Hello from Kansas

[Dale357]

Hello, I am a 30 + year electronics technician. I presently work in the aircraft industry. Have collected much electronic scrap over the years, and have attempted recovery with several methods over the years with varying degrees of success. Some things I have learned the hard way, as early on information was sketchy, and I had to rely on my limited chemistry education to help keep me safe in the process.
Hope to learn much in here.
Thanks for putting this forum together. I think it is a wonderful thing.
Dale357

 

[butcher]

Dale, welcome to the forum, if this interests you, you have found a gold mine, like any gold mine there is a lot of hard work to get to the value, the same is true with this forum, it is full of great nuggets of true value, but to get these precious nuggets of education a feller has to work hard, but when you find them they are treasure, PS you can spend a lifetime learning here and still not learn it all, so the fun can go on forever..

May I suggest begin with Hokes book, it teaches the basics (this book can be found in the book section) doing her getting acquainted experiments, will help you to understand the reactions better, learning to test for values in solution will be your eyes to where the values are when you can no longer see where they went.

The welcome to new members, guided tour, and general reaction list (in the general chat section).

Laser Steve's, and other members web sites are also great resources.

The safety section and dealing with waste in that section of the forum.

For the best results it is better to spend your time learning, before you begin trying things with chemicals, many times new members have learned a few things and think they understand because the read some on the internet or watched a bunch of you tube videos, they jump in with the acids before they study, and end up with a big mess, then try to learn to get out of this mess, wasting their time learning to correct mistakes instead of learning the basics and how to recover and refine precious metals, by studying first you get the basic understanding and learn what to expect, and you learn the proper methods and what leads to problems and how to void them, you also learn how to correct problems when they do happen. We liken it to learning how to fly the airplane before you jump in and take off.

Again welcome, and enjoy finding your valuable nuggets.

 

[AndyWilliams]

Hi Dale,

You will find everything you need, here. And butcher has set the right track for you. Here, you'll find a great sense of devotion to CM Hoke. Her book drives much of the information on this site and though a small amount her information is dated, she published over 70 years ago, reading through her processes will, at the least, give you the vocabulary necessary to understand anyone assisting you. That isn't to say that she only helps you talk to us! No, much of her writing is still applicable today. Doing the acquaintance experiments helps you see how the reactions work and prepares you for the processes you'll be working through, in the future. One of our other members, FrugalRefiner, has posted a printer friendly copy of her book. It's in my signature line. Buying the actual book is a bit pricey, and while it is worth it, there's little need if you just need a working copy. Hope you have a great experience here! I have, and there just isn't a better place to truly learn the hows and whys involved in refining.

Andy