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butcher said:
I dredge in fresh water, not the ocean, I believe I have seen some masks that looked something like those at the mining supply house, but they could be totally different.

Golddigger Greg, I can read the name Drager on the paper, would you have a model number or some other marking to identify the mask this company I believe made diving masks, as well as other gas masks.

For safety evacuation that thing seems like it would take time to get on and fit, and get the tank supplying oxygen, for a fifteen minute escape, I think I would be out of breath before I could get the mask was on.
Click to expand...

I'll tell you this, it's not easy. I believe it's actually an OSHA requirement if you are working in certain conditions, but I'm not totally sure. The tank is made to carry, not wear it's just the mask you have to slip on.

For fresh water dredging it might work, I just don't know enough about the mask to even made a good educated guess. And there is a possibility that they are not what I think they are, they could be something totally different, although they do look exactly like the ones I was trained to use.

I would be interested to know more about the masks myself. =)

Scott
 
Oh OSHA, now that makes sense.

Like wearing hardhats on top of a 1000 foot tower, poor guys below us were always running trying not to get hit from the falling hard hat, we would yell head ache to warn the ground crew when we dropped something.
 
I bought a similar one some years ago to use while dredging in the cold, and found out that the "lens" or clear shield, makes everything look tiny under water. Definetly, some are be to used above water only, while others for underwater. :shock:
If you plan to use it for dredging, try it in your bathtub first! :mrgreen:

Phil
 
I've been looking for hours now through the Drager site trying to figure out what these are exactly. The model number isn't the R26279 my earlier post indicated, that is merely the part number for the 5-point head harness. The metal trim on the visor is stainless steel. The visor itself has three options available; polycarbonate, coated polycarbonate (for scratch resistance), or triplex which has high chemical resistance. The hose assembly is an option that would have been custom tailored for the specific use of the original buyer. I'll have to contact them on Monday to find out the specifics on these things by the looks of it.
Edit: I ended up traveling yesterday (18th) to pick up some servers and wasn't able to find out any more information on these, and they were already sold by the time I could phone again. The lot of 30 sold for CAN$895.00, so right about the $30 a piece I was thinking..., next time I guess! Greg
 
I'm wondering if anyone here could tell me if the 3m p100 60926 filter is sufficient when using the AP method for gold recovery from electronics.

Specifically 3:1 hcl / peroxide on incinerated ic chips, mixed pins and fingers.

I have an exhaust system with a scrubbing system set up, but wanted to be overly cautious so the mask was a must for me. Also, I'm looking to find a good lab supply company that provides both items like lab glass, filter paper, etc and chemicals as well.

And lastly if anyone could please tell me how I can fix a mistake when precipitating the gold from my hcl / bleach mixture with sodium metabisulfite. Nothing happened other than the sodium metabisulfite sinking to the bottom. Well the color of the liquid turned a slight mustards olive greenish color.

Thank you in advance for any answers and information.
 
Same type I use...

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Multi-Gas-Vapor-Cartridge-Filter-60926-P100-60-EA-Case/?N=5002385+3294780252&rt=rud
 
Filtercartridges are for short term use. To clean up a spill e.g.
The filter medium looses its filtering capacity fast atfer breaking the seal. You will have to renew your cartridge every day to be sure. Mabe more often, depending of the exposure to gases and capacity of the filter.
The gold recovered could possibly yield less then the cartridges willl cost you.

Keeping the HCL level low in AP will keep expelled gases low. As long as your fume hood is drawing enough air you will be fine.

A 3:1 ratio HCL H2O2 can be too much to start with as H2O2 can dissolve your gold.
 
Thank you for your response. With regards to the hcl peroxide mix I have come to see what you are talking about. I now have luqid AP with lots of gold the size of dust. Its very pretty to look at, but I'm unsure of how to get the gold out of that specific liquid. Do I just filter and rinse, do I need to use zinc to get it out or sodium metabisulfite. What are my options here? I was thinking to add a little more hcl, but wanted to ask. Any response that is not negative is appreciated.

Also, what do most use in their scrubbers? Activated charcoal, baking soda, urea.
 
You need to keep your gold in elemental form and all base metals in solution. Thats why you are using Copper 2 Chloride leach. Filtering trough a normal paper filter works fine.

SMB is only used when gold is in solution. Meaning being dissolved and turned into auric chloride.
The SMB turns it back to metallic state gold.

Zinc is something used with silver i believe. But its way to far from gold in the reactivity series to get a clean precpitate. Cementing is more a last resort or a recovery step. Not for final refining.
 
Sorry. Forgot to answer your questions...
Yes. Just filter and rinse. Ready for another batch.

After that, just barely cover the filter and foils in HCL in a beaker. Or a scrubber flask set up.
Genyly warm up to 40 or 50 degrees celsius. And add a few drops of nitric.
Cover with a watchglass and watch and enjoy making yellow juice. If fizzing stops completely, add some drops of nitric and enjoy some more. Bubbles :eek: :eek: :lol: i love watching it.
If almost all foils are dissolved, take the watch glass off to allow more evaporation of NO fumes.
Cool the yellow juice close to freezing point and filter.
Then drop with SMB. One gram of SMB for one gram of gold.
Scrubber liquid: NaOH 10% or a H2O2 solution for nitric fumes.

