On Sat, 19 May 2007 17:45:08 +0200, Roland F. Harriston
<
rolohar@...> wrote:
> I really don't see a lot of cast-off microwave ovens in my neck of the
> woods.
> Not many junk shops here or thrift stores, etc. And I don't think I'd
> want to
> spend time schlepping around old microwave ovens just to heat up ferric
> chloride! There better methods that are less "brute force".
There is no real difference between heating FeCl in a microwave and with
other means. The heat can be exactly controlled in a microwave because the
heating power is constant. It's just operator preference as i see it.
I bet it would last all your life (or at least not fail from fume induced
corrosion) even if FeCl is heated every now and then.
That's not to say that i would like to do it, moving around etchant in
some container is not the best way IMO.
It ought to stay in a permanent etching tank that is placed in a safe
location and ready to use. Much less hassle.
Heating can be achieved with an immersion heater (aquarium), or possibly a
heating foil stuck to the side, or possibly a hose with hot water
circulated through it immersed in the etchant. But then, i wouldn't want
to use FeCl myself anyway, and CuCl doesn't really need heating because
only a very small increase in temperature is reasonable which doesn't make
much difference.
ST