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making potassium (per) chlorate


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Posted

Thankyou...

Setting up chlorate cell in next couple days, will update with results

Posted

Dropping 50litres of weak chlorate into a small village sewage system would kill the bio activity and be very bad. the same 50l in a big urban drain system would be less of a problem.

 

Weak chlorate should be harvested, not disposed of. Flushing it down the drain should not be an option. Another, better idea is to add sodium chloride to concentrate the chloride levels in the depleted electrolyte and do another run. The same can be said for a potassium chlorate cell.

 

Salt solution (NaCl) can be disposed of, and the sewer system can handle that just fine in the modest amounts we're likely to produce.

 

WSM B)

Posted

Maybe dump the waste chlorate onto plants you really don't want around... you know like sidewalk cracks and other places that shouldn't have vegetation. They're pretty effective at killing weeds.

Posted

Maybe dump the waste chlorate onto plants you really don't want around... you know like sidewalk cracks and other places that shouldn't have vegetation. They're pretty effective at killing weeds.

 

Use caution if applying chlorates to kill weeds. Chlorates (especially sodium chlorate) is an indiscriminate herbicide, and will kill all plants, from the friendly plants to noxious weeds. If spraying a solution, overspray can be a serious problem.

 

WSM B)

Posted

In a major conurbation a small quantity of chlorate (etc) containing waste wouldn't be a problem, but in a small place the waste water treatment plant may not like it.

Posted (edited)

Here is the finished cell ready to go.

I just charged the cell with saturated NaCl solution and started it up. 5 minutes later I moved the power supply to the side and one of the new wires must have been shit because it sparked and died.

Now I have to wait for another 5 volt 20 amp power supply before I even start the first run:(

post-20755-0-03365000-1476793343_thumb.jpg

Edited by greenlight
Posted

In a major conurbation a small quantity of chlorate (etc) containing waste wouldn't be a problem, but in a small place the waste water treatment plant may not like it.

 

True, but you already said that.

 

WSM B)

Posted (edited)

Here is the finished cell ready to go.

I just charged the cell with saturated NaCl solution and started it up. 5 minutes later I moved the power supply to the side and one of the new wires must have been shit because it sparked and died.

Now I have to wait for another 5 volt 20 amp power supply before I even start the first run:(

 

This looks like a nice, simple setup.

 

When you say new wires, do you mean the leads to the cell or something in the power supply? If the supply failed, they're usually protected with one or more fuses, internally if not accessible from the outside. If you have a digital multimeter, you can test for continuity through the fuse with the ohm setting (isolate the fuse first).

 

Good luck and let us know how things work out.

 

WSM B)

 

Edit: Do you plan to put a vent in the cell lid?

Edited by WSM
Posted

The new wires are the leads to the anofe and cathode.

I thought someone may ask that, I put a vant pupie in the lid after the photo was taken

Posted

make sure you keep your power supply a ways away from your cell, anything close will corrode, i found out the hard way.

 

memo

Posted

make sure you keep your power supply a ways away from your cell, anything close will corrode, i found out the hard way.

memo

 

A wise precaution. A separation by either space or barrier will help prevent physical damage to the power supply.

 

WSM B)

Posted

The new wires are the leads to the anofe and cathode.

I thought someone may ask that, I put a vant pupie in the lid after the photo was taken

 

In what manner did the wire spark so as to compromise your power supply? Or, did the power supply itself spark?

 

WSM B)

Posted

The power supply itself sparked so I think it's screwed.

I put another one on order today

Posted (edited)

The power supply itself sparked so I think it's screwed.

I put another one on order today

I would open the case and get a good look at the controlling circuit board. Look for a fuse (either clip-in or pigtail type), and test it with a continuity tester.

 

Also, you can look for physical damage on the discreet components, for a clue as to what to replace.

 

Why not? You've got nothing to lose.

 

Good luck.

 

WSM B)

Edited by WSM
Posted

Okay I not that good with electronics but I will open it up and have a look.

