I'm a newbie...Glad to be here.

[Sampson Rockman]

Recently bought supplies and built a ventilation system with a splash guard. Still waiting on my nitric acid to come in the mail... It was a lot harder to find locally than I expected but eventually bought some from Lab Alley online. Price was reasonable until they added on hazard fees. I am new to this process. I did reasonably well in Chemistry but it's a different story when you don't have a chemistry professor to help when you need it. My main concern is what to do with the chemicals when I'm done with them. I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions the further down the process I get. Just wanted to say hi and thank everyone in advance for the stupid question I'll eventually have. Precious Metals will be the only hard currency anyone will except once we transfer our wealth to the CBDC's that the government is going to force us to use once the dollar completely collapses. Looking forward to getting started. Thanks for being a part of this forum. FJB!!! And God Bless you all!!!

 

[eaglekeeper]

Recently bought supplies and built a ventilation system with a splash guard. Still waiting on my nitric acid to come in the mail... It was a lot harder to find locally than I expected but eventually bought some from Lab Alley online. Price was reasonable until they added on hazard fees. I am new to this process. I did reasonably well in Chemistry but it's a different story when you don't have a chemistry professor to help when you need it. My main concern is what to do with the chemicals when I'm done with them. I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions the further down the process I get. Just wanted to say hi and thank everyone in advance for the stupid question I'll eventually have. Precious Metals will be the only hard currency anyone will except once we transfer our wealth to the CBDC's that the government is going to force us to use once the dollar completely collapses. Looking forward to getting started. Thanks for being a part of this forum. FJB!!! And God Bless you all!!!

Hydrochloric (Hcl) acid fumes a lot and is very pervasive/corrosive.

#1...Just at a first glace.... that foil ducting won't last. Hcl acid will probably eat through it on the first refining process.

#2... If you even open a bottle of hydrochloric in your garage, every thing metal in the vicinity will start to corrode with in days...and that's not an exaggeration.

#3... I can't tell by the picture, is your stir/hot plate porcelain coated or just stainless steel top. Stainless steel has no protection from Hcl and will corrode as well.

#4... The coil hot plat/griddles we consider consumables, they generally continue to work for a year or so, but eventually they will fail too, I just pick up the cheap ones from the store, maybe $20 US.

 

[eaglekeeper]

Oh, and a few things I forgot to mention.

I wouldn't use that expensive stir/hot plate in your fume hood, use that outside your hood for mixing stuff not requiring acids. You should also consider using some kind of catch container in case a beaker breaks during the reaction.

What type of fan motor are you using for the fume hood?

Are you sure that hole on the top of the hood is sized to pull enough air flow through your hood?

 

[butcher]

Study how fume hoods are made and how they work.

Many of the acidic fumes are heavier than air and will flow to the bottom of your fume hood and escape your box out the front to contaminate your work area,

The hood should be designed to pull air from the top and the bottom at the same time, many hoods will use a baffle plate on the back to pull the light fumes from the top, and the heavier-than-air fumes from the bottom of the hood, a door with an adjustable opening on the front helps to assist the gases flow up the flue,

Nitrate or NOx gases can make the wood become very flammable, or make the wood become like gunpowder or flammable like guncotton, the wood can also soak up acidic fumes.

 

[Gwar]

Nice set up, however, you may want to use plexiglass / plexiglass doors of some sort for full protection, make sure you have proper PPE and use them, Duda Diesel is a good source for Nitric and they ship fast, I used an aluminum chimney pipe and a small fan from an old computer tower, the hotplate shown is good for drying the material once it has been filtered using a Buchner funnel and distilled water.

 

[Sampson Rockman]

Hydrochloric (Hcl) acid fumes a lot and is very pervasive/corrosive.

#1...Just at a first glace.... that foil ducting won't last. Hcl acid will probably eat through it on the first refining process.

#2... If you even open a bottle of hydrochloric in your garage, every thing metal in the vicinity will start to corrode with in days...and that's not an exaggeration.

#3... I can't tell by the picture, is your stir/hot plate porcelain coated or just stainless steel top. Stainless steel has no protection from Hcl and will corrode as well.

#4... The coil hot plat/griddles we consider consumables, they generally continue to work for a year or so, but eventually they will fail too, I just pick up the cheap ones from the store, maybe $20 US.

Eaglekeeper...
Thank you very much for your feedback!!! What type of duct do you use that is less corrosive? I see some online that's made from PVC but I'm just curious what you use that last a little longer than most... I attached a picture with what I found online so far. I definitely want it to last as long as possible and definitely while I'm using it. Your advice is much appreciated. Thanks again in advance!

 

[Martijn]

I love the fact that you're only talking fume hood details and waste treatment and no process, source material or cry for immediate help with a chemical mess has been discussed.
Hat's off to your wonderfull approach sir!
Bookmarked this one for educative purposes.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Eaglekeeper...
Thank you very much for your feedback!!! What type of duct do you use that is less corrosive? I see some online that's made from PVC but I'm just curious what you use that last a little longer than most... I attached a picture with what I found online so far. I definitely want it to last as long as possible and definitely while I'm using it. Your advice is much appreciated. Thanks again in advance!

Stay away from the flexible vent pipe. It's too thin. Use solid PVC pipe. It's a little more work, but will last for years.

