Pictures added Iodine Leach Test In Progress

[qst42know]

Iodine is not as benign as you might believe. You should be more careful, low odor doesn't mean safe.

http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/i2680.htm

That MSDS it for 100% iodine, not 10% as called for in this process.

I did not search for an MSDS for a 10% solution however it's possible one might be available.

The point is iodine needs to be respected. See the exposure limits in parts per million.

Airborne Exposure Limits:
-OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL):
0.1 ppm Ceiling
-ACGIH Threshold Limit Value (TLV):
0.01 ppm (TWA) inhalable fraction and vapor for Iodine and Iodides.
0.1 ppm (STEL) vapor and aerosol for Iodine.
Ventilation System:

 

[copperkid_18]

ok, I actually check on the bottle I plan on using and it said that it is actually only 1% actual iodine. I use the stuff from Wal-E-World.

 

[copperkid_18]

I started wondering today If this would work on keyboard Mylars? Not sure but I will have to test. Any input would be apprecited. 8)

 

[greatgems]

So im down in california buying 1000 catalytic converters i pay 28.99 per 100 ml of proviodine in canada or tinicure iodine which is 10% i walk in a CV drug store and see proviodine 10% for only 18 bucks for 350 plus ml that make over 3.4 litres of solution so im going to bufalo when i get home for a day trip to buy lots of iodine at those prices its really profitable

 

[copperkid_18]

OK. I started my test tonight. About .2g of medium grade gold pins. My solution is .5ml Iodine to 5 ml Water. I will post my results in a couple of days. Thanks for this reaction.... I don't really like messing with HCL!

 

[heartlander27]

I started my test too. $7.00 for 8oz iodine at wally world. I'm stripping plated silverware bought from various thrift stores. Im finding out that stores like Goodwill and Thrift world are way too expensive.My best luck has been the Salvation army and small church type stores. I pay around $.25 per piece. Much of it is antique, I stay away from the newer silverware, you can tell some is plated thin. One test I do is rub my finger over wore though areas if I feel a good indentation it must be plated a little thicker. I might be de-plating silverware with some antique value, but I doubt its much since they are mismatched. I'm starting to see some little pieces floating around in the solution, hurray! I'll be happy if I at least make my money back, if anything its a fun test. From what I have read on this forum making any pay backs on plated silverware is pretty hit and miss.
I want to thank the moderators for build this site, what a plethora of knowledge.

Andy

 

[eeTHr]

Does anyone know what the iodine is actually dissolving?

I mean, it seems like if it was dissolving silver, there would not be pieces of plating floating in the solution.

Unless it's dissolving the silver that is closest to the base metal, first. But why would it do that? And how does it get underneath the silver to do it?

If the base metal is cementing dissolved silver, why doesn't it fall to the bottom as powder, instead of floating like foils?

:?:

 

[greatgems]

i think it is only dissolving it for short period of time then appears on bottom larger prices i find the iodine brakes allot loose from the base metal and does it with out dangerous levels of chemicals gas and mess.

 

[heartlander27]

The plating in my batch is coming off well. So far it has settled to the bottom. All of it is breaking down into tiny pieces, it looks like a grey sludge. The amount of silver coming off the silverware dosent look like much.
I dont know if coffee filters will capture all the silver. Looks like I may need to do some more research.

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=7967&p=74390&hilit=iodine+leach#p74457


I added a link from another post, with lots of great info

 

[heartlander27]

One more thing. The base metal is silver in apperance, Im guessing it is "Nickel Silver Alloy". Copper,zinc,nickel alloy, does anyone know what the scrap value is for this alloy? It might be stainless steel too, but Im leaning toward the other. Is there any sure fire (easy) ways to determine what the alloy is?

 

[eeTHr]

heartlander---

I would recommend not putting values into a filter. Instead, decant the solution by siphoning it off into another container. Rinse the powder values with a little water, siphon again, until water is clear. Then siphon off the last water, and refine your silver or gold.

Powders will always leave some stuck in the filter, then you have to save them up and incinerate them later, to get those PMs back.

Try to only filter pregnant solutions, that way what's left in the filter is usually just garbage. Follow it with water or HCl, or whatever is appropriate for the solution, to wash it all through the filter and not lose any values.

