# My Setup



## chawimac (Apr 3, 2012)

Here are pics of my setup. I started doing small 125 gram lots in beakers. I probably did 8 lots or so. I slowly bought a bunch of stuff and built most of this stuff myself with basic concepts and ideas from this forum. 

The goal of my setup is not 5 nines gold, but to remove silver from my gold. I save my silver as an investment and find my refiner pays more for gold that is 99+. All and all so far it looks like it could one day be a business to pre-process my own stuff, heck just with the silver I am collecting I can pay off all this stuff in a few weeks.

My reactor is 22 liters, and I bought all my glass from Ace Glass. This hobby just grew into a monster and I can't seem to stop needing/buying stuff. 

I do have some problems and hope to get some help by posting these pics.

So here are the pics:


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## Lobby (Apr 3, 2012)

I've thought about doing something similar, but a couple of things have held me back:

- corrosion on all the metal parts (as you stated in the pic caption)

- not sure exactly what size to make it; in other words, it's going to be expensive to make this thing: what if I decide it was too small? Or too large?

But it's certainly a beautiful setup.


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## rusty (Apr 3, 2012)

IMHO condensor should be fed from bottom up to assure it is full of water at all times.

Edit, after looking closer at your condensor it really does'nt matter which the water comes into as it is making a u turn back to the outlet located under the inlet both located at the top.


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## chawimac (Apr 3, 2012)

How is the condenser supposed to be set up? It doesn't run out of water anyways but what is the proper way?

About the corrosion, it took me one batch to stop working without a fume scrubber. The damage to the heating mantle was significant, as well as everything else in the shop. Now the fumes are down to 1% I suppose. Much more pleasant place to work.

The Heating mantle and controller are GlasCol as you can see. Didn't really find many options. I have two reactors but the secon one is not yet in use as I am waiting on a second mantle that has a magnetic stirrer and a built in controller.


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## chawimac (Apr 3, 2012)

The fume scrubber.

It works great amazingly. Never done plumbing in my life, nor carpentry or tiles for that manner so pls be gentle on the critique.

The fume scrubber is vital to the setup, can't run this stuff without it. Found out the hard way.

My work area/fume hood is made of marine plywood and painted. Inside is covered on ceramic tiles. I made the ceramic part waterproof in case something brakes. There is a drain and a bucket to catch everything in case of an accident.


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## chawimac (Apr 3, 2012)

Inside the scrubber.


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## Palladium (Apr 3, 2012)

I must say you have spent some time. Nice!


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## butcher (Apr 3, 2012)

Thank you for taking the time to show us your nice setup, and the pictures of gold bars seem to put a shine to your lab.


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## chawimac (Apr 3, 2012)

Can I get some pointers from the pros? Anything wrong with the setup or something I can do better?

What base should I be using for the scrubber? Urea or caustic are the cheapest.

I vacuum all my chemical into the reactor, but getting them out I need to siphon. Any ideas on automation? 

What about vacuum pumps, the one I have does not resist these chemicals and will not last long. I have seen others but are very expensive! 
http://www.labdepotinc.com/Product_Details~id~100~pid~60302.aspx 

Any recommendations on filter medium and apparatus?


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## 4metals (Apr 10, 2012)

Your pictures are tough to follow, if you will draw a schematic of the water flow and the air flow with some sizes of pumps etc I will be glad to help you.


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## goldenchild (Apr 10, 2012)

chawimac said:


> What base should I be using for the scrubber? Urea or caustic are the cheapest.



You are using AR for digestion. Urea only neutralizes nitric so...


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## Lou (Apr 10, 2012)

chawimac said:


> Can I get some pointers from the pros? Anything wrong with the setup or something I can do better?
> 
> What base should I be using for the scrubber? Urea or caustic are the cheapest.
> 
> ...





Get a different style condenser rather than a Friedrich's. 
Overhead stirring with a PTFE plow just a half inch over the bottom.
Some way to add measured amounts of the acid. (the photo you have is not just nitric, you are using aqua regia by the color in there).
You want to consider getting a KNF Neuberger or Vacuumbrand vac pump (PTFE diaphragm) to suck all the stuff out of your flask.
I suggest polypropylene filter material, particularly the wool (check Kavon filter products, else I'll sell you some). I reverse the flow of air slightly to eject the cake before toss out (same thing done with filter press).


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## adam_mizer (Apr 15, 2012)

Maybe its me, but I can't seem to see exactly how are you dealing with the fume line?
Otherwise I'm impressed with this nice setup you have constructed.

John


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## chawimac (Apr 25, 2012)

So here is a picture with some notes on the setup.

The blue is the water coming in form the tank and pumped up to a spray nozzle and eductor. 

I use a little 360 degree spray nozzle inside the SCH40 pipe. The pipe is filled with charcoal. 

The pump is way too small and the eductor has almost no vacuum. I am upgrading to a Little Giant 584538 TE-5-MD-SC Chemical Pump 1/8 Hp which does 1200GPH.

The red represents the gases going to the fume scrubber. A hose is connected tho the condensers, up to a pipe with taps that lead to the eductor, down to the Scrubber. The other pics show the inside of the scrubber. The fumes go up the SCH40 gray pipe to an exhaust fan and ejected outside.

I use Urea in my scrubber, goldenchild, what is your point? Are you suggesting I use something else?

Also, I now have two condensers, a double coil and a Friedrichs. By far the Friedrichs seems to be the most efficient, and way cheaper. 

I do use AR for digestion, the acids get measured in another vessel and vacuumed into the reactors.

I purchased a magnetic stir mantle, which is great! Really gets things going! 

Thnx for the advice on the filter medium and vacuum pumps. Glad to answer any questions, eventually...


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## Barren Realms 007 (Apr 26, 2012)

Try increasing your pipe size from the tee from the fume hood to your scrubber tank 1 to 2 sizes larger.


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## chawimac (Apr 26, 2012)

The pipe is the same size as the inlet to the eductor. Would that be constructive?


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## Barren Realms 007 (Apr 27, 2012)

You are pumping your solution from your scrubber to your tee under pressure. Once your solution passes the tee it is under gravity drain not pressure. If it were under pressure you would have solution getting back to your reaction vessel. It takes a larger diameter pipe to drain a solution by gravity than it does under pressure. By increasing the size of the pipe from the tee down to your scrubber it allows you to pump the full volume that your pump is capable of pumping and increases the vacume effect of the pipe coming from your scrubber. Ifwill you increase the size too much you also loose some vacume effect.


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## HAuCl4 (May 14, 2012)

What if?. The glass reactor breaks while full of dissolved gold. :shock:


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## samuel-a (May 14, 2012)

HAuCl4 said:


> What if?. The glass reactor breaks while full of dissolved gold. :shock:



That would be a bad day....

Lets hope it will never happens to him or anyone else.


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## HAuCl4 (May 14, 2012)

It happens to people all of the time, it seems. Once is usually enough to teach them a very hard lesson.


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