Just wanted to share

[wisco_gold]

Just wanted share my new DIY fume cabinet. Cost a little over $100 total. About half of that was on the range hood I bought from a resale store. Brand new in the box Broan with 3 speed exhaust fan maxing out at 300cfm and dual led lights with 2 brightness settings for $50 and actually there was a sale so it was only $38.

Then part of my new distillation set. No more low quality nitric acid for this guy (well I made fuming nitric acid but my homemade apparatuses always failed and my yields were to low to justify making it that way).

 

[goldshark]

Nice looking set up! What lining is inside the duct work? On another note, has anybody ever had a wood lined box go BOOM? I don't know how long it would take fumes to Nitrate the cellulose in the wood fibers, but know it can be converted.

 

[ChopperGreg]

Nice looking set up! What lining is inside the duct work? On another note, has anybody ever had a wood lined box go BOOM? I don't know how long it would take fumes to Nitrate the cellulose in the wood fibers, but know it can be converted.

It is more an issue of slow deterioration of the wood fibers. The minimal nitration that occurs, is slowed down, because as cellulose nitrates, water forms and brings the reaction to a standstill.

In the end, sooner or later, a fungus will settle into the wood and it will feed on the available nitrogen, and rot out faster.

 

[wisco_gold]

Nice looking set up! What lining is inside the duct work? On another note, has anybody ever had a wood lined box go BOOM? I don't know how long it would take fumes to Nitrate the cellulose in the wood fibers, but know it can be converted.

Thank you! It's not quite finished as I will be putting a protective coating on the inside (not sure what I'm going to go with as of now) and the exterior still needs to painted completely.

The duct work is vinyl, to my knowledge it should hold up for awhile but I will be paying close attention. So far I'm only using it for my jar of gold foils that went through a nitric acid bath (until the copper was removed and any possible bits of solder I may have missed) and then was rinsed multiple times before adding concentrated HCl and a few ml of dilute nitric acid here and there as needed to dissolve the foils. It was outside in my work area and so I was happy to be able to bring it indoors to finish.

 

[nickvc]

I fear the hood fan will fail way before any other problems occur and if you are processing indoors you will have a serious problem on your hands if it fails during an actual process.
I would suggest putting it outside under a covered area with openings on at least two sides where at least you can leave the danger area if the fan does fail.

 

[stella polaris]

It is more an issue of slow deterioration of the wood fibers. The minimal nitration that occurs, is slowed down, because as cellulose nitrates, water forms and brings the reaction to a standstill.

In the end, sooner or later, a fungus will settle into the wood and it will feed on the available nitrogen, and rot out faster.

What happends if not only Nitric acid used but also sulfuric acid? Then fungies do not like the enviroment and the cellulose can be washed by the fumes to something else? I have tested it on filter paper and checked the result with an hammer. It worked.

 

[wisco_gold]

I fear the hood fan will fail way before any other problems occur and if you are processing indoors you will have a serious problem on your hands if it fails during an actual process.
I would suggest putting it outside under a covered area with openings on at least two sides where at least you can leave the danger area if the fan does fail.

Thank you; while not what I wanted to hear I will be following your advice and moving it outside this afternoon before using it any further.

It is close to two basement windows and in a room I keep locked to keep my little ones out but the duct work that runs to the rest of my house is nearby and the thought of something like that happening to my family sends chills throughout me.

I was excited to move it indoors to work out of the elements but not at the risk of my family. We actually just bought the house and property and I've had my eye on an old slab of concrete on the corner of the yard where a garage used to sit years ago...I may build myself a little workshop there come spring.

 

[nickvc]

Put a simple roof up on the pad and use fencing to keep animals and kids out until you can secure it better, the hood motor may work for months or years but it will fail because of the acid fumes and you can almost guarentee it will fail mid process or while you are letting the process cool letting toxic fumes into the whole area including your house..not worth the risk.

