# Crock pot method with hot plate?



## lasereyes (Jan 12, 2011)

Is it possible to do the crock-pot method on pins with a hot plate set on low instead of an actual crock pot? I was thinking a beaker with a watchglass, muriatic acid and about a pound of gold plated copper pins.


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## Barren Realms 007 (Jan 12, 2011)

There is the possablity of cracking the pot. If you do it be careful. I wouldn't.


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## lasereyes (Jan 12, 2011)

Barren Realms 007 said:


> There is the possablity of cracking the pot. If you do it be careful. I wouldn't.



with a beaker? borosilicate glass is safe to heat as far as I know. I am concerned about damaging the hotplate by leaving it on for several hours at a time though.


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## Barren Realms 007 (Jan 12, 2011)

Mine stays on contantly. I haven't turned it off for 3 weeks at least.


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## philddreamer (Jan 12, 2011)

Lasereyes, use a Corning on top of the hot plate, then place your glass beaker on top of it. If & when your beaker breaks it will save most of your values.

Something like in the pic. 

Take care! 

Phil


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## lasereyes (Jan 12, 2011)

philddreamer said:


> Lasereyes, use a Corning on top of the hot plate, then place your glass beaker on top of it. If & when your beaker breaks it will save most of your values.
> 
> Something like in the pic.
> 
> ...



Sounds like a good idea. Thats a baking dish, right?


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## Barren Realms 007 (Jan 12, 2011)

Yea that is Phils favorite toy. 8)


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## lasereyes (Jan 13, 2011)

Barren Realms 007 said:


> Yea that is Phils favorite toy. 8)



Haha I can tell from the picture that it has seen alot of use. Also, does anyone know how much hcl it takes to disolve 1 lb of base metals?


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## philddreamer (Jan 13, 2011)

Yeap, :lol: that's how my Corning looked before & learned about watch glasses. I was just using it for the first time there in the pic.
It doesn't look that bad anymore, still a few spills though. For sure my favorite toy, it keeps granpa off the street! 

From some info I've gathered from other posts here:
When used to dissolve copper based scrap 4 mL of 31% HCl per gram of copper; 124.41ml per oz. & so on. 

It takes about 38 ml of nitric acid to dissolve 1 troy oz. of silver.

It takes about 79.3 ml of nitric acid to dissolve 1 troy ounce of copper. 

Phil


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## lasereyes (Jan 13, 2011)

philddreamer said:


> Yeap, :lol: that's how my Corning looked before & learned about watch glasses. I was just using it for the first time there in the pic.
> It doesn't look that bad anymore, still a few spills though. For sure my favorite toy, it keeps granpa off the street!
> 
> From some info I've gathered from other posts here:
> ...



ok, this should work, I will just have to change the acid a couple of times to get all the copper out. Interestingly enough, chemists always say that hcl will not desolve copper becuase it is beyond the metals that react to hydrogen ions, but i assume that the water used to dilute the hcl oxidizes the copper?


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## philddreamer (Jan 13, 2011)

That's what I understood. HCL alone won't, but any oxidixer present, it will.

Also peroxide, for example, added to the HCL will digest copper, that's what the AP process is all about. It will digest the base metals leaving behind the gold foils.
But don't add too much peroxide because it will then digest some of the gold too! If that happens, just add more copper & saturate your solution with it & the gold will cement.

Check out some of the posts on the AP process for more detailed information. 
Also, if you haven't read Hoke's download a copy; its a must!

Be safe!


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## goldsilverpro (Jan 13, 2011)

About the only white baking dishes I have found that won't crack on a hot plate are the Pyroceram StoveTop ones made by Corning Ware. They stopped making them for 10 years but resumed production in 2009. I think they're only available online and are not in stores.
http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/corningware/stovetop-just-white-casserole-jw-5c-b

I also don't recommend placing a ceramic crockpot dish directly on the hotplate. I tried this and it cracked.


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## patnor1011 (Jan 13, 2011)

It is maybe good idea to use steel pan with layer of sand. My fav method is steel pan with kitchen spongy towel and small amount of water.


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## philddreamer (Jan 13, 2011)

I bought my Corning @ a second hand store for less than $10.00 back in may or so, & its still going. Since, I've bought 2 more for back up.


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## eeTHr (Jan 13, 2011)

I found some Corningware in a thrift store, that look like frying pans, handle and all, as one-piece. The ones I found were only about 5" diameter, and not very deep, though. But they say "Stovetop Safe," or something like that.

Does anyone know about the brown glass stove-top pots with the built-in handles? They even have lids which will drip the condensation down inside the pot! I found a nice, like-new, one at the thrift store, but my wife uses it to cook rice in, so she can see when the water is gone. I like fluffy rice, so I didn't complain. But I figure if you can use them on a stove burner, they should be good on a hotplate, right?


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## Barren Realms 007 (Jan 13, 2011)

eeTHr said:


> I found some Corningware in a thrift store, that look like frying pans, handle and all, as one-piece. The ones I found were only about 5" diameter, and not very deep, though. But they say "Stovetop Safe," or something like that.
> 
> Does anyone know about the brown glass stove-top pots with the built-in handles? They even have lids which will drip the condensation down inside the pot! I found a nice, like-new, one at the thrift store, but my wife uses it to cook rice in, so she can see when the water is gone. I like fluffy rice, so I didn't complain. But I figure if you can use them on a stove burner, they should be good on a hotplate, right?



Yea those are good to use.