P.S. Don't start the siphon by sucking on the tubing. Use a turkey baster to start it. Or fill the tubing with water, put your finger on one end of the tubing and put the other end into the receiving container, then take your finger off the top end just before you put it into the solution. The top of the receiving container should be lower than the bottom of the solution container. You can also make the transfer with just a turkey baster, if you don't have any tubing around, but you have to keep the two containers close together because a baster drips a lot. Also if it drips in the powders container, it can unsettle them. You can also just pour the solution into the other container, but that can unsettle your powders also.

 

[Irons]

Making your own tincture of Iodine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tincture_of_iodine

USP formulas

USP Tincture of Iodine is defined in the U.S. National Formulary (NF) as containing in each 100 mL, 1.8 to 2.2 grams of elemental iodine, and 2.1 to 2.6 grams of sodium iodide. Alcohol is 50 ml and the balance is purified water. This "2% free iodine" solution provides about one mg of free iodine per drop.

USP Strong Iodine Tincture is defined in the NF as containing in each 100 mL, 6.8 to 7.5 gram of iodine, and 4.7 to 5.5 gram of potassium iodide. Purified water is 50 mL and the balance is alcohol. This 7% tincture solution is about 3.5 times more concentrated than USP 2% tincture.

You can purchase up to 250 grams of elemental Iodine on Fleabay at one time.
Sodium and Potassium Iodide are available in any quantity.

If you decide to use this process on a larger scale, you may find it cheaper to mix your own.

 

[eeTHr]

Irons---

I read Dr. William's online Basement Chemistry for Prospectors a while back, but somehow I got the impression that iodine dissolved only the gold. So now I see it dissolves silver, too.

Do you know what else it dissolves?

 

[heartlander27]

Here is how I plan to recover. Feel free to tell me what is missing. I have read the post from HAuC14 a couple times. Being a layman it took me awhile to decipher what he was saying. Here are the steps I want to take according to the post I read.

1. Remove and rinse silverware from the solution.
2. Add lye to turn iodine solution into sodium iodide. This should turn the solution clear and drop all silver out of the solution, silver will then be concentrated on the bottom of the container and ready to filter.
3. Filter sodium iodide solution through fine filter. Leaving silver in the filter.
4. Take the silver free sodium iodide solution and add Clorox bleach. This will oxidize the solution and return it to its elemental form for storage.
5. Melt silver into little button, the melted silver button will be less than 999 fine.
6. Repeat process until I am a wealthy man :lol:


Andy

 

[Jimmi_p]

nickel silver sells at the same price as yellow brass. $1.90 or so. I haven't sold any in over a month though.

 

[Pilgrim2850]

heartlander,

Have you tried the method that you posted and did it work?

larry

 

[greatgems]

i works well and has worked well second time just make sure when you melt the gold or silver your clear of the furnace as the smoke contains iodine fumes.

 

[texan]

I started my test too. $7.00 for 8oz iodine at wally world. I'm stripping plated silverware bought from various thrift stores. Im finding out that stores like Goodwill and Thrift world are way too expensive.My best luck has been the Salvation army and small church type stores. I pay around $.25 per piece. Much of it is antique, I stay away from the newer silverware, you can tell some is plated thin. One test I do is rub my finger over wore though areas if I feel a good indentation it must be plated a little thicker. I might be de-plating silverware with some antique value, but I doubt its much since they are mismatched. I'm starting to see some little pieces floating around in the solution, hurray! I'll be happy if I at least make my money back, if anything its a fun test. From what I have read on this forum making any pay backs on plated silverware is pretty hit and miss.
I want to thank the moderators for build this site, what a plethora of knowledge.

Andy

Please do not strip any silver flatware that has a railroad or hotel name on it. It can be worth a bunch to a collector of that type. This is a rare example I know but but once I bought a spoon with the name "Sunbeam" on it for 2 bucks and sold it several years later for $300 or so. The lady I got it from thought it was from the Sunbeam Toaster Company....wrong...it was from the named Southern Pacific train the "Sunbeam." Some of the flatware has Southern Pacific on the back and some does not....I have found 3 pieces of Sunbeam flatware in junk boxes of silver plate in the last 30 years....If you find a coffee pot with the SP Sunbeam logo on it...you just made a down payment on a new car.

Texan

 

[Drewbie]

Yes. As a rule always google a description of the item before you hit it with acid or flame in case it's actually worth a lot more than melt value.

 

[chrisp]

with this procedure can you use tap water or must you use distilled water