 

[AuggieDog]

If you are in the U.S., Home Depot has Coroplast 8ft X 4ft sheet for $30. I used that for the interior of my hood and construction adhesive to stick it on, then used silicone caulking to tie it all together. You can cut the stuff with a good razor knife. It has been working well so far, and your hood will last much longer if you do it. My 2 cents...

 

[AuggieDog]

Put a simple roof up on the pad and use fencing to keep animals and kids out until you can secure it better, the hood motor may work for months or years but it will fail because of the acid fumes and you can almost guarentee it will fail mid process or while you are letting the process cool letting toxic fumes into the whole area including your house..not worth the risk.

THIS^^^^
This is EXACTLY what happened to me during a much larger reaction than I usually do, at least it was not in my house.. The situation was "CODE RED" and it taught me a very valuable lesson; have contingency plans worked out well in advance, and contingencies on top of contingencies. When it happened I was in a very dangerous situation and as bad as it was, it could have cost me my life. I refuse to do large reactions at all now; it was a very humbling experience and a reality check about the risks involved.

 

[wisco_gold]

If you are in the U.S., Home Depot has Coroplast 8ft X 4ft sheet for $30. I used that for the interior of my hood and construction adhesive to stick it on, then used silicone caulking to tie it all together. You can cut the stuff with a good razor knife. It has been working well so far, and your hood will last much longer if you do it. My 2 cents...

Thank you! I do live in the U.S. and my uncle in law happens to work at the nearest Home Depot so I will ask him to grab some for me tonight yet.

 

[wisco_gold]

THIS^^^^
This is EXACTLY what happened to me during a much larger reaction than I usually do, at least it was not in my house.. The situation was "CODE RED" and it taught me a very valuable lesson; have contingency plans worked out well in advance, and contingencies on top of contingencies. When it happened I was in a very dangerous situation and as bad as it was, it could have cost me my life. I refuse to do large reactions at all now; it was a very humbling experience and a reality check about the risks involved.

I'm glad to see you made it out of the situation ok. I will definitely heed the warnings and advice given, nothing is worth risking the lives of anyone let alone my wife and kids.

 

[goldshark]

THIS^^^^
This is EXACTLY what happened to me during a much larger reaction than I usually do, at least it was not in my house.. The situation was "CODE RED" and it taught me a very valuable lesson; have contingency plans worked out well in advance, and contingencies on top of contingencies. When it happened I was in a very dangerous situation and as bad as it was, it could have cost me my life. I refuse to do large reactions at all now; it was a very humbling experience and a reality check about the risks involved.

At least it wasn't a code Brown!

 

[ChopperGreg]

What happends if not only Nitric acid used but also sulfuric acid? Then fungies do not like the enviroment and the cellulose can be washed by the fumes to something else? I have tested it on filter paper and checked the result with an hammer. It worked.

There are varieties of fungus and bacteria that will consume even that, breaking it down into calmer byproducts.

That said, when dealing with just fumes, the process isn’t going to go very far, and getting fumes of both acids is unlikely to cause much of a reaction with dirty cellulose, as thorough penetration is required.

 

[Alondro]

There are varieties of fungus and bacteria that will consume even that, breaking it down into calmer byproducts.

That said, when dealing with just fumes, the process isn’t going to go very far, and getting fumes of both acids is unlikely to cause much of a reaction with dirty cellulose, as thorough penetration is required.

It's why I always use a gas-capture set up for my main recoveries. Just some tubes, a couple aquarium bubblers, and 2 flasks with side arms. Allow the reaction to vent into the series of these flasks half-full of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Catches all the NO2 and SO2 very well, AND regenerates acid which can be distilled to higher concentrations later.

 

[eaglekeeper]

Just wanted share my new DIY fume cabinet. Cost a little over $100 total. About half of that was on the range hood I bought from a resale store. Brand new in the box Broan with 3 speed exhaust fan maxing out at 300cfm and dual led lights with 2 brightness settings for $50 and actually there was a sale so it was only $38.

