Storing acids in sub zero temps

[heliman4141]

Hello gents,
I have a question to pose that I couldn't find in a search,
I have 1 gallon of Hcl which came in a plastic jug marked muratic & it is placed inside a 5 gal. bucket with a screw on lid, I also have 1 gal. of 69% Nitric that came in an amber PTE lined glass jug that is also in its own seperate 5 gal. bucket with a screw on lid. At this point im not comfortable having either one in my basement shop since my house furnace resides there and any fumes possibly escaping would be a disaster, so im storing the buckets in my unheated garage which can get as cold as -30 degrees below zero in deep Winter.

Are my Winter low temps capable of freezing either the Hcl or the Nitric within their containers & causing container breakage?

Its 27 degrees in the garage now & ive just checked the acids & both are liquid & ok. I just don't want any surprises when it gets really cold. :shock:

Last Winter I kept them in my basement in these buckets but im just not comfortabe with doing that again in my living quarters so I haven't experienced storing either of them outside till now.
Neither has been diluted, but they have been opened.

Any safety advice about storing these 2 acids & the cold temps would be greatly app.

Dave

 

[necromancer]

Nitric acid Melting point −42 °C (−44 °F; 231 K)

Hydrochloric acid (see table)

 

[4metals]

One thing you can do is build a well insulated box to place the acids in and install an incandescent bulb in a porcelain socket on one wall and a thermostat on the wall opposite it in the box. You can set the thermostat as low as it can go, which is likely 40 or so and it will keep the acid from having any issues and it doesn't take a lot of electricity to keep the small well insulated space warm. A 20 watt bulb likely would cycle on and off and you won't spend a lot of cash on the electricity.

While the concentrated acids will not freeze when stored in the cold, they work better when they warm up so if you are doing this on any time schedule, a heated box is a cost effective way to work more efficiently.

 

[resabed01]

No problem storing acids outside in the winter. Here in Canada it will dip to -35C on some mornings and HCl and nitric acid has not been affected. My nitric is in glass jugs but I keep them in a unheated shed in a locked plastic tote for security and spill containment (if that should ever happen). Even my 3% H2O2 doesn't freeze, it just turns to a slush.
Of course, if the acid is heavily diluted with water, freezing is a possibility.
I would personally not bring any kind of acids into the house for the winter. It's full on winter here now and the only things I brought on were the squirt bottles of water and a small glass jar of silver chloride that is kept wet with water.
Everything else sits out. If there is some solution that I fear might break because they were left in glass, I will place those in a plastic tub to catch it just in case.

 

[necromancer]

i was going to type all that info, but most people do not set their location in the profile settings, they may live in the subarctic :?:

 

[heliman4141]

Thanks all,
I feel reassured that I wont find a broken disaster in the buckets now.
The garage stays warmer then outside since its attached to my home, figured that extra protection from snow & the wind would help.
If I refined all yr. long id keep them warm but im shut down.

Dave

 

[Richard NL]

Even my 3% H2O2 doesn't freeze, it just turns to a slush.

Be careful with the liquid from the slush because it is much more concentrated hydrogen peroxide, and much more dangerous.
http://www.goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=17413&p=183319#p183319