# electric frying pan



## callicom (Jul 27, 2011)

i bought an electric frying pan and thought i could boil water in it and have my solutions in a pyrex to heat up. does this make sence or should i get a propane heater :?: or hot plate :?: or is my electric frying pan allright :?: (even if it doesn`t soubd too scientific)


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## gold4mike (Jul 27, 2011)

I would put a 1/2 inch layer of sand in the pan and place glass ware on top of the sand. It will help distribute the heat evenly.

Be advised that the newer Pyrex doesn't seem to be as heat resistant as the old stuff. Corningware Visions cookware has held up well for me.


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## goldsilverpro (Jul 27, 2011)

callicom said:


> i bought an electric frying pan and thought i could boil water in it and have my solutions in a pyrex to heat up. does this make sence or should i get a propane heater :?: or hot plate :?: or is my electric frying pan allright :?: (even if it doesn`t soubd too scientific)



Actually, I have learned to love using electric skillets for heating solutions. They are very controllable, especially if you buy one with a continuous control - as opposed to one with step control (say, only low, medium, high - not nearly as good). I put the beaker in a Pyroceram or Visions Corning Ware dish (about the only ceramic dishes on the market that won't break with direct heat - there are lots of them on eBay) and then put the dish in the skillet. You could put the beaker directly in the skillet but, if you have any spills or, if the beaker breaks, you will surely attack the aluminum that most of these are made from. Standard Pyrex dishes used in the kitchen will likely break, so either use a beaker or a Pyrex coffee pot.

Although I have used sand baths a lot in the past, I'm not a big fan of them. I still use them, but only when I want to safely (or, at least, more safely) get something real hot - like when heating concentrated sulfuric to 400-500 F. When you do have a spill or breakage (I've had it happen), it's a real pain to recover any values from the sand. Also, when the sand gets very dry from the heat, sand grains tend to climb up and cling to the beaker - static electricity, I guess. Then, you have to deal with these clinging grains of sand and try to keep them out of your solution.


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## HAuCl4 (Jul 27, 2011)

goldsilverpro said:


> callicom said:
> 
> 
> > i bought an electric frying pan and thought i could boil water in it and have my solutions in a pyrex to heat up. does this make sence or should i get a propane heater :?: or hot plate :?: or is my electric frying pan allright :?: (even if it doesn`t soubd too scientific)
> ...



My all time favorite setup is a cast iron kettle. Directly on the fire with nothing else for sulfuric acid digestions, or with a resin-fiberglass liner container for nitric or AR digestions. I have also used normal glass bottles, mason jars, etc inside the cast iron kettles with no breakages so far. All my customers love the simplicity (nearly all use sulfuric acid gold refining by inquartation).


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## callicom (Jul 27, 2011)

that`s good, i picked the thing at the salvation army for 3 bucks, i`ll get the sand and i`ll be ready to boil :!:


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## Harold_V (Jul 28, 2011)

HAuCl4 said:


> (nearly all use sulfuric acid gold refining by inquartation).


I find that comment rather unusual. Sulfuric acid does not dissolve copper unless it is highly concentrated and heated. That is well documented. Seems to me that if they are inquarting, they'd be far better served using nitric, which readily digests copper. Also seems to me that if sulfuric acid worked as you suggest, it would be practiced by those on this forum that can't buy nitric easily. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this matter. 

Harold


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## Palladium (Jul 28, 2011)

That does bring up an interesting point. With nitric becoming harder and harder to get, and more expensive. I wonder if we could create an alternate work around much like the ap process has become adapted instead of the old nitric trick? I know absolutely nothing about karat jewelry and I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here. I’m just wondering out loud. Hummmm….


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## goldsilverpro (Jul 28, 2011)

Harold_V said:


> HAuCl4 said:
> 
> 
> > (nearly all use sulfuric acid gold refining by inquartation).
> ...



Harold,

I took this to mean that he was using conc. sulfuric and heating it, like they used to do with dore'


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## HAuCl4 (Jul 28, 2011)

Harold_V said:


> HAuCl4 said:
> 
> 
> > (nearly all use sulfuric acid gold refining by inquartation).
> ...



