READ Before Mixing!

[JackWaggons]

I did my first full set of reactions this week. AP-HCL/CL-SMB drop. All of which went off without a hitch. I had my place opened up and figured I could mix and then move everything outside. This worked for the AP.
However, The HCL/CL reactions were more violent than anticipated. I was fortunate to be close to my patio window cause the chlorine gas started forming faster than I thought. No one was harmed and no harm was done.
Just as a warning from a newbie. Read not only the steps of the reactions, but also the about the reactions themselves. I am thankful I was mindful enough to move my reactions outside.

PS. Thanks to Steve and Harold and everyone. My first 1g test batch is going great. I currently have brown powder settling in a 1000ml beaker outside! Wohoo!

Jack

 

[necromancer]

Jack Joined: January 20th, 2013, 10:36 pm

on February 24th, 2013 this new member could have died !!

i have offten wondered about members that join, read (fast) try there task and never return.......

did they give up or did they expire ?

this is a warning to all those out there with the "gold bug"

i have been reading for about 1-1/2 years, i have not tried it myself.

i have been with people that recover gold as a business, i have never mixed acids (ever) this is not a chemistry kit you buy from the novelty store

you can kill yourself or others around you,

""please be smart before you start""

the grf can use that saying in there safty sticky

if Harold_V had not asked us all not to swear, this is where you would heard me swear !!

 

[JackWaggons]

I am just glad that I did read enough to know that I needed air flow. Also I know the severity of these gases. My misconception was the speed at which the reaction takes place. I was not expecting an immediate reaction.
I figured I had 30 seconds to walk 6 feet to set it outside. Let my misconception be a warning to all.

Jack

 

[necromancer]

I had my place opened up

thanks for your honesty !!!!!! and glad your well

i would like to ask what did you mean by the above quote??

were you in your house (home) and i am hoping that you were the only person there at the time

 

[NobleMetalWorks]

You mix and allow reactions to take place where you started them. At no time should you be carrying around acidic solutions that are reacting. All it would take for you to have a horrible accident would be to get a whiff of the solution and automatically (knee jerk response) jerk and slosh solution on your person. Or worse, what if you were carrying around a solution, you got a whiff and passed out falling on your glass beaker full of acid solution, or even caustic for that matter
.
More than reading any book, more than having all the imaginable experience you could acquire, if you do not have common sense you shouldn't be working with acids.

I want to be clear on this point. If you have any solutions, acidic or caustic, you have to be extremely careful with them. If you have any that are reacting you have no business carrying them around. I cannot believe you think it's okay to make any solution in a glass beaker, and then carry it outside onto your patio.

If you spilled your AP solution and it seeped into your floor, down onto your pipes and electrical wires you could have a very expensive as well as potentially life threatening situation on your hands, you could short everything out by the copper chloride reacting with metals in wires, and start a fire for example.

I figured I had 30 seconds to walk 6 feet

You could have killed yourself in that 6ft you figured you had 30 seconds to walk. I'm sorry if my post sounds harsh, but frankly, reading what little you have written has me concerned. I specially don't want others to read this post after and get it in their head it's okay to walk around with solutions that are reacting if they can make 6ft in 30 seconds.

Scott

 

[JackWaggons]

Lesson learned, thanks for the input. I am readjusting how I do everything. It is easy to become complacent when reading and reading. I was alone and had fans blowing(answer to the above question) . However, due to what happened yesterday no more reactions are going to take place indoors no matter how close I am to the door. I will be setting up a plastic table and fans outside on my patio to do this from now on. Unlike some people I welcome criticism cause I would rather that than blissfully continuing on with the only destination being certain doom. This is serious stuff and now that I have had my first experience with a small small batch. I won't be doing anything else till I have changed a few things. Thanks to all.

Jack

 

[necromancer]

there is not only yourself to think about, there is:

your partner, your children, your parents, the people next door (200 feet away) and i can go on and on

understand this, i do not know you at all, if you died i could not feel sad, not a drop sad, i would think to myself, "where did that new user go"....

as for the people around you, thats a different thought they would have.

imagine your children comming home from school, opening the front door, seeing a body on the ground, inhailing the nox from your spill.......

and i will stop there.

to all new members, this is not a game its real life.

you will not get rich over night, most of us will not get rich in 10 years processing ewaste as a hobby. thats why its our hobby and not our business
as fun as it can be its very dangerous

 

[Geo]

chlorine gas is very dangerous. its very toxic and was used as a chemical weapon successfully in WWI. it has some extremely adverse effects on the body. the worst being pulmonary edema. repeated exposure has a cumulative effect. it is one of the gasses we deal with that a good respirator will filter out. never process inside any part of your home.

