# silver solder



## Geo (Jan 7, 2013)

i am going to attempt to reclaim the silver from a known amount of silver solder.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNKUOI5TPdQ[/youtube]


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## mjgraham (Jan 7, 2013)

Always interested in a new project.


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## ericrm (Jan 7, 2013)

do you have the product number?

Section 1 PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION
Trade Name: OATEY SILVER LEAD FREE PLUMBING WIRE SOLDER
OATEY SAFE-FLO LEAD FREE PLUMBING WIRE SOLDER
Product Nos.: 23000, 23001, 23002, 29030, 29024, 29025, 53061, 53180, 53062, 53188,
53064, 53195, 50683, 50684, 50691, 50692, 53013, 53186, 48311, 48312,
48313, 48313

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET

MSDS Number: 1601E

Trade Name: OATEY SILVER LEAD FREE PLUMBING WIRE SOLDER

Section 3 COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS

INGREDIENTS:% wt: Tin 60 – 100%. Copper 1 – 5%.﻿ Bismuth 1 – 5%. Silver 1 – 5%.

at the end im sure you already have thinked about it but just in case , filter your solid and evaporate you clear solution to make yourself a life time supply of stannous chloride chrystal


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## Palladium (Jan 7, 2013)

ericrm said:


> Section 3 COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
> 
> INGREDIENTS:% wt: Tin 60 – 100%. Copper 1 – 5%.﻿ Bismuth 1 – 5%. Silver 1 – 5%.



115% ?


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## tek4g63 (Jan 7, 2013)

Geo, that sounds like a pretty fun experiment. I use silver solder to make my SC for testing my solutions. I always keep the silver that settles in the bottom. Won't do anything with it for a while though, gotta let it pile up. The solder I use is tin and silver only and the silver settles to the bottom as a black or very dark grey powder.

You probably already know this but, if you start processing the junk pieces of solder and they have flux on them you can easily remove the flux with isopropyl alcohol . When I worked in the electronics manufacturing plant we used that to clean the flux from everything, and I mean everything. When you have machines spraying flux on thousands of PCBs every shift, flux inevitably gets everywhere.


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## Geo (Jan 7, 2013)

i dont have a product number, it was brought to me just like you see it. it probably makes no difference as im going to dissolve it no matter what the percentages are. i understand the need to record as much info as i can so i will see if there was packaging with it or if it was sold as you see it.


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## ericrm (Jan 7, 2013)

Palladium said:


> ericrm said:
> 
> 
> > Section 3 COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
> ...



apparently they dont like to give exact number ... maybe this way it cover all of theyr lead free solder


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## mjgraham (Jan 7, 2013)

Just looking around the shop, have a roll of lead free solder, Sn96.5 Ag03 Cu 0.5 . 1lb roll is $106, should have ~13g of silver , I have always wondered but now I can see how it goes


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## etack (Jan 7, 2013)

Hey Geo The HVAC people that I talk to say that the solder they use comes from the welding shops not the hardware store. Not saying that this persons does not get his there, but they also tell me that the pieces that do fall because its so expensive they recast them into rods for more brazing of cooling lines. HVAC brazing rods are 50%+ in silver most of the time. Where as the water supply line solder is in the 5% range at best.

At 5% if you chemicals are cheep enough than you might make some money. I would do it if I had bounds of it. 

Also don't melt your Sb into the Ag hen you separate it with acids you can form a Sb gas called Stibine And don't look like fun.

Keep us posted.

Eric


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## Geo (Jan 7, 2013)

thanks Eric, ill have to be careful because there may be lead solder mixed in with the scrap he has. thats not the particular solder he uses, he said it was the same type. he bought that from a hardware store but im sure they get the company solder from a wholesaler. if the roll he bought did not have any packaging, he may be assuming that because it says silver solder the content is the same, i really dont know. im also considering a SnCl parting cell if he has enough of it.


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## Jimmy (Jan 7, 2013)

etack said:


> Hey Geo The HVAC people that I talk to say that the solder they use comes from the welding shops not the hardware store. Not saying that this persons does not get his there, but they also tell me that the pieces that do fall because its so expensive they recast them into rods for more brazing of cooling lines. HVAC brazing rods are 50%+ in silver most of the time. Where as the water supply line solder is in the 5% range at best.
> 
> At 5% if you chemicals are cheep enough than you might make some money. I would do it if I had bounds of it.
> 
> ...




HVAC silver solder used to be 15% silver. It comes in a bar that is about 12" long and 1/8 inch wide. Its not always 15% these days. Generally it also contains phospohous. I have about 20lb or this stuff thats really corroded. Not much use for brazing pipes anymore. Ill see how yours turns out then give it a try.


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## modtheworld44 (Jan 7, 2013)

Geo

I use silver solder to make my sc also and it works very well.tek4g63 gives a good description of what takes place,everything besides tin stays on bottom of container to retrieve later.I only have the one 1.5oz roll so I decided not to process it for the silver but instead use it for making sc and just slow collect the silver when I rejuvenate the sc.I'm glad your able to do the project because I've been curious on the yields since I decided against not doing it my self.My guess is about 5.47 grams of silver.Good luck and keep us posted.



modtheworld44


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## Geo (Jan 7, 2013)

update.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPMGp9TaFmM[/youtube]


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## ericrm (Jan 7, 2013)

that weird :shock: and definitively interesting, i would have guess a million tiny buble. very nice video Geo


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## modtheworld44 (Jan 7, 2013)

Geo 

The reaction would of been a little faster if you would of cut it into 1-2inch strips.This is how I do it when I make my sc,its normally ready in about 30mins for about 2.2 grams worth mixed with 10ml water and 30ml hcl .I know it takes extra time to cut it up but in the end I think it would a big help.

