[sdiy] PCB etching and safety

[harrybissell]

After the recent "UPS Sucks" thread on AH... why not put the
FeCl in plastic bottles and UPS ship it somewhere...

... that it will probably never arrive at. Be sure to not leave any return
address or it will probably be called a Te**o*ist attack and you will
go to a place where they do "DIY" on you....

... (blonde mode off...)

H^) harry

patchell wrote:

>     I solve the problem by not doing any home etching...and 30 years ago, when I
> did do it, well, I just poured it down the drain...since then I have learned
> different...the biggest problem with dumping FeCl down the drain isn't the
> FeCl...but the CuCl you get after you use it.  Copper is very toxic to the little
> bugs that digest the sewage.  A friend of mine used to run a PC board
> shop...although he used Hydrogen Peroxide-Sulfuric Acid to etch boards, he had the
> same problem...removing the Copper from the waste etchant.  In theory, FeCl would
> need to be hauled away by a toxic waste disposal company...
>
>     I am also not sure how using FeCl would conflict with our local zoning
> laws...I do know that I am violating local zoning laws by just having a Lathe and
> Milling machine in my garage (according to the local Zoning Law Nazis that makes
> me a manufacturer in a residential zone).  Although, tracing FeCl back to its
> source in a residential area would be tough.
>
> Ian Fritz wrote:
>
> > Jim --
> >
> > So ... what *do* you do with it?
> >
> > I've heard of mixing it into some concrete, but I think it could still
> > leach out over time.
> >
> >    Ian
> >
> > At 11:24 PM 1/7/2003, patchell wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Don't pour the spent Ferric Chl down the drain, it will melt your pipes.
> > >
> > >     Good advice from an environmental standpoint, it is not at all good for
> > >your septic tank (if you have one), and the people at the sewage treatment
> > >plant will get upset if they knew you did that.
> > >
> > >     As far as melting your pipes?...actually I have a funny story about
> > >that.  One of the places I worked for about 20 years ago would DIY PC boards
> > >for prototypes, and they used FeCl.  They would pour the stuff down the
> > >bathroom sink.  The drain pipe (trap) was Chrome Plated Brass pipe.  One day
> > >I noticed that the trap was dripping...I poked at the drip and my finger went
> > >right through the pipe...the only thing that was left was the chrome...I
> > >don't know how it was holding its shape.
> > >
> > >     If you have ABS sewer pipe like I do, FeCl will not touch that at all,
> > >still, don't pour it down the drain in any case, it just ain't good for what
> > >is down stream.
>
> --
>  -Jim
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> * Visit:http://www.silcom.com/~patchell/
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> * -Yogi Yorgensen
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