just had an etchant spill

[Brian Marshall]

I'm having an all over bad day.  I get home from a bad day at work.  open up my new etchant tank from circuit specialists, and am dissappointed that the tank is basically a tall skinny piece of tupperware.  I bought it because it was "sealable" but you have to remove the heater to seal it, so whats the point.  anyways enough on that.

I set it up, and get my boards ready.  I go to fill it up with etchant from a 1 gallon container.  I start filling it, and after i get a little less than a quart in there i notice that my bench is turning black..... then i realize my bench isnt turning black.... THAT'S ETCHANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  all in all i lost about a cup of it, and it seeped back behind my bench which is made out of 2x4's and plywood, and secured to the wall.  the etchant ran down a metal square, and level i had sitting on the side of it, and ruined both of them pretty quickly.  luckilly i was somewhat prepared, and had lots of rags and baking soda on hand.

What really makes me mad is their was a small fracture on the bottom of it that it leaked out of, and the overall quality of the tank is maluable, but brittle.  i was able to chip little pieces off of it with little effort.  This is my 2nd tank, and the first one died because i left the heater on.  that was my fault.  this one i didnt even get one use out of, and felt ripped off the second i looked at it.  

here's a link to the tank i bought... i would not recomend it. http://circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/4232

Brian

[Travis]

Damn, that sucks.  I've never been too happy with the look or feel of those tanks.  I used tupperware until I saw a $10 "dutch oven" (or some such), made for all day cooking.  

Sizes big enough to do fairly large boards (for our purposes, about the Neovibe size) are pretty cheap and readily available.  

I set the temp low, and my boards get finished fast.  A big funnel allows easy disposal of etchant.  

The only thing I haven't found is one of the chem lab whirligigs for the bottom of beakers, etc.  This might be because of the way I ask for them.

[Alex C]

The only thing I haven't found is one of the chem lab whirligigs for the bottom of beakers, etc.  This might be because of the way I ask for them.

Yes!  I know what you mean!  My high school physics teacher helped get me started with DIY stuff, and he always got to use the school's science equipment for his projects.  That means hotplate, agitator, beakers, tongs, EVERYTHING.  Back then I was using my mom's tupperware, hair dryer, and kitchen tools.  

Alex

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

The only thing I haven't found is one of the chem lab whirligigs for the bottom of beakers, etc.  This might be because of the way I ask for them.

"magnetic stirrer" may be the magic word.. though I think a bubbler would be miles better for what we do.

I've never heard of one of those etchant tanks cracking before, did the parcel look like it was crushed? Personally, I hate etching, but I was happy with the one from Dick Smith here in Oz.

[RobB]

Hobbyists don’t need fancy equipment to etch small PBCs that will fit into a stompbox.  I use disposable food containers like these.  
http://www.thaiplas.com/product3.html
Pour in about 15mm (1/2 inch of water that has just boiled,  add 1 level table spoon of  Ammonium Persulphate, lid on and slosh.  Most boards etch in less than 5 minutes.  
Haven’t had an accident yet but I do leave the cold water running just in case I need to quickly wipe up a spill with a sponge.

[Mark Hammer]

I spilt a tupperware container of half-used etchant on the basement floor of our old place.  Had to dump a couple of boxes of baking soda on it to de-activate the spill and be able to sweep most of it up (the soda will turn rusty and be dry).  THEN I had to take my sander, some 60-grit paper and grind down the cement floor over a couple of evenings to get rid of the stain.  Feh!!! :x  :x  :x

You have my sympathies.  Ferric chloride is a bit like having a great wife/girlfriend who will do everything you want in the kitchen and in bed with gusto...but could just as easily set your car on fire, take your credit cards, and leave town with your best friend.  Great when it works, but.......

[Peter Snowberg]

Sorry to hear of your spill experience Brian. I had a patio that was much worse for the wear after a still..... something like Mark's experience but without the restoration stage.

Mark, I'm never going to be able to think of my ex again without thinking of FeCl3.

[Ge_Whiz]

When I was a kid, I did an electroplating experiment of my own devising - figured that if copper sulphate could be used for copper plating, then iron sulphate could be used for iron plating...

It worked, but en route I spilt some of the plating solution, and, being a kid, wiped it up with my handkerchief which I then placed in my trouser pocket. Two days later, Mum did the washing. Result? Hanky in rags... huge hole through trouser pocket to the outside world... one pair of underpants dissolved into holes... Good chemistry, lesson learned.

[Hal]

When I was a kid, I did an electroplating experiment of my own devising - figured that if copper sulphate could be used for copper plating, then iron sulphate could be used for iron plating...

It worked, but en route I spilt some of the plating solution, and, being a kid, wiped it up with my handkerchief which I then placed in my trouser pocket. Two days later, Mum did the washing. Result? Hanky in rags... huge hole through trouser pocket to the outside world... one pair of underpants dissolved into holes... Good chemistry, lesson learned.

same thing happened to my friend who sat in some acid or something in chem class.  It was kinda funny :-D


That sucks about the spill.  When you spend money on something like that, you expect it to work BETTER than tupperware, not worse  :? Try e-mailing circuitspecialists - maybe you can get something out of it ?

[Brian Marshall]

Sizes big enough to do fairly large boards (for our purposes, about the Neovibe size) are pretty cheap and readily available.  

.

Well i dont just build one pedal at a time.  I use 15x25cm sized boards, and make pedals for resale.  Usually if i want to make a one of a kind for my self, i usually get the baord for GGG.com.

[Travis]

Right.  I have a small plastic rack above the unit, and the PCB's hang from it.  I usually do batches of boards; 10-20 boards, c. 5 at a time.

Neovibe was just a reference for size.

Thanks, Paul.  Bubbler it is.  That will really help my cause.