Smelting Silver Plate

[Dreamer]

I've nosed around on the forum and it seems like everyone's opinion is that it's a waste of time to deal with Ag plated items. Has anyone had any luck with Smelting? It seems to me that there has to be a flux mix that would concentrate or separate Ag when melting silver plated items. Even if I can concentrate it to 60%+ I can use it to consume my waste acids and recover it from there instead of copper.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your contribution.

 

[Yggdrasil]

I've nosed around on the forum and it seems like everyone's opinion is that it's a waste of time to deal with Ag plated items. Has anyone had any luck with Smelting? It seems to me that there has to be a flux mix that would concentrate or separate Ag when melting silver plated items. Even if I can concentrate it to 60%+ I can use it to consume my waste acids and recover it from there instead of copper.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your contribution.

I think the consensus are that IF you are going to process plated items it is best to use the water cell

Smelting is not an option at all in my eyes, it will only make it worse.

 

[Yggdrasil]

I've nosed around on the forum and it seems like everyone's opinion is that it's a waste of time to deal with Ag plated items. Has anyone had any luck with Smelting? It seems to me that there has to be a flux mix that would concentrate or separate Ag when melting silver plated items. Even if I can concentrate it to 60%+ I can use it to consume my waste acids and recover it from there instead of copper.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your contribution.

Depending on the base metal it can also be used to cement Gold or Silver form solution in the Stock pot for instance.

 

[BGDOCK]

I've nosed around on the forum and it seems like everyone's opinion is that it's a waste of time to deal with Ag plated items. Has anyone had any luck with Smelting? It seems to me that there has to be a flux mix that would concentrate or separate Ag when melting silver plated items. Even if I can concentrate it to 60%+ I can use it to consume my waste acids and recover it from there instead of copper.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your contribution.

Dreamer this is the part where I’m going to have to agree with Yggdrasil . I smelted silver plated and processed material from my stockpot . I smelted and poured ingots I had started last year . I have run the ingots through 3 copper cells and it has been a huge waste of time .
( told you so yagg. )
Do your self a favor and Use a water cell

 

[Shark]

The biggest advantage to the H2O cell is it's simplicity. It isn't super fast, but if you don't know any other way to strip silver plate, it is the way to try first.

 

[galenrog]

I have to echo all others endorsing the water cell to remove silver plating from most items. It is arguably slow and somewhat inefficient, but compared to all other methods it is, by far, the simplest and easiest to implement.

Still, if you must cover the costs of both feedstock and electricity, you could still operate at a loss.

Enjoy.

Time for more coffee.

 

[snoman701]

Silver plate is a copper refinery item. It's not worth cyanide stripping because of the cost of CN as well as waste disposal. You are best off finding a refinery that pays on Cu / Ag basis. This is very difficult by the way.

You'll never be able to process enough using water, salt water, sodium formate, any of these other stripping methods to make it financially viable.

 

[snoman701]

By the way. I have talked to at least five refineries that regularly handle e-scrap or gold / copper dores and none of them are interested in paying on a copper / silver basis.

They have shown interest in buying it outright, but it's at absurdly low prices that make it pointless to collect.

 

[Dreamer]

Reverse electroplating is a painful waste of time for me now (maybe when I retire it won't be). Like so many of us, I have a lot of this laying around and it crossed my mind as a way to put it to use.

I thought someone out there might have had some experience with smelting it. If all fails, I'll melt it into slabs and use it in my waste buckets.

Thanks for the input.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

I thought someone out there might have had some experience with smelting it. If all fails, I'll melt it into slabs and use it in my waste buckets.

Don't waste the gas to melt it into slabs. Throw it into the stock pot as is.

Dave

 

[Dreamer]

Don't waste the gas to melt it into slabs. Throw it into the stock pot as is.

Dave

Seems to be the most economical way to put it to use.

 

[snoman701]

Be careful with that. I ended up with a metastannic mess thinking that it would be a great way to break down some excess acid. Might work for flatware, but I'd avoid hollow ware for sure.

 

[4metals]

The only way it can be economical is with a Cyanide strip and that, as snoman pointed out, is for larger refineries who can handle and treat cyanide properly.