Homebrew PCBs

In a message dated 3/30/2013 5:59:18 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
bitsyboffin@... writes:

Note that the Aluminium + Sodium Hydroxide reaction is how one produces  
large quantities of hydrogen without time consuming electrolysis.
 
 
For what it's worth, I tried to use Sodium Hydroxide solution in  a glass
bottle and added some pieces of aluminum to make hydrogen gas to fill  small
balloons with. 
 
The sodium Hydroxide reacts very aggressively with aluminum and it was  easy
for the reaction to heat up too much and turn into foam and overflow from  
the bottle 
into the balloon. Also the reaction produced a lot of steam and would tend  
to fill up the
balloon with water vapor also. If you tried to dilute the Sodium  Hydroxide 
 too much
it would slow down the reaction to a crawl, so it was a fine line to find  
just the right
dilution of Sodium Hydroxide that would dissolve the aluminum without  
heating up 
too much. Also to do it right you would need some kind of drying tube to  
remove all
the water vapor from the hydrogen gas.
 
In any case the Sodium Hydroxide is not predictable stuff to work  with! 
That stuff gets
 hot easily when it reacts with aluminum! I stay away from it. Outdoor  use 
only!
 
Best Regards, Todd WD4NGG