves me from adding more liquid which I will need to evaporate again, the ferrous sulfate is recrystallized to give me a more pure ferrous sulfate.
On evaporating to crystals the second time, as the crystals form, I put them into a white plastic HDPE bottle, it does not hurt to have a little of the ferrous sulfate solution and wet crystals in the bottle, the
bottle is labeled, the remaining ferrous sulfate in the dish is evaporated to crystal to fill this bottle, a little fresh H2SO4 is added to the crystals in the bottle to keep them acidic, the solution covers the crystals keeping them from being oxidized by exposure to air, with a good lid these bright green crystals can be stored, and will be ready to precipitate, or to test for gold in solution.
Attachments
jason_recliner
Well-known member
There are three main groups of toroids.Smack said:
- Iron powder, in various grades and designed for various frequencies and magnetic flux levels.
- Ferrite
- Grain Oriented Silicon Steel, which is laminated like E/I transformers only in a spiral.
I don't believe iron powder to be very pure form of iron. [Edit: I have worked in transformer / inductor manufacture for 27 years.]
goldenfrog
Member
butcher said:
Why is this not posted in tutorials!
I've been looking for a long time for this post!!
Butcher deserves credit!
Topher_osAUrus
Well-known member
goldenfrog said:
Search "making copperas"
It is in multiple threads
And yes, butcher is THE man!
You obviously didn't look hard enough. That info has been posted a number of times and it's in the Hoke book, which everyone should have read. Also, most people use SMB or some other sulfite. I know I definitely prefer it. I probably haven't used ferrous sulfate in 40 years. I didn't like it because of the rigamarole you had to go through. SMB is a lot easier if you've taken care to use only what nitric is needed and no extra. A fume hood will take care of the fumes. Every refiner should have a fume hood.
http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/search.php?keywords=ferrous+sulfate&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sr=posts&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
anachronism
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 31, 2016
- Messages
- 3,124
For once I have to take the other side Chris. I now find ferrous sulphate to be far less hassle than SMB. No smell no noxious gases and a great way to drop from dirty solutions. I also use Ascorbic a lot but this probably isn't the place to discuss that.