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## goldsilverpro (Jan 13, 2011)

eeTHr said:


> I found some Corningware in a thrift store, that look like frying pans, handle and all, as one-piece. The ones I found were only about 5" diameter, and not very deep, though. But they say "Stovetop Safe," or something like that.
> 
> Does anyone know about the brown glass stove-top pots with the built-in handles? They even have lids which will drip the condensation down inside the pot! I found a nice, like-new, one at the thrift store, but my wife uses it to cook rice in, so she can see when the water is gone. I like fluffy rice, so I didn't complain. But I figure if you can use them on a stove burner, they should be good on a hotplate, right?



I think CW originally made Pyroceram in skillets and other shapes. Like the 5 qt one, all I've seen had a decoration on them. The new ones are lily white,

The see-through amber colored stuff is called Vision. There's lots on EBay. It works great on a hotplate. I had a few pieces but I didn't like the shapes as well as the white, deep, square, flat-bottomed, 5 qts/liters Pyroceram by CW, old or new. The new ones are also marked or called StoveTop, a CW trademark. They're also great for evaporation.


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## lasereyes (Jan 14, 2011)

I have another somewhat unrelated question: Can the vacuum pumps that are used with a buchner funnel and filter paper be used as a pump to siphon liquids? if so, how? I can't seem to get it to work.


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## goldsilverpro (Jan 14, 2011)

lasereyes said:


> I have another somewhat unrelated question: Can the vacuum pumps that are used with a buchner funnel and filter paper be used as a pump to siphon liquids? if so, how? I can't seem to get it to work.



Not without difficulty and perhaps damage. Do you want to pump the solution or do you want to siphon it? Big difference. You don't need a pump to start a siphon hose. You just put the ends together and fill the hose with water until there are no bubbles in the hose. Put your thumb over one end and lower it to the catch bucket (don't release it yet). Then plunge the upper end into the solution you're siphoning and release the bottom end at the same time.


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## dtectr (Jan 14, 2011)

lasereyes said:


> I have another somewhat unrelated question: Can the vacuum pumps that are used with a buchner funnel and filter paper be used as a pump to siphon liquids? if so, how? I can't seem to get it to work.


 Lazersteve has a siphoning video on his site http://goldrecovery.us .

I use small diameter aquarium tubing & a large-ish(?) plastic syringe that came with an inkjet refill kit. Just place the receiving vessel lower than the source end (Remember 8th grade Science - Fluids seek their own level) I can fill 2' of tubing with less than a full plunger-stroke, hold the end over the receiver vessel & pop the tubing off. Capillary action does the rest.


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## lazersteve (Jan 14, 2011)

With a small (1/8" inner diameter : 1/8" id ) hoses the syringe works good since it's hard to fill a small diameter hose with water.

For larger hose diameters it's much easier to place one end of the hose under a running faucet with the opposite end raised above the faucet level. Once the bubbles all exit the hose and it's filled with water, place your thumb over one end and do as Goldsilverpro directed above.

I have a 3 foot length of 3/8" id hose for larger buckets with a graphite weight attached to one end (the end that goes in the solution bucket) to keep it submerged while everything siphons over. 

Steve


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## dtectr (Jan 14, 2011)

lazersteve said:


> graphite weight attached to one end (the end that goes in the solution bucket) to keep it submerged while everything siphons over.
> 
> Steve


 are those the donut-type ones they put around some cables inside electronics?


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## lazersteve (Jan 14, 2011)

Those are ferrite beads (iron oxides) not graphite (carbon). I use scrap blocks left over from making molds and cathodes.

Steve


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## lasereyes (Jan 15, 2011)

goldsilverpro said:


> lasereyes said:
> 
> 
> > I have another somewhat unrelated question: Can the vacuum pumps that are used with a buchner funnel and filter paper be used as a pump to siphon liquids? if so, how? I can't seem to get it to work.
> ...



This sounds like a good idea, I will probably try it, but isn't this a little unsafe to do when working with acids?


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## dtectr (Jan 15, 2011)

lasereyes said:


> goldsilverpro said:
> 
> 
> > lasereyes said:
> ...


 not if you're wearing gloves & face protection.


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## goldsilverpro (Jan 15, 2011)

I have siphoned several times a day for most of my life with few problems. I have had the bottom of the hose pop out of the bottom bucket a couple of times. This won't happen if you make sure the bottom end of the hose is completely in the catch bucket. If the hose is too long, put all the excess in the bucket, so the hose hangs straight to the bucket. Make sure the coils are all in the bucket. 

To practice, put some dirt and water in the top bucket, put a short piece of 2x4 under the back of the bucket to tilt it towards you, stir it, let the dirt settle, and siphon off as much water as possible without disturbing the dirt. Tilting the bucket allows the dirt to settle at the front edge of the bucket and this makes it easier to remove more solution.

In a dark solution, it's hard to see how deep the tip of the hose is. To solve this, I plunge the tip in about 2" and then place the tip against the front of the bucket at about a 45 deg angle. As the solution level decreases, I slide the tip down the inside of the bucket, keeping it an inch or two deep in the solution. When I get close to the dirt (solids), I slide the tip up a bit. I use a 3/8" clear hose for buckets. The top bucket sits near the edge of the bench in my fume hood at tilts towards me from the 2x4. The bench is 36" off the floor. I put the bottom catch bucket in a plastic tray and put it on the floor right below the top bucket. Being right-handed, I stand to the right of the bottom bucket and hold the top tip with my right hand. It helps to have a light directly above the top bucket.


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