If it is completely busted I have another on the way so not to worry. As soon as it comes I will hopefully run it successfully

Posted

Okay I not that good with electronics but I will open it up and have a look.

If it is completely busted I have another on the way so not to worry. As soon as it comes I will hopefully run it successfully

Let us know what it looks like or what you see. If you can test it with a digital multimeter (DMM), that would help diagnose the cause and point to a possible repair.

 

Good luck.

 

WSM B)

Posted

Pull the cover and post a pic.

Posted
I have a couple questions making potassium chlorate (perchlorate) First let me say I have no intentions on hynacking this tread, but I have a couple questions. Is one better to start off with a sodium chloride or potassium chloride solution? I have been reading so many articles it has become confusing to me.
Posted

I have a couple questions making potassium chlorate (perchlorate) First let me say I have no intentions on hynacking this tread, but I have a couple questions. Is one better to start off with a sodium chloride or potassium chloride solution? I have been reading so many articles it has become confusing to me.

 

The simplest and most direct (readily usable) oxidizer to make is potassium chlorate from potassium chloride. The others are more involved.

 

If you read the blogs I've posted in the blog section here, you'll get an idea of what's involved. After that (if you still want to pursue making oxidizers), ask questions here and join the discussion.

 

WSM B)

Posted (edited)

This thread with 4344 posts is intimidating to newcomers!

First read Swede's blog http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/blog/2-youll-put-your-eye-out/ then you will have some idea where to start to do things.

then read http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/7729-the-bucket-cell-start-to-finish.

only then, start on the first pages of this thread http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/1629-making-potassium-per-chlorate which has taken several turns and twists in the tortuous path to cheap and easy oxidisers. And like any long discussion hasn't always stayed on track as no two participants have the same ideas of better and best, and participants have assorted personal skills and tools to bring to the discussion. Add to that, that some of the participants are no longer even active forum members, and cannot be contacted.

Edited by Arthur
Posted

This thread with 4344 posts is intimidating to newcomers!

First read Swede's blog http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/blog/2-youll-put-your-eye-out/ then you will have some idea where to start to do things.

then read http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/7729-the-bucket-cell-start-to-finish.

only then, start on the first pages of this thread http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/1629-making-potassium-per-chlorate which has taken several turns and twists in the tortuous path to cheap and easy oxidisers. And like any long discussion hasn't always stayed on track as no two participants have the same ideas of better and best, and participants have assorted personal skills and tools to bring to the discussion. Add to that, that some of the participants are no longer even active forum members, and cannot be contacted.

I agree, there is much more material available to read on the subject than what I suggested. I felt reading the entire (per)chlorate thread was daunting when it was only thirty pages long, let alone 200+ pages.

 

To assist you, tell us which country you're in (which will give us an idea of what materials might be available to work with). We can proceed from there...

 

WSM B)

Posted

I got nearly halfway through it before I posted haha.

 

I will take the cover off and post a pic tomorrow

Posted
I'm in the US, theirs just so much out there it's mind blowing. And some of which I have doubts on working. Kind of like all the videos on YouTube where colored smoke is as easy as crayons, sugar and KN03.
Posted

Swede's original intention was to provide pyros with a route to perc should it be commercially unavailable in a particular area. So far, few people have the interest or inclination or engineering skills to assist in the development work that Swede handed over to us. Sodium and Potassium Chlorates are now easy to make at home, perchlorates less so.

Posted

perchlorates require anodes that are either expensive (platinum) and a pain to work with, or LD which could be cheap but nobody makes them commercially, so it means we'd have to make it ourselves and that requires some serious lab equipment. In the US it makes little sense since it's readily available so anyone doing it is only doing it to show they could do it. The other problem is you can't just use a computer power supply to power a perchlorate cell because I've tried it and fried a bunch of anodes... it pushes too little current at 5v and way too much at 12v (which would destroy most power supplies)

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