Best way to clean elements before assembly?
 

On Mar 14, 8:31 pm, Roy Lewallen wrote:


Calcium carbonate (Na2CO3), aka "washing soda", is sold at paint stores
as "TSP substitute". It's not as alkaline as lye (pH over 13), but with
a pH of 11.5 for a few percent solution it's still pretty darn alkaline.
Would it work in place of lye?

Don't see why not. Might just have to soak it longer. Fresh lye
works pretty fast and as it becomes depleted it takes longer, so this
would be about the same situation.

I'm not a chemist and don't profess any special knowledge of this
process other than what Iearned eons ago in the "chem lab" in our
engineering lab. We used to do our own aluminum passivation
(Alodine), silver and gold plating and so forth. For example, here's
one of the two-meter amps I've built:

http://k6mhe.com/n7ws/K7CVT_Amp_6.jpg

(Sorry about the quality of the image, this is scanned from an old
snapshot I took just before I polished it up and sold it.)

Before that I worked in my dad's automotive machine shop, where we had
a caustic hot tank for degreasing parts. You learned real fast to not
leave any VW parts in there overnight because the next day, you didn't
have any.

Best way to clean elements before assembly?
 

Wes wrote:
On Mar 14, 8:15 pm, wrote:
Wes wrote:
On Mar 10, 9:41 pm, Tehrasha Darkon wrote:
I have become the new owner of a KT-34XA which has never been deployed.

Original owner bought it 3 years ago, and it has lay on the floor of his car
port ever since. So it has been subjected to rain, bird poo and mice. The
main elements (mainly the boom) show the signs weathering. Very dull gray and
an almost dusty texture.

What would be the best thing to use to clean the elements, before grease and
assembly?

I've discussed my method before in this group. DAGS for "wes cleaning
aluminum" for the writeup.
Unfortunately, in my location the meth labs were using lots of lye so
we can't buy it at Ace Hardware anymore.

If you are talking about Red Devil brand lye, it is because Red Devil
got out of the lye business due to lack of profits in it.

Yes. It's hard to make a profit when a lot of stores have pulled it
from their shelves.

Now the meth heads have to mail order it:

http://www.boyercorporation.com/

Not really.

Found at the local Lowes home improvement store, Roebic Crystal
Drain Opener. Ingrediants, 100% sodium hydroxide.

None of the local supermarkets which all used to carry Red Devil lye
any longer have anything like that.

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

Best way to clean elements before assembly?
 

Calcium carbonate (Na2CO3), aka "washing soda"....

Interesting. CALCIUM carbonate with NO calcium in it!-)
Just sodium, carbon, and oxygen!
(table salt = NaCl = sodium chloride)
Is that where the "soda" part of the "washing soda" name comes from?

--
--Myron A. Calhoun; W0PBV; 2001 Dunbar Road; Manhattan, KS 66502-3907
Five boxes preserve our freedoms: soap, ballot, witness, jury, and cartridge
NRA Life Member & Certified Instructor for Rifle, Pistol, & Home Firearm Safety
Also Certified Instructor for the Kansas Concealed-Carry Handgun (CCH) license

Best way to clean elements before assembly?
 

Best way to clean elements before assembly?
 

Roy Lewallen wrote:

Mea culpa. I did indeed type "calcium carbonate", while of course
the "TSP substitute" - "washing soda" - is *sodium* carbonate. At
least I gave the correct formula. I apologize for the error. Yes,
I'm sure the "soda" is from sodium, as in "caustic soda" which is
sodium hydroxide (lye) and "baking soda", which is sodium
bicarbonate.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

I've used washing soda in laundy. It is very alkaline, but I'm not
sure it would have much effect on aluminum.

Sodium hydroxide, NaOH, definitely eats aluminum. I use it in
various applications around the lab. Red Devil is no longer
available due to the meth heads, but I found a private Loblaws brand
that works just as good. The ingredients on the label are sodium
hydroxide, sodium silicate, and chlorine bleach.

You can tell the approximate strength by pouring a bit in a glass
and adding some canning salt. If the salt doesn't want to dissolve,
the solution is pretty much saturated at above 32%. Also, when you
first open it, you might notice a small wisp of condensation above
the lip, and a strong pungent smell.

If you let some dry on a glass surface, it is a bit difficult to
wash off with plain water, and has a soapy feel. If you add vinegar
to a dry portion, it instantly neutralizes the hydroxide to sodium
acetate and water. The equation is

CH3COOH(aq) + NaOH(aq) -- CH3COONa(aq) + H2O(l)

Of course, it should be stressed this stuff is very dangerous and
requires all the precautions for corrosive chemicals. As you know,
it will eat holes in your skin. It doesn't hurt much since it also
destroys the pain cells, but they take a long time to heal. Some
eyeglasses are made with a plastic that dissolves with NaOH. A few
drops in your eye can cause permanent blindess in seconds, so wear
protective glasses.

Good luck!

Regards,

Mike Monett