Did you by chance get to test the other thing we talked about last night? :mrgreen: I pulled my carbon rods today and plan to run some more test tonight.



modtheworld44


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## goldsilverpro (Jan 7, 2013)

According to the MSDS, the max total of the Ag, Cu, and Bi is 15% and the Sn is from 60-100%. If the Sn were only 60%, the math doesn't work. 

The bismuth is only slightly soluble in hot HCl. The silver isn't soluble. The copper might be but I see no color in the solution. These 3, together, could be slowing the reaction. My guess: 89Sn, 1Ag, 5Cu, 5Bi. If it works with 1% Ag, I would guess they didn't go any higher.

There's about 1 Mole of tin in a quarter pound. A quart of muriatic is about 2.5 Moles. You need 2 Moles of HCl per Mole of tin. That's pretty close. The HCl is above the azeotrope (20.2%), so I would think you're evaporating more HCl than water, if I understand azetrope correctly. I would definitely use a watch glass and make HCl additions, were it me. Maybe start with fresh HCl.


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## qst42know (Jan 7, 2013)

Melt and pour into water to form corn flake like pieces. 

Do you have the bar code UPC number on your receipt? With it you can likely pin down the content better


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## qst42know (Jan 7, 2013)

Jimmy said:


> HVAC silver solder used to be 15% silver. It comes in a bar that is about 12" long and 1/8 inch wide. Its not always 15% these days. Generally it also contains phospohous. I have about 20lb or this stuff thats really corroded. Not much use for brazing pipes anymore. Ill see how yours turns out then give it a try.




Prove any silver content first, many copper phosphate braze rods have no silver at all.


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## Sodbuster (Jan 7, 2013)

In the video you mention 1 quart of HCL. 

Is it safe to assume that it's diluted down to 50/50 with H2O ? 

Ray


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## Jimmy (Jan 7, 2013)

qst42know said:


> Jimmy said:
> 
> 
> > HVAC silver solder used to be 15% silver. It comes in a bar that is about 12" long and 1/8 inch wide. Its not always 15% these days. Generally it also contains phospohous. I have about 20lb or this stuff thats really corroded. Not much use for brazing pipes anymore. Ill see how yours turns out then give it a try.
> ...



Yes. However most real silver solder bars are marked with silver content. The ones with no silver are usually round and the ones with silver are flat as I mentioned.


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## Geo (Jan 7, 2013)

i didnt purchase the solder, so no receipt. i did not dilute the hcl. 1 quart starting and added another fluid cup an hour later. the reaction is covered, i removed the glass to get a good look at the bubbles and then covered it back up. its been three hours and theres about half the metal remaining and the solution is as clear as water. i just turned the heat off for the night. maybe the reaction will continue through the night and be complete by the morning.

there are some dark colored solids settling to the bottom already.


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## NobleMetalWorks (Jan 7, 2013)

qst42know said:


> Jimmy said:
> 
> 
> > HVAC silver solder used to be 15% silver. It comes in a bar that is about 12" long and 1/8 inch wide. Its not always 15% these days. Generally it also contains phospohous. I have about 20lb or this stuff thats really corroded. Not much use for brazing pipes anymore. Ill see how yours turns out then give it a try.
> ...



Make an atomizer...

Melt and pour through the atomizer then selectively digest accordingly.

Scott


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## madmax (Jan 8, 2013)

Damn thats freaky. I was at the ardware store the other day looking at the Mapp torches. 
I saw the silver and thought about how you would go about recovery.


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## tek4g63 (Jan 8, 2013)

To get my solder to dissolve faster I do as others have suggested and make shot, or corn flakes. The way I do it is pretty simple.

Using a propane torch and a metal bucket of water. Just hold the solder over the bucket and hit it with the torch. It will melt pretty quickly and drip into the water. I've never tried dissolving a whole spool worth at once, but with the little batches I do, it dissolves in just a few hours.


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## damezbullion (Jan 12, 2013)

i seen this on youtube, theres no update yet, dont tell me its still disolvong? hey Geo hope you good 

Damian


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## Geo (Jan 12, 2013)

i was going to update today.all the solder finally dissolved yesterday.i had to add another 50 ml's hcl.the solution is still as clear as water.the remaining solids are light and fluffy.ill rinse and incinerate and then dissolve in nitric acid and cement on copper.


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## philddreamer (Jan 12, 2013)

You've motivated me to continue a process.
I have, what I believe to be, some type of silver alloy from some silver plated pans. A couple of years ago, when I first tried my hand at recovering silver, I melted the edges of the pans. The rim on them is what has the alloy. It melts at a lower temp than silver, but when I tried to dissolve them in HCl, I was left with black "corn flakes". After rinsing them, I placed them together with the rest of the material for future processing... I think "the future" is here! :mrgreen:
Thanks!
Phil


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## skippy (Jan 12, 2013)

Phil, this stuff is usually pewter, although I was able to find some mention of pewters with silver additive. I'm curious to see how this turns out!


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## damezbullion (Jan 12, 2013)

sounds good geo looking forward to your update


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