# making stannous chloride test solution using solder



## Geo (Feb 11, 2015)

I made a short video showing how I make my stannous chloride and will add the second part later on how I use it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=659G75Kc3F0&list=UUoIIeysRr6iiJvVPj2aQDbw


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## MarcoP (Feb 12, 2015)

The pipette idea should be nominated for an Oscar  great video, patiently waiting for stannous tests.


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## dpgold (May 24, 2022)

Geo said:


> I made a short video showing how I make my stannous chloride and will add the second part later on how I use it.



Hi, something does not seem right with my solution, after a while there are fine black particles at the bottom, I filtered and added a new piece of Sn and after a while it has these black particles at the bottom


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## Christian333 (May 24, 2022)

dpgold said:


> Hi, something does not seem right with my solution, after a while there are fine black particles at the bottom, I filtered and added a new piece of Sn and after a while it has these black particles at the bottom


More than likely it's the antimony as it will not digest in HCl. Filter it out.


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## Ohiogoldfever (May 24, 2022)

Christian333 said:


> More than likely it's the antimony as it will not digest in HCl. Filter it out.




Agreed


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## Geo (May 24, 2022)

dpgold said:


> Hi, something does not seem right with my solution, after a while there are fine black particles at the bottom, I filtered and added a new piece of Sn and after a while it has these black particles at the bottom


If you are using 95/5 tin/antimony, it is antimony. Collect it and save it. People that makes their own ammunition will add it to lead to harden and temper the lead after casting the bullets.


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## dpgold (May 25, 2022)

Thank you, the first time I have used 97/3 tin/copper and saw the same particles at the bottom then I filtered and put a piece of 95/5 tin/antimony, thinking that it does not matter which one I used.


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## dpgold (May 25, 2022)

the part which is not clear to me is if these particles which remain, after part of the solder dissolves, should stay there since a piece of solder is required to be in to maintain the solution and that piece will generate more particles apparently


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## dlechl1 (May 25, 2022)

Geo said:


> I made a short video showing how I make my stannous chloride and will add the second part later on how I use it.



What strength is your HCL? I have been trying with 35%, and have had no luck.


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## Yggdrasil (May 25, 2022)

If that does not work,
you either has not real Tin, real HCl or lack of patience.
But it does not hurt to dilute it a bit.

Personally I use 32% I think. Add a few grams of Tin and wait until it is dissolved or stops. 
If all is dissolved I add a bit more until there is a significant lump of undissolved Tin in the bottom. 
Then I loosely screw on the cap. 
This may take a day or three.

I can start using it before though.


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## dpgold (May 25, 2022)

dlechl1 said:


> What strength is your HCL? I have been trying with 35%, and have had no luck.


it is around 32 percent, it seems like a bit too high because it eats the Tin too fast, it should go slower this is what I think because the solution should keep rejuvenating with that extra piece of tin left in there. I do only small doses at a time because it only last for some time.


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## Yggdrasil (May 25, 2022)

When it is saturated it will stop dissolving. It will however dissolve more if the Stannous decompose and such keep it fresh.


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## dpgold (May 25, 2022)

Yggdrasil said:


> If that does not work,
> you either has not real Tin, real HCl or lack of patience.
> But it does not hurt to dilute it a bit.
> 
> ...


Is it ok to add HCL or Tin in small quantities?


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## Yggdrasil (May 25, 2022)

Find a suitable bottle some 20-50 ml.
Fill it 1/2 to 2/3 full HCl. Best with less than full concentration. 25-30% is fine. Add Tin metal, a few grams first, when it has dissolved or stopped bubbling. Depending on what happen first. Either add more or you are done. Any way there should be a good chunk of Tin left in the bottom.
Screw the cap loosely, because it will still evolve small amounts of gas when more Tin is dissolved as the Stannous decompose.


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## Geo (May 25, 2022)

1 gram tin metal for 20ml of concentrated HCl. Once the metal has completely dissolve, minus antimony in case of 95/5 solder. Add 30ml if water. That's it. You should dilute the full strength stannous chloride. If not, it will deteriorate the rubber dripper bulb. Do not add extra metal as the solution is not saturated and the following reaction will cause the rubber bulb to burst. You can expect the stannous chloride to last up to a month as long as it is stored away from direct heat or sunlight. Keep the lid secured tightly. Oxygen from the atmosphere will oxidize the tin in solution.


