# lye melter



## SilverNitrate (Jan 9, 2012)

Sodium hydroxide and silver chloride have similar melting points. I had in my possession a PM melting furnace costed $600 12 years ago, but recently it stop functioning; and after all those years I don't think I got my money's worth out of it. So I have an idea where I can make low purity silver metal from old batches of silver chloride. It is not important that I get the silver to a molten state, but want it to be uncombined. Other aqueous methods seem not to work with the quantity I have (12/15lbs) 
I will build a bare bones kiln using a few fire bricks shaped thus to hold a colorado crucible and the heating element of an old 110v hot plate which will rest on the bottom. If the hotplate element don't work I'll use 110v resistance coil. The temperature need to only reach 1000F to melt the lye. (1500F to melt the NaCl and 1700F+ melts everything) 
The molten bath of excess lye will have dry silver chloride added. This will quickly reduce to silver metal sponge and a greenish glassy sludge of sodium chloride and lye. After cooling this is put into water and the water will dissolve all but the silver even traces of copper will dissolve in the water.


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## butcher (Jan 9, 2012)

I sure would not want a face full of that.
It just sound's too dangerous to me.


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## SilverNitrate (Jan 9, 2012)

butcher said:


> I sure would not want a face full of that.
> It just sound's too dangerous to me.


Surely safety precautions in place. I did not experience any excessive smoke or popping ang splashing, I will make sure the AgCl is dry before being submerged in the lye.


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## butcher (Jan 10, 2012)

how much different would this process be, than powdering AgCl, mixing well with soda ash (sodium carbonate) and some borax and bringing up heat slowly stirring then melting?


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