Erbslöh liquid sulfite

[Bluebloomer]

Hi Kurt,

Thank you for that information, I had to find out the hard way that it wasn't safe that way...

I was so enthusiatic that I overlooked every safety aspect, aswell as personal safety, I didn't measure the volumes and I underestimated the toxic fumes.

I learned a lot from my initial mistakes and once the new growroom I'm building is done, I will move everything into a 6 feet growtent, with a 125 cfm exhaust fan on a home made 2 ft fumehood and daylight CFL's for good lighting. It's a sort of minilab with a constant vacuum in the tent, if the door is closed.

Since 6 ft isn't that big it'll force me not to do too many things at once, so I can focus only on 1 or 2 projects at a time. It's near the bathroom so in case of emergency I can run straight from the "lab" into the bathroom. Fumes are scrubbed thru a carbon filter and pushed outside the house.
The floor will be made with a wooden frame with pond foil so any spills remain in the flood pool.

That's the plan, but first I have to finish my new growroom. For now I quit all activities regarding gold recovery, and still have pounds of material to scrap and sort, build the indoor growroom, reading Hokes book and some other books and still go to work 4 days a week..

So, a lot of work, and a lot of fun..

 

[jason_recliner]

When you say "growroom", I get mental images of "chemistry" outside the scope of gold recovery/refining. Especially with daylight lamps. But I know people from around the world use different terms and so I cast no aspersions. Moving right along...

It's the fact that you think this ok because it's only 6ft and it's near the bathroom that I feel the need to reiterate this simple and clear directive from one of the most highly regarded members here (emphasis added).

Do not do any of this in your home or in your kitchen sink.

You're an adult, you can do what you like. But I do strongly suggest you heed this warning.

 

[butcher]

Bluebloomer,
Holding off with the lab work, spending time on studying, collecting and mechanically preparing your scrap, until get or fix up a more proper lab environment to work in, and understand more about working safely and dealing with waste, is a very wise decision.

Actually this will put you closer to your goal of getting those gold buttons.

The time spent studying will pay off, in the long run, like in the race of the turtle and the Hare. With less wasted time spent on dealing with problems, loosing values, Saving you money on materials, knowing what you really need, or do not need, giving you a better understanding of what is needed and of knowing more about how to do it, and how to do it safely.

You can gain the education needed (which is really the main tool to the key of success), and you can collect, and prepare your scrap in the mean time.

This is not much different than doing other things, like, lets say you are not a mechanic and want to learn to fix your car yourself, it is better to study before tearing your engine all apart, getting understanding of how the work is done, and learning how to do it, getting some practice with small repair (or small experiments), waiting to see what tools, and parts you need before spending all your money on tools, and parts, you may find you really do not need in the long run, spending time learning how to work on the car safely, so that the car does not fall on you while your working under it...

Ferrous sulfate should be green crystals. Many times they sell ferrous sulfate in garden supply sections that is oxidized (white or brown), it will not work to precipitate gold from solution (it is actually no longer a true ferrous sulfate, but a form of oxidized iron sulfate), you can easily make your own ferrous sulfate, (with a little study on the forum), and ferrous sulfate is just as good at precipitating gold as sodium metabisulfite, both of these have different properties, and you can have specific reasons to choose one over the other, during a refining, or you may wish to use one in the first refining and the other in the second refining to get a better final product...

Education is the main tool you need, spending time gaining that tool, will put you closer to getting the job done.

 

[Bluebloomer]

Jason, the kitchensink was a big mistake and I learned a lot since then. My 16 feet terrace is nice but with the winds we get here it's not a safe place to work unless I make some sort of windshield or something.
But you make me rethink the in-house idea, so perhaps I should look at the option to build a similar idea on my terrace. I could make a portable fumehood, and place a wooden kitchen top to setup as a workbench.
I think that might be the safest option then, outdoor, big terrace and still shielded from the rain but not from the wind. Only downfall would be that I can't keep the electrical equipment outdoor as nights are humid and moist.
Butcher, thanks. I might have wild idea's sometime, as this topic alone might sugest, but you guys have helped me along great and when I realized how irresponsible I was acting I decided it was time to quit and do my proper homework.
The ferrous sulfate is bought from a chem lab, same as the SMB, wich is sold as a PH down for pools and paint btw. So I assume they are indeed green crystals. I bought 5 kg for 7 dollar from a shop that supplies chemicals for paint and pools, so it's not a garden variant. If it's oxidized I will return it, we don't need rust..
Preparing all scrap will take me thru the winter I hope, so I can work on a safe and proper workspace / lab later. I don't have a basement, and I don't have a free bedroom I could use so I have to improvise a bit, but the roofed terrace seems like the best option.

Despite the major incident where I poured 35% h202 in an A/P solution no further accidents have happened, no chemcial burns, no spills, no unsafe dumping of waste.
So I have to rethink my lab idea well, store all acids and salts for a later date and focus on acquiring all the necessary knowledge. Still might post some questions but that's only to get clarrification on a subject.

Once again, thank you all ! This forum is great and so are all you guys willing to help newbies, that so often have the same questions over and over.. :roll:

 

[butcher]

Bluebloomer,
I deleted your reference to the use of drugs or "pain medication". Which it is not related to recovery and refining...
In fact you should be careful yourself of being under the influence of any drug, pain medication, or other intoxicant, that can impair your judgment, when working with these dangerous chemicals, or fumes...

 

[Bluebloomer]

Hi butcher, I understand.. Got a little carried away I guess..