Martijn.
 
Ok that actually makes sense now. I think my problem is I don't have any nitric acid. I've strictly been using hcl/ peroxide then hcl/bleach. But from what I've read so far, nitric is the way to go. I think I'll hit the store tomorrow and pick up a little. Thank you so much. Not sure where this hobby will take me, but at least I know I've got competent people to turn to if I need help.
 
HCL & Bleach works fine for foils after AP. So i've read. No need to get nitric just for that.
There are many different oxidizers for gold. I just use nitric, because i have enough for my study/hobby to last a couple more years.
If you are inquarting karat gold, you'll need nitric.

With nitric you can use too much and then you will need to neutralize before you can drop the gold.

Martijn.
 
I am glad I found this thread, saved me from buying something that would have not helped make work safer. (I was looking at a supplied air mask even though I will be working under a fume hood.)
 
There are NO(x) mask filters, but they will saturate at a given point. Depending on concentration levels.
Before you start smelling fumes, you will have inhaled some.
Masks are a corrective control measure. To clean up a spill e.g.
You need preventive control measures. Like not creating a red cloud of NO fumes. Not adding too much nitric too fast is the most important one.
Closed reaction vessels and scrubbing the fumes, having a fumehood to keep any accidentally escaped fumes away from you.

Having to rely on a mask is a sign of poor chemistry practices.

If you create a BFRC (big freaking red cloud) and you're 'safe' under a mask, think about who else will be exposed to that toxic gas once its blown out of your workshop or outdoor area?
Be responsible and contain toxic gases.

Prevention is the mindset you need to have.

Martijn.
 
And once the sealed cartridge package is opened to the air, the lifespan will be very short. Days if you're lucky. So every day a new cartridge to be sure. 💰💰💰
 
Abdoulapapatte said:
i would like to know why any mask can't protecte me against nitric acide
thank you
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First you need to understand that the cartridges are nothing more then a very small fume scrubbers (which is why they are designed for one time use)

What fumes the cartridge will scrub depends on the scrubbing media in the cartridge - different media scrub different gasses

Nox requires it's own media

Most - if not all cartridges you buy at the local hardware store are not designed with a media to scrub Nox - that is because fumes from nitric acid is not common - so they are designed to scrub other gasses but not Nox (they are designed mostly to scrub the gasses from paint spraying or chlorine from swimming pool cleaners)

Because the cartridges are basically very small scrubbers - they also have very small amount of scrubbing media which in turn means very limited fumes can go through them before the media is saturated with gasses & then becomes ineffective in scrubbing more fume --- which is why they are designed for one time emergency use & NOT for on going &/or continued use

Edit to add; - you can get cartridges that will scrub Nox - but you wont find them at the local hardware store - you have to look for them (industrial suppliers) --- & they are still limited to one time use

Kurt
 
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I don't know if my approach for personal safety is totally wrong. I make reactions outdoors. In a place no other peoples are around. Adding nitric in small amounts at the time, walk at least 20 meters away and wait. Literally i'm in an island. I'm always wearing full face over pressure mask with 2 filters on my back. Filters are for acidic gases.

I got this mask for free. It was previously used for renovating houses with possible asbestos. I changed filters for acidic gas filters and replaced dead battery with modern power box (10€). Few times wind whirls blow a little bit of fumes to my face but no harm was done as mask is blowing fresh air out from the mask. Nothing gets in. It is a type of Scott autoflow- mask.

But better never to turn my back on reaction vessel.
 
Zhazham said:
I don't know if my approach for personal safety is totally wrong. I make reactions outdoors. In a place no other peoples are around. Adding nitric in small amounts at the time, walk at least 20 meters away and wait. Literally i'm in an island. I'm always wearing full face over pressure mask with 2 filters on my back. Filters are for acidic gases.

I got this mask for free. It was previously used for renovating houses with possible asbestos. I changed filters for acidic gas filters and replaced dead battery with modern power box (10€). Few times wind whirls blow a little bit of fumes to my face but no harm was done as mask is blowing fresh air out from the mask. Nothing gets in. It is a type of Scott autoflow- mask.

But better never to turn my back on reaction vessel.
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Some things to consider:

What is the lifespan of the filters you've changed once opened? How long have you been using them?

What is the NOX absorption capacity of a filter? How do you know you've reaced the limit?

Do these 'acidic gases' filters include NO, NO2 and NOX, which is indicated by the international color code blue?
If not, you're breathing NOX gases, thinking youre safe!
Bug-Out-Bag-Builder-The-Best-Gas-Mask-Guide-2019-7.jpg
Limit the production of fumes and contain or scrub the fumes.

Masks are false safety!!!

Use proper techniques and equipment.

Martijn.
 

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