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making potassium (per) chlorate


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Posted (edited)

"I'll be working on attaching filled tubular titanium leads to my Pt and LD anodes tomorrow so I can get started on my perchlorate runs this month."

 

So much for good intentions. I finally got to work on one of my perchlorate anodes, a small platinized titanium electrode sold for precious metal plating.

 

post-9734-0-79173700-1413773621_thumb.jpg

 

I cut the strap off with aircraft shears and spot welded a CP titanium tubular lead on. I still need to make a pair of CP titanium cathodes and connect them to another tubular lead. Next I'll set up a small cell with lab grade NaClO3 solution and run it with the small power supply I just got, and see how, or if, it holds up. We'll see...

 

WSM B)

 

Edit: I also plan to do the same with an LD anode I have and see how it works, as well.

Edited by WSM
Posted

They say "the road to hell is pawed with good intentions" but i don't think this is what they meant. Your still good. I'll be waiting, and looking forward to the LD tests.

B!

Posted

:P "pawed" I got the image of a million cats running down the yellow brick road, MAN do I need a cup of coffee!

Posted

So it's supposed to be what? Paved? *shrugs* Fooled by my (Firefox's) dictionary. I can live with that, even if it was a unintended joke.

B!

Posted

So it's supposed to be what? Paved? *shrugs* Fooled by my (Firefox's) dictionary. I can live with that, even if it was a unintended joke.

B!

 

It WAS funnier for sure. I am curious though about your statement, do you feel that making your own chlorate or perchlorate is a fools endeavor?

Posted (edited)

No, i was only suggesting that he should take his time, the testing it self, and sharing the information, is, at least to me, more important, then the time frame. Sure, it wont help me "now" if it's done "then" but it's still going to help someone. Even if i end up buying black market perch for my colors.

B!

Edited by MrB
Posted (edited)

I have a ton of work to do, and various related projects, but time, weather and the phase of the moon, seem to hedge up the way. I'll get to it, but it'll take some time. Writing the Homegrown Oxidizers articles for the PGI Bulletin has pushed me forward on these projects, so that's a good thing!

I keep working on various components so they're ready when I need them. I also need to learn how to convert the articles I've been writing into blogs, so they can be read and critiqued here at APC.

WSM B)

Edited by WSM
Posted (edited)

"No, i was only suggesting that he should take his time, the testing it self, and sharing the information, is, at least to me, more important, then the time frame. Sure, it wont help me "now" if it's done "then" but it's still going to help someone. Even if i end up buying black market perch for my colors.

B!"

 

WSM? Oh, I think you may have the wrong impression, this is not his first cell just the first of this kind. He has been doing this a very long time and if you allow him to, he will talk about it for hours as he is a very detailed person and does not hurry in any way.

Edited by dagabu
Posted

Unlike most, or all other sources i've read, where the threshold for what you have to understand simply is to high for me, i'm not that interested in the details about how, or why, just "what" i need to do to make it work, and what it takes to stay (reasonably) safe. WSM has, so far, been able to write stuff that covers this quite nicely.

 

Look, i'm having a hard enough time just to figure out what goes with what to make what result when i do pyro. (Hardly a secret. The chemistry is way beyond me, thats why i'm using someone else's formulas for everything.) (Per)chlorate production is nothing but a means to an end. Ideally i could/would buy a black box that you feed with a bucket of water, a paper-bag with "mystery powder" and connect the power, and on the other side the product comes out as a dried and cleaned powder. We all know thats not going to happen, but all the stuff in-between isn't really anything i'm interested in understanding in detail, i look for a reasonably effective way to do it, along with the signs to look out for to know if something went wrong, and what to do if it happens.

 

Hell, thats the only reason i follow these threads anyway. He's been reincarnating a bunch of cells, alongside with a few other players who had their experiments, and they have all been nice enough to share the experiences they made, here.

B!

Posted

I am with you B, I have no clue what Swede and WSM have talked about over the years either but I love to see the hardware and the workarounds when problems are encountered.

Posted

Unlike most, or all other sources i've read, where the threshold for what you have to understand simply is to high for me, i'm not that interested in the details about how, or why, just "what" i need to do to make it work, and what it takes to stay (reasonably) safe. WSM has, so far, been able to write stuff that covers this quite nicely.

 

Look, i'm having a hard enough time just to figure out what goes with what to make what result when i do pyro. (Hardly a secret. The chemistry is way beyond me, thats why i'm using someone else's formulas for everything.) (Per)chlorate production is nothing but a means to an end. Ideally i could/would buy a black box that you feed with a bucket of water, a paper-bag with "mystery powder" and connect the power, and on the other side the product comes out as a dried and cleaned powder. We all know thats not going to happen, but all the stuff in-between isn't really anything i'm interested in understanding in detail, i look for a reasonably effective way to do it, along with the signs to look out for to know if something went wrong, and what to do if it happens.

