RE: MURATIC !
On Thu, 15 Feb 2007, Eric Neilsen wrote: More to the point, I'd say, is that you are experienced with HCL, and because the HCL is one of your regular operations, it also will stay in mind. But I really wan't addressing you... I myself was clueless at the onset, bought it for something oddball I forget now, and did NOT at the time know it's close to "regular" HCL strength... also I was so astonished to get 8 times the quantity for $7 I'd formerly paid something like $30 for -- that also threw me off.Please note that I said, weaker and some. What do I use in my darkroom for these solutions; Glass. Why, because I have it and don't need to worry about parents with their excited kids trying to get the pool able to support a safe swim. Actually the jug of muratic was on the floor, a sturdy old wood floor, over that is a long sluice-like sink made of stainless. Having no idea the acid would "escape" it never occurred to me to think about the "metal" over it.... Besides, stainless is impervious, no? (No.)And if I could suggest other place to store liquids, it would not be on a metal shelf. The metal in your darkroom will conduct the heat faster than wood, and plastics. Unless you keep you facility at a constant temp, you are forcing that bottle to breath more than needed. It was one of those fluke accidents. They were using muriatic to wash down... I suppose old mortar or bricks, or something like that... in a renovation. They had a 15 gallon drum of muriatic, that apparently fell or was knocked over onto its side when they left the job about 4 PM. The workman who closed it probably hadn't screwed the cap on well -- it came off. (Fortunately) the thing wasn't full, but it did slow leak muriatic onto the hall floor for about 16 hours, til we opened the hall door next morning. The acid was 1 to 2 inches deep over a floor area about 8 by 10 feet...... and seeping into my darkroom in the cellar directly below.Sorry to hear about your contractors> misstep. I nearly came to blows with the Hazmat chief, who *forbade* us to go into the cellar to rescue some of my equipment. So we closed the hall door and Sainted Husband sprinted down and hauled the enlarger to safety in the rear space; & I took up other equipment in the line of drip... Now do you want to hear about the pigeon trapped in the fireplace? We had that twice .... even with chimney covers... The pigeons like the challenge. Then they get trapped in the former fireplaces that are cemented up... one drove my daughter crazy flapping and thrashing for a week right next to her computer. She finally hired a guy to break open the fireplace... in about 10 minutes he'd reached in, grabbed the pigeon and thrown it out the window. Then he spent the next two days "patching" the fireplace & managed to stop up the drain washing cement off his tools. Drain had to be replaced, breaking another pipe next to it. (So muriatic is less trouble than pigeons.) J. > Eric Neilsen Photography 4101 Commerce Street Suite 9 Dallas, TX 75226 http://e.neilsen.home.att.net http://ericneilsenphotography.com Skype ejprinter-----Original Message----- From: Judy Seigel [mailto:jseigel@panix.com] Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 11:57 PM To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca Subject: MURATIC ! On Wed, 14 Feb 2007, Eric Neilsen wrote:Bob, you'll notice that they sell HCL/muriatic acid in plastic bottles.Ithink you're safe there. Highly concentrated acid should be in glass,butweaker mixes you are ok with some plastics.I've mentioned this several times on the list, which apparently didn't register. I'd say Caveat Emptor, except I'm so tender hearted I say it again. First, yes, "muriatic" is for all practical purposes as strong as HCL, tho it's not lab grade, but the fact that they sell it in plastic is for their convenience, not any sign that it's safe ... unless it's in that (green?) plastic specially made for such things, which has a name somebody will remember. (Tho I suppose some suppliers may dilute the muriatic, but don't count on it.) I bought a gallon of muriatic in a nice heavy plastic container & set it under my stainless steel sink... used about half of it & let it sit... some time later (don't remember how long but with things like this, obviously, TIME FLIES!), noticed that the cover was eaten through, the metal all around was corroded, and it looked like if I blew on it the entire jar would collapse. I took it outside & blah blah blah, but I would NEVER again 1. buy a gallon, or that much more than I would use in a few months. 2. store it in plastic, unless "dedicated" plastic. 3. Spill a barrel of it in our hall over my darkroom as some contractors did many years ago. (My darkroom ceiling where it spilled through is still crumbling). Though the 5 firetrucks and the hazard sqad eclipsed the Saturday morning TV cartoons for entertainment on the block so it wasn't a total loss. Which is to say, IME, muriatic is dandy for being so cheap, but otherwise needs handling as HCL. Judy
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