Dave

 

[eaglekeeper]

Eaglekeeper...
Thank you very much for your feedback!!! What type of duct do you use that is less corrosive? I see some online that's made from PVC but I'm just curious what you use that last a little longer than most... I attached a picture with what I found online so far. I definitely want it to last as long as possible and definitely while I'm using it. Your advice is much appreciated. Thanks again in advance!

I use PVC and my extraction fan is mounted outside, that way all my ducts remain under a negative pressure. That prevents fumes from being forced into my work space in case of a leak in a duct.

 

[Flying Farmer]

May I offer, I recently disassembled a clothes dryer (electric, 220v) and saved the exhaust fan with housing and motor assembly. All components exposed to the airflow appear to be a plastic or nylon. This was essentially free. While I still must identify correct power source for the electric motor, can anyone point it what might be a down side to using this with a fume hood?
V/R
Tim Psaledakis

 

[Golddigger76]

Almost anything that safely removes the fumes is better than nothing, especially in a small building or garage.
If you plan on doing refining long term use quality acid resistant materials so you don't have to keep replacing parts on your rednecks rigged fume hood .

Use the search bar at the top of your screen to read how many people have posted on this forum how they designed their fume hood. There is lots of pictures and diagrams of different designs, what does and does not work.

 

[Darkthirty]

May I offer, I recently disassembled a clothes dryer (electric, 220v) and saved the exhaust fan with housing and motor assembly. All components exposed to the airflow appear to be a plastic or nylon. This was essentially free. While I still must identify correct power source for the electric motor, can anyone point it what might be a down side to using this with a fume hood?
V/R
Tim Psaledakis

The problem would be acid contacting any metal. You could isolate the motor and bearings with silicone and gain some time. Meanwhile keep your eyes open for roadside specials!

 

[eaglekeeper]

so you don't have to keep replacing parts on your rednecks rigged fume hood .

Exactly... my hood looks like a middle school science project...., But I've used it for years and works great. I would recommend making your fan easy/fast to replace and have a back up fan available. There's nothing worst then being in the middle of a reaction and the fan fails.

 

[Golddigger76]

Mine is nothing to brag and lol, it's made out of a sandblasting cabinet turned on its side and coated with bedliner paint, the blower is a blower from a inflatable jump house. Most importantly it keeps the fumes out of my lungs !!!!
I have bought a new 40 acre farm that I am moving a manufactured house that I bought and there I will build a dedicated lab for refining only.
Now everything is packed up for the move but I have a space in my shop where I have been doing all of my refining and learned the hard way what hydrochloric acid fumes will do to ANY metal that's in the same building , not sure if I even own a tool that's not rusted.
That being said along with a fume cabinet you also need to figure out where you are going to store any open beakers that contains acid, as in project that take a overnight, or a few days to complete like cementing PGM'S with a stirring hotplate with a air bubbler or anything that can not fit in your fume hood. Mostly for when I have 6 or 7 different refining projects going at the same time. What I'm really needing is a bigger fume hood and that's exactly what I will do for my new refining lab.
When I started refining I didn't expect that I would be refining more than a few times a week so I didn't plan ahead properly.

 

[eaglekeeper]

That being said along with a fume cabinet you also need to figure out where you are going to store any open beakers that contains acid, as in project that take a overnight, or a few days to complete like cementing PGM'S

I just leave everything in my hood and close up the doors. I generally don't have any issues with fumes (I guess it'll depend on your design). I do turn on the fan prior to cracking open the door.

I use one of those Ikea type book shelve (for Lowes) that you have to put together, Just trimmed it to fit my work space. I don't use the pressed paper back board, the case is just pushed up against the drywall bolted down and sealed up. I don't know what they use as the laminate, but that white laminate has held up nicely to Hcl and nitric....It doesn't like sulfuric at all.

 

[Daniel Wydner]

Hydrochloric (Hcl) acid fumes a lot and is very pervasive/corrosive.

#1...Just at a first glace.... that foil ducting won't last. Hcl acid will probably eat through it on the first refining process.

#2... If you even open a bottle of hydrochloric in your garage, every thing metal in the vicinity will start to corrode with in days...and that's not an exaggeration.

#3... I can't tell by the picture, is your stir/hot plate porcelain coated or just stainless steel top. Stainless steel has no protection from Hcl and will corrode as well.

#4... The coil hot plat/griddles we consider consumables, they generally continue to work for a year or so, but eventually they will fail too, I just pick up the cheap ones from the store, maybe $20

I'm really glad I found this comment - I was getting ready to order Hydrochloric and Nitric to set up shop in the garage.

**Serious question for you: is it safe to use/store gold testing solution in a garage? As I understand, it's just diluted Aqua Regia (i.e. BOTH Hydrochloric and Nitric acids), but is any concentration of Hcl unsafe in a garage/closed area with valuables made of metal?

 

[Golddigger76]

It is still going to make fumes but nothing compared to dissolving metals in acid for refining.
When testing your still need to wear eye protection and nitrile gloves.

Let me tell you from experience lol
Do not do refining in your garage without a fume hood , I say lol however it's not really funny or safe.
All of your tools and anything metal will be completely rusted.

Even more important is that your lungs are going to be damaged by breathing the fumes.

Do yourself a favor and do anything with acids outside where the wind is blowing the fumes away from you and neighbors, kid's or kids playing areas