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## Geo (May 25, 2022)

dpgold said:


> the part which is not clear to me is if these particles which remain, after part of the solder dissolves, should stay there since a piece of solder is required to be in to maintain the solution and that piece will generate more particles apparently


The solid metal in the solution is not required. It just extends the life of the solution. I bought a 1 pound roll of tin/antimony solder when I truly started refining about ten years ago and still have about a half roll left. You should always have HCl, and you should always have tin metal. That way you can have fresh stannous chloride in a couple of hours any time you need it. You should sacrifice 1 gram of gold as soon as you get 1 gram available. Dissolve 1 gram of refined gold in 1 liter of chloride solution. I would make a bead and beat it flat. Dissolve it in HCl and household bleach. Place the bead in 100 ml's of HCl and add bleach 5 ml's at a time and give it 10 minutes and add some more until the bead is completely dissolved. Boil the solution until all tiny bubbles stop being generated. Put the solution in a container that will hold 1 liter with a screw on cap. Place the solution inside and top it off with distilled water. This is your gold standard. Test your stannous chloride against your gold standard each day you will be using it. If you get a negative on your gold standard, make fresh stannous chloride as what you have has gone bad. Gold standard solution has no expiration date and should last your whole refining career.


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## dpgold (May 25, 2022)

thank you all


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## Yggdrasil (May 26, 2022)

Geo said:


> The solid metal in the solution is not required. It just extends the life of the solution. I bought a 1 pound roll of tin/antimony solder when I truly started refining about ten years ago and still have about a half roll left. You should always have HCl, and you should always have tin metal. That way you can have fresh stannous chloride in a couple of hours any time you need it. You should sacrifice 1 gram of gold as soon as you get 1 gram available. Dissolve 1 gram of refined gold in 1 liter of chloride solution. I would make a bead and beat it flat. Dissolve it in HCl and household bleach. Place the bead in 100 ml's of HCl and add bleach 5 ml's at a time and give it 10 minutes and add some more until the bead is completely dissolved. Boil the solution until all tiny bubbles stop being generated. Put the solution in a container that will hold 1 liter with a screw on cap. Place the solution inside and top it off with distilled water. This is your gold standard. Test your stannous chloride against your gold standard each day you will be using it. If you get a negative on your gold standard, make fresh stannous chloride as what you have has gone bad. Gold standard solution has no expiration date and should last your whole refining career.


It is not required. 
All you need is Tin dissolved in HCl.

So I dissolved some 5-10 grams Tin, I really don’t remember, 
in full strength HCl.
When it didn’t do anything more I topped the bottle with water, 5ml or so.

There was plenty Tin left so I left it there and it held at least two years. 
I have now been absent another two so it will be interesting to see how it will perform when I get back.

So as they say, all roads lead to Rome, or if you prefer, 
there is many ways to skin a cat.

It can be done many ways, what you really *need* is Tin dissolved in HCl, either by dissolved salts or metal. 
How you do it makes no difference. 
Just make sure you have a test solution to test it against.


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## GoldTJ (Jun 17, 2022)

I did my stannous chloride with 60/40 tin/lead. and 32% HCL. Any old timmer diy electronic will have some solder like this in US-canada. Iv tried with 2 brands . The tin will disolve in the solution, lead will precipitate at the botom. The only diference between the 2 brand is how the included rosin flux looked at the botom of the beaker. but both precipitated too. 

it took 3-4 days to fully react, at room temp. And it realesed a fair amout of bad fumes. even for only ~100 ml

After filtration, solution is cristal clear, and work great


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## dpgold (Jun 17, 2022)

GoldTJ said:


> I did my stannous chloride with 60/40 tin/lead. and 32% HCL. Any old timmer diy electronic will have some solder like this in US-canada. Iv tried with 2 brands . The tin will disolve in the solution, lead will precipitate at the botom. The only diference between the 2 brand is how the included rosin flux looked at the botom of the beaker. but both precipitated too.
> 
> it took 3-4 days to fully react, at room temp. And it realesed a fair amout of bad fumes. even for only ~100 ml
> 
> After filtration, solution is cristal clear, and work great


not sure about the lead but what I've learned is to make only a little solution, since you only need one drop to test, keep it in a dark bottle and expect it to last only for about two months. Mine went bad after that. And also to keep it active is good to have some TIN left in the bottle, I cut a piece of solder about 3mm long.


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## Shark (Jun 17, 2022)

One ounce will last quite a long time. It is easy to make, there for I usually only keep a tiny bottle of 1/4 ounce on hand. If done right it ready to use in in less than 5 minutes.


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## GoldTJ (Jun 19, 2022)

After looking it out a bit, seems lead can disolve too.... but in minute proportion, so tin/lead solder and Hcl might leach some lead in the resulting stanous chloride result solution... But seems to work fine anyway


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