rangus Posted August 15 Posted August 15 Kind of weird question. I have a sealed plastic tub for my pyro chemicals, and when I open it up after a few days of being sealed, I get hit with this really pungent foul odor. I can only describe it as smelling chemically as I can’t find anything to compare it to. I am a believer in the seal on the plastic because I cannot smell it at all until the lid is removed. In the tub is KNO3, KClO4, and in a separate plastic container inside the tub I have titanium sponge, aluminum, and sulfur. (I know it’s not a great idea to keep these all in close proximity but they are each double bagged in heavy duty plastic zipper bags and separated by hdpe plastic) Does anyone have any idea what this awful smell is?
Crazy Swede Posted August 15 Posted August 15 If your chemicals are decently pure, there should not be any kind of strong scent. Maybe it is the container itself, and/or the plastic baggies, that give off the odour? If your chemicals are less pure than what is considered technical quality, it can be anything. Do you have access to litmus paper or pH strips? If so, leave one of those in a small cup or on a small plate inside the closed tub for at least a week and check for colour change. If it is not acidic there is probably no real problem. 1
Arthur Posted August 15 Posted August 15 Likely it's a smell from something contaminating something else inside the outer bucket. 1
rangus Posted August 16 Author Posted August 16 21 hours ago, Crazy Swede said: If your chemicals are decently pure, there should not be any kind of strong scent. Maybe it is the container itself, and/or the plastic baggies, that give off the odour? If your chemicals are less pure than what is considered technical quality, it can be anything. Do you have access to litmus paper or pH strips? If so, leave one of those in a small cup or on a small plate inside the closed tub for at least a week and check for colour change. If it is not acidic there is probably no real problem. I don’t have test strips but I do have one of those digital pH meters for brewing wine, not sure how accurate it is. Why should I worry about acid being formed?
rangus Posted August 16 Author Posted August 16 10 hours ago, FrankRizzo said: None of those chemicals should be producing an odor. Yeah that’s what I was thinking. Everything was purchased FWC so I am pretty sure it is all relatively pure. I am a bit more concerned now since you agree that they “shouldn’t” be creating any odor.
Crazy Swede Posted August 16 Posted August 16 Because only acidic reactions products could cause real long term instability. Of course really high pH is bad too, just less common. 1
rangus Posted August 16 Author Posted August 16 (edited) 24 minutes ago, Crazy Swede said: Because only acidic reactions products could cause real long term instability. Of course really high pH is bad too, just less common. That makes sense. I will leave some water in there to see if I get any increase in hydronium over a week or so. Do you think there is any possibility of H2S forming? Edited August 16 by rangus
Zumber Posted August 16 Posted August 16 take all chemicals out of tub, dry KNO3 separately in sun for a day or two it can absorb moisture, KCLO4 Dont absorb moisture much but still dry it for 2 hours.....replace all poly bags with new bags and dry your container from inside in a sun.....then store Oxidizer and Fuels in Separate Containers. Store Container in dry place.
Soloserly Posted August 27 Posted August 27 On 8/14/2024 at 10:42 PM, rangus said: ...Does anyone have any idea what this awful smell is? You mentioned that you have aluminum stored in there, is any of it bright flake aluminum? To keep it "bright" it is often coated with "Stearin." Since this is derived from beef tallow can go bad and smell pretty rancid. I have some personal experience with this. 🫢. I live in a very warm environment and had it stored in a hot storage shed.
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