Then part of my new distillation set. No more low quality nitric acid for this guy (well I made fuming nitric acid but my homemade apparatuses always failed and my yields were to low to justify making it that way).

I know this might be a little late, but nice set up.

Maybe it's just the picture, but your thermometer looks to be too far down... The thermometer bulb should be at the middle of the side arm outlet. That's where you want your vapor front to be, so that's where you want to read the temp at. Good to see you choose the Liebig condenser and not a Grahm condenser. While distilling nitric, the distillate sometimes solidify in the Grahm condensers and can create potential dangerous situation....ask me how I know this. Fortunately I never keck clip my thermometer adapter so the pressure just shot the adapter out. I think someone else here on the forum had the same experience with the Grahm condenser.

How's the fume hood holding up?

 

[stella polaris]

There are varieties of fungus and bacteria that will consume even that, breaking it down into calmer byproducts.

That said, when dealing with just fumes, the process isn’t going to go very far, and getting fumes of both acids is unlikely to cause much of a reaction with dirty cellulose, as thorough penetration is required.

I was more refering to if the hood could go "BOOM". If Nitro and sulfur the celloluse can go towards celloluse powder. Even if not going "BOOM" it might risk to burn very aggressivly if a gasburner flipps over and the flame touches the wall. How risky? I do not know but the risk is there.

 

[BlackLabel]

About a year ago, I started building nearly the same. Plywood, kitchen fume hood…
Except the front is a glass plate (of a former glass table) to be shifted upwards.

It's one of my UFOs (Un-Finished Objects).
I'll paint the plywood with a plastic-like floor paint. This will seal the wood against acids and other stuff.

The kitchen fume hood is just sitting on top. If it fails due to the fumes, I'll replace it.

 

[wisco_gold]

I know this might be a little late, but nice set up.

Maybe it's just the picture, but your thermometer looks to be too far down... The thermometer bulb should be at the middle of the side arm outlet. That's where you want your vapor front to be, so that's where you want to read the temp at. Good to see you choose the Liebig condenser and not a Grahm condenser. While distilling nitric, the distillate sometimes solidify in the Grahm condensers and can create potential dangerous situation....ask me how I know this. Fortunately I never keck clip my thermometer adapter so the pressure just shot the adapter out. I think someone else here on the forum had the same experience with the Grahm condenser.

How's the fume hood holding up?

Thank you! I see what you're saying with the thermometer, I will adjust accordingly next run I do. While some of you have had some very unfortunate accidents, I'm glad you all share them so others like myself can hope to avoid them by learning from your situations.

The fume hood is holding up great. I've made some really good nitric acid with it twice now. Both times I moved it outside, but brought it back inside when I was done with those runs. I will not trust it making nitric inside the house just in case it fails, I've generated a lot of fumes both times I've made nitric and can't justify that risk indoors but I will use it indoors to dissolve stuff, I have a window fan running in one window all the time anyways and am confident if the fan fails I will be able to move the reaction vessel outside by placing it outside the open without much in the way of fumes overtaking the house.

About a year ago, I started building nearly the same. Plywood, kitchen fume hood…
Except the front is a glass plate (of a former glass table) to be shifted upwards.

It's one of my UFOs (Un-Finished Objects).
I'll paint the plywood with a plastic-like floor paint. This will seal the wood against acids and other stuff.

The kitchen fume hood is just sitting on top. If it fails due to the fumes, I'll replace it.

Well if you ever get around to finishing it, I can assure you you won't be disappointed. Mine works great, the hood on mine is just sitting there as well. Well I set it in 2 beads of caulk to seal it up, but when/if need be that will peel right off. I was trying to come up with a design I liked where the glass could be shifted upwards and where I could leave a space open at the bottom but the storm window mine is made of practically volunteered itself lol. The look on my wife's face when I showed off the fume hood working and at first she was so impressed and then she asked where I got the glass "door" from. Storm windows are overrated anyways lol.