Acid jars

[Ede]

I have nitric and hydrochloric acid in jars from my father. He was a jeweler/watchmaker and kept them in the basement. I have gotten rid of all the chemicals but these at hazardous waste. The basement stinks and I’m thinking maybe fumes are leaking out? One of the cast iron drain pipes is rusting but other tools and cast iron pipes aren’t rusting so much as a dehumidifier is running.

What can I do now to keep the fumes from escaping? I am also a jeweler and wanted to explore gold refining. I have used pre-mixed gold testing solutions for testing gold and also used acids on Meteorite. Someday I would like to find an acid storage cabinet and fume hood but looking for something I can do in the meantime. Can I replace the caps or should they be stored elsewhere? Thanks and hope to learn a lot reading from you all here.

 

[geedigity]

You could temporarily store them in a cooler (buy one at Target or Walmart for $20 to $30) and label the cooler with something like "Do not use for food or drinks." Looking at the quantity it appears to be only a few pints total, so the temporay storage would at least keep the fumes to a minimum. When you said basement, is this in the basement of your home? If so, read the safety section of this forum. You will soon understand that storage of chemicals/refining in the home is not a smart move and is to be avoided.

 

[Martijn]

Welcome to the forum.
Replacing the caps with some clean new ones will do imo.
They look pretty old and brittle and the hcl fumes are the cause of the corrosion.
Ventilate well and change the caps in fresh air.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

You may find it difficult to find replacement caps that will fit properly, and can withstand the acid fumes. There are many different sizes and thread pitch variations. I wouldn't touch the caps until you have replacement bottles. I have some very old nitric and the caps were much more degraded than they looked. I removed one to use a bit of the nitric and in the process it crumbled in my hand.

Find some glass bottles with ground glass stoppers. I've bought them on eBay in the past. When you get them, transfer the acid, then dispose of the old bottles at a hazardous waste site or during an amnesty event.

Dave

 

[Shark]

If the caps are good. Not cracked or falling apart. Give the bottle threads a light wrap with thin Teflon tape. I have used this occasionally when the seal inside the cap was the only issue from over tightening them. I would not consider it a long term fix though. I have only used it on nitric.

 

[orvi]

Find a place outside, which is fairly sheltered and not built from steel. If you can, replace old caps with new ones, place the bottles inside the PE bag (trash bag is OK) and place them inside some plastic box. Place should have roof to prevent the rain from leaking in.

You mentiond chemicals and then HCL and HNO3... In my opinion, HCL and HNO3 are relatively OK chemicals to work with If you do not breath them or dip your hands into them. But good fumehood is necessary to work with them. Disposal isn´t very complicated. Pour them very slowly into some bucket with plenty of lime and you are good.