 

Hell, thats the only reason i follow these threads anyway. He's been reincarnating a bunch of cells, alongside with a few other players who had their experiments, and they have all been nice enough to share the experiences they made, here.

B!

 

++1!

Posted

Hey! I understood the whole thing about Poke you eye out or something like that by Swede. And that is why I keep my eyes covered when I do fireworks. :D ...........Pat

Posted (edited)

Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen.

 

Since I can't make fireworks where I live, I've switched my main focus to making raw materials. I'm sure I'll move on to fuels, binders and color donors, when my series on Homegrown Oxidizers is done (Oh NO, not real chemistry! Aaargh! ;) ).

 

WSM B)

Edited by WSM
Posted (edited)

I've received a couple nice things purchased on eBay recently, a regulated power supply that runs on 120 Vac and outputs 5 Vdc and 55 A. I figure it'll supply an anode that demands 44 A continuously without any problem.

 

I also got a single digital panel meter that displays both DC voltage and current at the same time with a different color LED for each. The smaller size (a little over 1" x 1.75") surprised me but it looks great. It's range is 0-100 V and 0-100 A, one blue and the other red. It also comes with the shunt for the ammeter. It looks like it should fit into a 2" x 4" x 4" plasic electrical box and only require the power (5-30Vdc) to run the meter displays, to go into the bottom of the box when wall-mounted; and the power coming from the power supply connecting to one side, going through the box and connecting to the cell on the other side.

 

I think I can arrange the display box to accomodate any setup that doesn't go beyond the rating of the display unit. I'll post photos later.

 

WSM B)

Edited by WSM
  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Today, I just submitted part seven of my series on Homegrown Oxidizers for publication in the PGI Bulletin. It has to do with making perchlorates on an amateur scale. This part is theoretical and preparatory in nature and part eight will show some running perchlorate cells (if all goes according to plan). If you're a PGI member, please comment here. Thanks.

 

WSM B)

Posted

Your enthusiasm is amazing. To bad we who aren't PGI members "only" get to share your experience from the forum. But you've been very kind and sharing. Keep at it!

(The enthusiastic research & development bits, that is.)

Did you ever get to play around with the lead dioxide anode?

B!

Posted

Would there be any reasons as to why you could not post it in the full finish form here a APC. I do think that there are those that would enjoy reading it as just here on this form. I for one would love to see your finish works..........Pat

Posted

Your enthusiasm is amazing. To bad we who aren't PGI members "only" get to share your experience from the forum. But you've been very kind and sharing. Keep at it!

(The enthusiastic research & development bits, that is.)

Did you ever get to play around with the lead dioxide anode?

B!

 

Thanks. I'll keep it up as long as I can. If I can I'll post the articles as blogs.

 

LD? Not yet but hopefully soon (before the end of the year if all goes well).

 

WSM B)

Posted

Would there be any reasons as to why you could not post it in the full finish form here a APC. I do think that there are those that would enjoy reading it as just here on this form. I for one would love to see your finish works..........Pat

 

I'll see what I can do. I'd like to see if I can figure out how to post them as blog entries. If not, maybe here in this thread? They may be too long if I do that though. We'll see...

 

WSM B)

Posted
Use the blog pls, if you post them here they will go missing in the 150 pages
Posted

Maybe making perc with LD is as simple as putting a cat in a box...

Posted (edited)

Maybe making perc with LD is as simple as putting a cat in a box...

Or herding cats?

 

The more I study the subject, the more I think success will depend on gaining enough understanding about the LD (or any perchlorate anode) to create the best conditions that'll optimize it's use (and not abuse it). I think the generation of ozone is indicative of a less-than-ideal setup (chlorate level too low), for example.

 

Hopefully, we learn the proper care and feeding of these things before we destroy too many of them.

 

WSM B)

Edited by WSM
Posted

Use the blog pls, if you post them here they will go missing in the 150 pages

 

 

Or maybe some enticement for people to actually read all 150+ pages.

Posted

 

 

Or maybe some enticement for people to actually read all 150+ pages.

I did that. But it's a freaking pain to remember where something was mentioned, when you try and wrap your head around it. A more "user friendly" format wouldn't be bad. Dropping something like that in the "blogs" section wouldn't suck.

But i'm sure there is a way to obtain the BGI bulletin's as well. Might want to refrain from publishing it elsewhere until those that would get the PGI stuff have had a go at getting it that route, just as a support gesture for the PGI.

B!

Posted (edited)

Or maybe some enticement for people to actually read all 150+ pages.

That would be great for a historical perspective, and help track our thinking along the way. It would be no small thing to read all of this.

 

We're still learning as we go.

 

WSM B)

Edited by WSM
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