If you use silver or zinc as the inquarting metal and fine shot it (or atomize!), it works really good. I believe below 10% Cu after inquarting will work but have not had to determine this exactly. The only caveat is that concentrated sulfuric at high temperature is very nasty, put a cover on that kettle. Most clients are miners running material that is 80%-92% gold balance mostly silver and inquarting with zinc.

Using silver as the added metal and sulfuric acid was the method of choice (due to costs) from the later middle age till the invention of Miller chlorination.


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## Harold_V (Jul 29, 2011)

Thanks. Slimes from the silver cell were commonly processed with hot concentrated sulfuric, with the operation carried out in cast iron kettles. So long as water is eliminated, it's a reasonable process, aside from the dangers of hot sulfuric. Readers would be well advised to avoid this method for that reason. 

Harold


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## callicom (Jul 29, 2011)

this is quite a conversation considering it started with an electric skillet :mrgreen:


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## HAuCl4 (Jul 29, 2011)

callicom said:


> this is quite a conversation considering it started with an electric skillet :mrgreen:



:lol: :shock: 8)


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## Geo (Aug 1, 2011)

i have a cast iron skillet exactly like the one in the pic. :lol:


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## dtectr (Aug 1, 2011)

HAuCl4 said:


> callicom said:
> 
> 
> > this is quite a conversation considering it started with an electric skillet :mrgreen:
> ...


If you can sneak this past your wife & into the workshop  I would imagine being being useful, all of the grease that has soaked into the cast from use ("the cure") would need to be eliminated? As it heats, the "pores" open - 

Or, would the sulfuric make short work of it, given its vigorous attack of organics?

Just some random thoughts


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## HAuCl4 (Aug 1, 2011)

Try it once refining 1 Oz and you'll never go back to nitric buying again. I can almost guarantee that. :shock: :lol: 8)


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## Platdigger (Aug 2, 2011)

Do you reuse the sulfuric until it is loaded with base metals?


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## Geo (Aug 2, 2011)

i dont think you have to stop using it then.it should just drop excess base metals as it goes like in the stripping cells.


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## Platdigger (Aug 2, 2011)

Yes, but at that point wouldn't you be defeating the purpose?
As it was to dissolve away base metals from gold...


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## 4metals (Aug 2, 2011)

OK Gold Chloride you've peaked the interest of a few members, before anyone goes out and hurts themselves, how about a better step by step description as to how this will apply to karat gold or any other relatively high yield scrap. Including the dropping of the gold and the waste implications. Then maybe some better decisions can be made before jumping in.


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## HAuCl4 (Aug 2, 2011)

Let me write it up and I'll post it later.


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## goldsilverpro (Aug 2, 2011)

4metals said:


> OK Gold Chloride you've peaked the interest of a few members, before anyone goes out and hurts themselves, how about a better step by step description as to how this will apply to karat gold or any other relatively high yield scrap. Including the dropping of the gold and the waste implications. Then maybe some better decisions can be made before jumping in.



Also, please detail your method for recovering the silver from the H2SO4, safely. I know how it was done in the past. How do you do it?


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## 4metals (Aug 2, 2011)

Thanks Chris, I meant silver and typed gold, have to stop posting in the middle of the night


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## HAuCl4 (Aug 3, 2011)

I don't want to be defending my post too much. Let me get it simplified... :lol:

edit: I'm not going to post the procedure. My reasons are that I run the risk of being attacked for using hot sulphuric acid by several moderators at the same time, hot sulfuric is indeed is a nasty chemical... But so are many other processes dangerous like using cyanide (recent post by GSP?), nitric acid, chlorine, etc, etc. Whoever is interested can read p53 and p54 of C.M. Hoke and take it from there. Good luck.

I also prefer to inquart with zinc. To avoid having a silver inventory. It also dissolves faster. I have already been attacked for that.

I don't want fights with Harold, Oz, GSP, and 4 metals all at once, so... *Newbies avoid please.* :shock: 

I'd be interested in reading how GSP recovers the silver. I just process the silver chloride dropped from the diluted sulfuric acid, with iron.


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## Palladium (Aug 3, 2011)

Hummmm... http://www.pelletlab.com/laboratory_heating_mantle


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