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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2008 7:38:09 GMT
Help please. If I google sulphuric acid, it seems to be yet another terroist weapon, so where can I get some pickle, preferably locally? Thanks.
John
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brozier
Part of the e-furniture
Posts: 335
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Post by brozier on Jul 8, 2008 7:49:41 GMT
You might have some in your fridge  Lemon Juice aka Citric acid will do the job albeit a bit slower than sulphuric. You can get powdered citric acid from a number of sources (just add water) I think it's used by home-brewers among others. I've used citric acid as a pickle with no problems though it did get mould on it eventually. Easy to dispose of too.... A quick google search also shows it's used in "bath bombs" whatever they are ;D Look on ebay if you get stuck... Cheers Bryan |
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Post by jgb7573 on Jul 8, 2008 7:51:39 GMT
I got some drain cleaner from B&Q a month or so back that was over 90% Sulphuric. I haven't tried it yet, but it should work when suitably diluted.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2008 7:54:09 GMT
A great friend sent me ten of the world's greatest puns to see which ones would make me laugh. No pun in ten did.....
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Post by Tel on Jul 8, 2008 8:04:08 GMT
I use food grade phosphoric acid.
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Post by circlip on Jul 8, 2008 8:31:04 GMT
Battery Acid.
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Noddy
Statesman
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Post by Noddy on Jul 8, 2008 8:48:41 GMT
Get thee to a farm supplies place:
They probably have four stone bags of citric for about a tenner. It is the main disinfectant used when the crimminally stupid at Pirbright let foot and mouth out.
Phosphoric is sold for de-scaling milk tanks and the associated pipes, it is far cheaper than the stuff sold to boy racers as rust remover.
There are also things like (IIRC) sulphamic acid for de scaling milk tanks.
happy hunting
Keith
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Post by dickdastardly40 on Jul 8, 2008 9:12:41 GMT
Brick work cleaner from a builders merchants (possibly muriatic acid) works but keep a lid on it or you'll get rust every where in your workshop from the fumes (don't ask how I know).
I thought I'd try citric acid so went to the local home brew emporium to be told that as it is used in some sort of drug manufacture by less than desirable sort of customers they and many others including pharmacies no longer stock it.
I did mange to get a couple of small pots of powder from Wilkinson's (national UK chain of allsorts of cack) from their homebrew section, but I've no idea what sort of strength solution to make so experimentation will be required.
Al
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Post by ron on Jul 8, 2008 9:37:25 GMT
I can get battery acid from my local auto-shop, but it's a bit expensive if you need a boiler sized pickle bath!
Ron
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cotswold
Part of the e-furniture
Still testing the water
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Post by cotswold on Jul 8, 2008 9:41:13 GMT
... I thought I'd try citric acid so went to the local home brew emporium to be told that as it is used in some sort of drug manufacture by less than desirable sort of customers they and many others including pharmacies no longer stock it ... They seem more ready to sell it if you are old and wrinkley like me. Isn't it nice to meet ageism in reverse!  |
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michael
Involved Member
No such thing as too much fun
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Post by michael on Jul 8, 2008 9:55:12 GMT
Lots of citric acid available from Ebay.
Michael
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Post by modeng2000 on Jul 8, 2008 9:57:51 GMT
I use drain cleaner that came from my local plumbing supplier.
John
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Post by havoc on Jul 8, 2008 10:07:31 GMT
It rusts everything because it is most likely HCl. Muriatic acid can be found at pool centers (the swimming kind).
I got my sulfuric acid at the car shop. Don't forget to dilute...
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Post by garethp on Jul 8, 2008 10:12:45 GMT
I bought some citric acid (very small container) recently from Wilkinson, its usually kept by customer services. I also got some 'dry pickling salts' from Chronos as well - cant comment on either as I havent yet had time to try them!
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Noddy
Statesman
Posts: 672
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Post by Noddy on Jul 8, 2008 10:13:47 GMT
no idea what sort of strength solution to make so experimentation will be required. Hi Al, I think it was Tel who said "mug full of powder to bucket of water" which sound about right. Go for stronger rather than weaker. The footwash at my old man's gate during the 2001 foot and mouth eff-up was mixed good and strong and took about a year of dilution by rain, and getting carried out on everyone's boots before it diluted enough and started to decompose. if it does start to go mouldy, make the next batch with two or three mug fulls to the bucket. The idea of adding bleach (as oft repeated in ME) is bull. Hypochlorite bleach is strongly alkaline and both decomposes to sodium hydroxide and has sodium hydroxide added to it to stabilise it. adding the bleech to citric (or any other acid, including peeing in it) reacts to neutralise some of the acid (why did you by acid in the first place?) and gives of chlorine gas; poisonous, irritating, and like hydrochloric acid, has no place in or near the workshop unless you like everything coated in everlasting rust... With the chlorine driven off, the bleach is no more use as a preservative , and you've wasted some of your acid too. Just on disposal: citric itself will bio-degrade, but the heavy metals you will load it up with won't, but what the hell, keep it, it will work as copper plating solution... Kath  |
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Noddy
Statesman
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Post by Noddy on Jul 8, 2008 10:24:49 GMT
to be told that as it is used in some sort of drug manufacture by less than desirable sort of customers they and many others including pharmacies no longer stock it. The lengths that the nannies will go to to protect us from our selves! During the various foot and mouth releases outbreaks, the fast food rejects with police powers cooncil trading standards travel round (emitting green house gasses  ) on the vitally important task of testing the foot baths at farm gates, and prosecuting anyone who doesn't have it quite to their taste (allong with anything else they think they can get a prosecution for). Strange though that they didn't warn that we might get junkies visiting too ;D or were they one and the same? Kath (wearing troll suit) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by durhambuilder on Jul 8, 2008 12:02:12 GMT
I use Barrettine 'Knock out' drain cleaner. 96% sulphuric acid at £3.99 litre from my local hardware shop. Dilute about 10:1 and it's pretty effective stuff.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 8, 2008 12:17:15 GMT
Excellent! Thanks for the many responses and it looks like the drain cleaner has won! As my surname is Barrett it'll have to be the namesake....
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Post by dickdastardly40 on Jul 8, 2008 12:34:19 GMT
They seem more ready to sell it if you are old and wrinkley like me. Isn't it nice to meet ageism in reverse! It would be nice to blame inverse ageism on my youthful looks and streetwise attire on his reluctance to sell me the citric acid, but as an over 40 (with fledgling wrinkles or laughter lines as I like to think of them) dressed conservatively in military uniform, I'd like to think he didn't see me as any risk to society, but just doesn't keep it anymore. Al |
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Noddy
Statesman
Posts: 672
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Post by Noddy on Jul 8, 2008 12:35:49 GMT
Sulphuric is a b***er for making holes in your clothes.
The diluting water evaporates off leaving splashes as pretty conc sulphuric.
always add the acid to the water and go very slow. with sulphuric it will happily boil the water
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) on the vitally important task of testing the foot baths at farm gates, and prosecuting anyone who doesn't have it quite to their taste (allong with anything else they think they can get a prosecution for).