 

[JackWaggons]

I am sorry if I tainted the reputation of this forum. I did forget to mention I was wearing a respirator during this whole event and continued to wear one while the room aired out.
I did know and understand the biproducts of the reactions. However it still boils down to the fact that I did not know that the reactions were so immediate. I have learned and I am thankful for all of you for teaching me a valuable lesson.
Thank you all of caring enough to give me a good talking to. I hope others will read this post and realize that my actions can be learned from and that some other overly zealous new user avoids the same situation. I am glad that I was dealing with a very small reaction less than 200 ml. It could have been much worse.

 

[NobleMetalWorks]

I can appreciate you accept criticism so well, all of us have had to at one point on another on this forum.

I can also appreciate the fact you posted so honestly about your mistake, it allows your mistake to be offered as a warning to others.

If you read Hoke, she talks about doing familiarity tests. This is a good idea no matter what type of reaction you are doing. Before actually making a working solution, you might want to do a familiarity test to make sure you understand the reaction before you do it on a larger scale.

I abuse the hell out of my test tubes. I might be a little bit excessive about this, but I test everything before I process it in large quantities if I have never done it prior and cannot be sure what to expect.

Scott

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Jack,

I appreciate your courage in having posted this warning to others. It would have been much easier to never tell anyone what happened. Instead you opened yourself up to getting bloodied up on the forum for the sake of others.

I'm pretty sure you've had you "Ah Hah!" moment. I hope other new members will read your post and learn from it.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

Dave

 

[JackWaggons]

Wow *****! Why did I not think about test tubes! I am glad you guys are willing to guide us newbies into a safe understanding of this hobby. I am a pilot/aviation mechanic during the week and even though I deal with chemicals there quite often. They are no where near what we deal with here. In my job I thrive on critiques from instructors and my fellow crewmen. This is no different. Thanks again and once I finish rinsing my powder(OUTSIDE!) I will post pictures. If a 1g or less than a 1g is worth pictures haha

Jack

 

[necromancer]

you can use baby food jars, everyone knows someone that has a baby or for 66 cents you can buy your favorite flavor.

babyfood jars are tough, almost as tough as nails.

 

[NobleMetalWorks]

Wow *****! Why did I not think about test tubes! I am glad you guys are willing to guide us newbies into a safe understanding of this hobby. I am a pilot/aviation mechanic during the week and even though I deal with chemicals there quite often. They are no where near what we deal with here. In my job I thrive on critiques from instructors and my fellow crewmen. This is no different. Thanks again and once I finish rinsing my powder(OUTSIDE!) I will post pictures. If a 1g or less than a 1g is worth pictures haha

Jack

Who do you work for if you don't mind me asking?

I started out as a ramp rat for UAL, then obtained my AS in Aeronautics and became a AP Mechanic, later I worked for Japan Airlines at their flight training center in Napa Ca, I worked on Beachcraft Bonanza's and Kings.

Funny story, I was working on a King Air that came in with a wing strike, a bird hit the leading edge where the de-icing boot is and caused a repairable dent. One of the Japanese instructors overheard me say that all we had to do was to "hammer it to fit and paint it to match". I had only been working there a few weeks, I had no idea how seriously the Japanese took what they overheard Americans say. I learned a valuable lesson that day, it's better to keep your mouth shut than to open it.

Scott

 

[JackWaggons]

I work for a little 3 man shop in the middle of no where texas. We mainly work on light to medium aircraft from C-172s up to Barons. We do a lot of work on Bonanza's as well.

 

[butcher]

Jack, these fumes are not only dangerous, but also very corrosive to any metals in the area they are used in or around, sheet rock can absorb these fumes and give problems with electrical panels or electrical or electronic systems, tools window frames your fancy sports car, any thing in the path of these fumes can become a bucket of rust, sometimes from just one exposure, spills,breaking vessels full of acid solutions, boil overs and other accidents are common.

You need to arrange a dedicated place to work, set it up to keep you and your tools safe from fumes, out doors or fume hood if indoors, fans can help, have catch basins to contain spills, far enough from your house the fumes do not reach it in concentration, A place to store or leave your solutions safe from the hands of children of pets.

Basically you need to set up a lab, even if it is a table under an oak tree far from your house, a small shed or other area dedicated to working safely.

Just like the safety in your job you have to think ahead, understand what you are dealing with and take precautions.

Jack thanks for bringing this up, many times we get too exited and forget the important things like safety.