ferric chloride disposal

[rhdwave]

I just finished etching my neovibe board    This has been my first etching and i am extremely happy with the results! Everything looks great.  I used pnp blue off a photocopier and then filled in any missing traces first with a sharpie and then with nail polish on top of that.  I have to say, i think in retrospect the sharpie would have been sufficient, however the ferric chloride i was using was kind of old and possibly weaker (not sure if it loses strength over time).  Anyway, i scrubbed off the remaining pnp blue and other etch resist and wola, all traces look great!!!

Anyway, i poured the ferric chloride remains back in the bottle.  I have a couple of questions now.

First, can i reuse this ferric chloride?

Second, i used a couple of plastic chinese food containers filled with water to dip my board in to check the etch job and then finally when all was finished, to remove the excess ferric chloride.  These containers obviously contain some ferric chloride, but it's i'd say 90% water.  Can i dump this down the drain or should i try and neutralize it with baking soda.  I wouldn't have even posted this, would have simply tried the baking soda, but i'm not sure how it's going to do with so much water in there. 

[96ecss]

Hi, for that small amount of ferric chloride, I would just flush it down the toilet.

There is some good info about ethant tanks and re-using etchant in this thread http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=58788.0. I use a pickle jar and I re-use the etchant. I've done about 15 pcb's in it and it's still going strong.

Dave

[rhdwave]

Thanks Dave!

I will reuse it then.  And, yes i was reading the posts in the link you provided.  Definately some interesting ideas for etching tanks etc.  Also, i know what you mean about having no electronic stores around here.  I live in the Bronx and i've checked around...just like you said, only Radioshack (which can come in handy sometimes), but even there, depending on which location you go to, there may or may not be components on site. 

Thanks again! Happy etching...

[96ecss]

I do keep a plastic Chinese food container near my etchant tank with water in it. I drop the etched pcb's in it to take to the sink for rinsing.

Dave

[km-r]

drain it down the river id say! just kidding...
i reuse my ferrics until they are grow impotent in etching copper, i mean, when i notice it would take a hell lot of time to etch a certain board, id throw it afterwards... btw, i mean throw that id keep them in their containers and well, "keep" em... like those radioactive dudes do to residue uranium plutonium stuff...

[Mark Hammer]

Best storage method would be to usxe a tall slender container.  That way all the silt remains at the bottom and and you can gently pour the clear portion into another container for etching.  You'd be surprised how many etches you can get off one small batch of ferric chloride if you keep it clean, eliminate the sludge and warm it up a bit.

Drips and drops here and there are fine, but if it's enough fluid to etch a board, it's enough to etch plumbing...and worse.  De-activate if you need to.  Just keep in mind that when baking soda is mixed with etchant, it increases in volume very quickly and by about 6-8x, so make sure you do it in a container that can hold that volume.