Storing nitric acid

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croakersoaker

Active member
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
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I live in a suburban neighborhood in Houston texas.it is a three bedroom house with a detached garage and a small back yard. My question is where should I store my nitric and muriatic acid. It gets quite warm here and the garage gets pretty hot. We also park our cars in there and I have an aluminum boat in there. Is it ok to store a 2.5 liter bottle of nitric in there. Will the fumes leak out of the glass bottle that it came with.I'd rather not keep it in the house as I have kids and pets. Any help?
 
amber glass bottles are great for storing nitric acid. as long as the lid is intact and the bottle isnt cracked you shouldnt have any problems with fumes as long as you keep the bottle closed. store muriatic acid in the container it was bought in and again as long as the lid isnt broken and the container doesnt have a hole, no fumes should escape until you open it.the extremes for storage shouldnt be a problem as long as its not in direct sunlight.
 
I tend to see it a little differently. Given enough time, anything of value will be damaged if acids are stored, even in tightly stoppered containers. The big problem here is the fact that the garage is heated, or gets hot. The bottled solutions will build pressure and vent slightly. You'll see evidence of that almost immediately if you store any bare steel items nearby. They'll take on a surface rust very quickly.

Keep the bottles as cool as you can, and store out of sunlight, for sure. If your garage is your only option, make sure the items are stored such that kids can't access them. In spite of warnings, children often don't grasp the importance of not playing with items that are considered off limits. Build a box that locks if you must.

Harold
 
can you store in a large bin with a lid and use some sort of material to absorb the acidic vapors before they reach the outside of the bin like sodium bicarbonate?
 
I'm of the opinion storing in any kind of extra container will help. Do remember, nitric acid tends to destroy many plastics, however, so the 5 gallon bucket may not enjoy a long lifespan.
If you choose to go that route, you could really limit fumes by never opening the bucket inside, and by keeping it at a constant temperature, preferably on the cool side. Go the extra mile and have a little soda ash in the bottom.

Frankly, a wooden box would probably do a superb job of limiting rusting, although I'm not sure how the wood will react, long term, to exposure to nitric. I expect it will become quite eager to burn.

Harold
 
Something like this could work on the north side of the garage.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/storage/sheds/outdoor/rubbermaid-horizontal-outdoor-storage-shed-60x32x47?utm_source=nextag&utm_medium=shp&utm_campaign=Sheds-Plastic-nextag&utm_term=704501&infoParam.campaignId=WI
 
I'm buying some nitric acid and want to do the responsible thing with proper storage. I remember reading somewhere on this forum about how dangerous it can be to store long term. I read that because it's a powerful oxidizer, storing in a wooden cabinet could cause problems from the acid fuming over time converting the wood fibers to nitrocellulose (or something like that), which is very flammable if not explosive.
I thought I'd look for acid storage cabinets. I could buy one at Acklands-Granger. Yup they have them.... for $1600! The cabinets rated for nitric acid are made from HDPE.
All they are is a locking cabinet with a special design that has a one-piece tub for a bottom that can catch spills. Then they are placarded of course. I was wondering if I could make something like that.

Then I had this idea, it's a Rubbermaid Action packer. This is the smallest size they make. I think it has a volume of 8 gallons.

440


Being it's a 1 piece tub, if there is ever a spill it's contained. The lid can be locked as well.

I was thinking of storing my nitric acid in a shed on the floor. Winters the temp will drop to -30 C or more, summer will reach +30 C at times but the shed is well ventilated and doesn't overheat in the sun.

Also, is there any other no-nos? I also use the shed for storing propane and gasoline as well as motor oils. Will this be a problem or do they need to be moved out?
Could I store HCL with Nitric in the same tub without problems?

Comments or suggestions?
 
that tub should be fine and store what ever you want in the shed too it shouldn't be a problem. how much are you storing? if its a keg keep it out side or a ventilated area but if its in glass jugs keep them on a safe shelf. I keep a working 5gal inside and the rest outside to store.

Eric
 
I *think* they are shipping me 2.5L glass bottles. They would only ship by full case. The rep couldn't tell me the volume of each container but knew they were 3.1Kg each.
This will be the first time working with nitric so I want to give it the respect it deserves plus I don't want any unwanted surprises down the line. Thanks.
 
Just came across this thread and it has made me slightly worried. I have recently purchased 5ltr HCL and 2.5ltr HNO3 in preparation of doing my pins when I can get outside when it warms up. I have them stored in the original packaging that the supplier sent them in, plastic containers inside a plastic bag inside a cardboard box. I just store these in my dining room.

The side of the bottle says store in a cool dry place. Is this thread being overly cautions?

Regards,
 
AUH-R said:
Just came across this thread and it has made me slightly worried. I have recently purchased 5ltr HCL and 2.5ltr HNO3 in preparation of doing my pins when I can get outside when it warms up. I have them stored in the original packaging that the supplier sent them in, plastic containers inside a plastic bag inside a cardboard box. I just store these in my dining room.

The side of the bottle says store in a cool dry place. Is this thread being overly cautions?

Regards,
Click to expand...

i would say "no"

in your dining room?? do you live alone ?
 
Safety first, HNO3 has now gone outside for storage. HCL is still in box in dining room. Dining room is cool and dry and hardy used.
Good link I found: http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/wshp/chem_safety/chemicalstoragemythvrealityrevision6-27-07x.pdf

Be safe!

My question was more about storage vessels as I assumed that the container the manufacturer sent the acid in was good enough for storage.

Regards,
 
croakersoaker said:
I live in a suburban neighborhood in Houston texas.it is a three bedroom house with a detached garage and a small back yard. My question is where should I store my nitric and muriatic acid. It gets quite warm here and the garage gets pretty hot. We also park our cars in there and I have an aluminum boat in there. Is it ok to store a 2.5 liter bottle of nitric in there. Will the fumes leak out of the glass bottle that it came with.I'd rather not keep it in the house as I have kids and pets. Any help?
Click to expand...

I realize this is a very old post but im reasonably sure it gets peeked at occasionally, so with that in mind my take on storing is keep the Nitric & Muratic cool & in a dark location as was mentioned. I also keep mine covered by a heavy plastic bag tied to allow for any leakage ..............just incase. What if your area has an Earthquake or a tornado? These acts of God as it were can & do happen. If I had to store my acids in a hot location id buy an elcheapo used refridgerator & set the temp hi to around 60-70 degrees ( room temp). Then mark non-foods on the outside with a heavy chain & padlock on it. Only issue that could arise would be if you lost power for a long long time which rarely happens in Summer.
I store my Nitric in the original foam lined box the 4- 2.5 liter PVC lined bottles came in & they came already with the H/D plastic on ea. bottle also tied. This is stored in its cardboard crate in the cool basement of my home up off the floor so no way any water could ever contact the box. Im not in a quake zone of any significance NW Indiana but we did exp. one shake here about 25yrs. ago. Still being in the foam crate they would have been perfectly safe. A hot garage is a no-no IMHO for anything that is stored in a sealed container in liquid form other then auto oils etc.....
Dave
 
Nitric acid a strong oxidizer should be stored away from many of the other chemicals, in fact storing many chemicals together can become dangerous, or when stored improperly.
 

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