Silver and gold refining

[Seth]

In my view I think it's a bad idea, somebody has already pointed out that the chemicals you would need to use, can easily be used to make a chemical weapom - a lot easier than you would think and hope it would be, you are talking about buying a fume hood that's a least the cost of a sovereign before you even think about gas filtration, and even ''gerry rigging'' your own gas filtration will set you back at least half a sovereign. You then have the cost of all the chemicals and safety equipment and the safe disposal of the chemicals.  I'd be very surprised if you could do it for less than the cost of 2 full sovereigns and one half sovereign.

I honestly think if it's just curiosity you want to satisfy, then the theory should be enough, if you're wanting practicle real world experience I'd honestly try and see if a refinery would be willing to give you a tour, otherwise you are throwing good money after bad, unless you can come up with a way to turn it into a hobby that pays for itself, at the scale you're talking about, you will never recoup the cost of the fume hood, gas filtration, safety equipment, and the safe disposal of chemicals, at best I think you would be very lucky if you managed to get it to cover the cost of the chemicals needed and maybe acivated carbon and molecular sieve for part of your gas filration.

This isn' something that I've done before, but I undersand the theory and principals involved and behind it. But I do have a hell of a lot of experience with gas filtration, I'm not just talking about filering air, and blending gasses for SCUBA divers, I've set up hospital O2 systems, designed and built closed circuit rebreathers - think of them as a back mounted gas blending station that mixes the best gas for breathing at whatever depth you are at in real time, I've run decompression chambers, and I've even designed the gas filtration system for a metal refining company based in Indonesia - which was not cheap even out there and even with me not charging for my time, effort and expertise, it was for a mates company so I did i as a favour for him.

[jonrms]

5 hours ago, Seth said:

In my view I think it's a bad idea, somebody has already pointed out that the chemicals you would need to use, can easily be used to make a chemical weapom - a lot easier than you would think and hope it would be, you are talking about buying a fume hood that's a least the cost of a sovereign before you even think about gas filtration, and even ''gerry rigging'' your own gas filtration will set you back at least half a sovereign. You then have the cost of all the chemicals and safety equipment and the safe disposal of the chemicals.  I'd be very surprised if you could do it for less than the cost of 2 full sovereigns and one half sovereign.

I honestly think if it's just curiosity you want to satisfy, then the theory should be enough, if you're wanting practicle real world experience I'd honestly try and see if a refinery would be willing to give you a tour, otherwise you are throwing good money after bad, unless you can come up with a way to turn it into a hobby that pays for itself, at the scale you're talking about, you will never recoup the cost of the fume hood, gas filtration, safety equipment, and the safe disposal of chemicals, at best I think you would be very lucky if you managed to get it to cover the cost of the chemicals needed and maybe acivated carbon and molecular sieve for part of your gas filration.

This isn' something that I've done before, but I undersand the theory and principals involved and behind it. But I do have a hell of a lot of experience with gas filtration, I'm not just talking about filering air, and blending gasses for SCUBA divers, I've set up hospital O2 systems, designed and built closed circuit rebreathers - think of them as a back mounted gas blending station that mixes the best gas for breathing at whatever depth you are at in real time, I've run decompression chambers, and I've even designed the gas filtration system for a metal refining company based in Indonesia - which was not cheap even out there and even with me not charging for my time, effort and expertise, it was for a mates company so I did i as a favour for him.

My fumehood cost over 4k. 

Chemicals.  lol 

Licences for police

Risk assessments, 

Waste treatment and disposal 

I watch people makeshift things with coffee pots , electric stoves. The NOX created in the environment is scary as heck! 

I honestly think this is a subject NOT designed for this forum PERSONALLY  ??? ADMIN???

Refining silver is done at major plants for a reason. Refining scrap as a hobby, well you had to be doing it long before the band came in place. 

 

[Seth]

On 25/02/2020 at 16:56, jonrms said:

My fumehood cost over 4k. 

Chemicals.  lol 

Licences for police

Risk assessments, 

Waste treatment and disposal 

I watch people makeshift things with coffee pots , electric stoves. The NOX created in the environment is scary as heck! 

I honestly think this is a subject NOT designed for this forum PERSONALLY  ??? ADMIN???

Refining silver is done at major plants for a reason. Refining scrap as a hobby, well you had to be doing it long before the band came in place. 

 

I'm in two minds about this, in some ways I agree with you, for example would I be happy if my neighbour started to refine precious metals or were already refining precious metals in their back garden/shed/garage, my answer would be hell no, I wouldn'd just be peed off, I'd also be worried for my loved ones and my own safety, after all I have no idea how experienced they are, how they're doing it, are they an idiot or a genius.  I'd be mad enough to go on holiday for a week or two and forget that I have the Dexy's Midnight Runners song ''Come on Eileen'' on repeat blasting at full blast from every speaker in and outside my house - that's over 40,000 watts if you're wondering, in the hopes that it deprives them of sleep enough for them to either move house, or if they don't figure out why I've done it, I'd do it everytime they where refining precious metals, though I'd make sure I'm a safe distance away for when something goes wrong, and it will.

But on the other hand I strongly believe that people should never stop learning, and knowledge should not be restricted, even if people could go out and do something stupid, dangerous, and even deadly with that knowledge.  If knowledge was to be restricted and controlled that way every science teacher I had in Asia would now be in jail - there is only so often you can teach and so long you can drag out the storey of the Chinese Zodiac Calender and how the jade emporer organised The Great Race, a race between 13 animals, and the rat came first because he cheated.... and because of it cats hate rats, and because the cat attacked the dog by accident before the cat drowned that's why cats and dogs don't get along, before children will just mentally switch off, however teaching them how to make fireworks, what different chemicals or elements are used to achieve different colours and their significance to the Chinese culture makes a lesson about science, and Chinese culture - even history if you throw in the history of gunpowder and how it was originally made with honey as a drink to grant a Chinese emperor immortality and not as a weapon or to scare evil spirits away that came much much later: spoiler alert the original recipe for gunpowder based on honey didn't grant the emperor of China immortality it killed him, far far more informative and a hell of a lot more interesting, because of that I can still remember to this day how to make the fireworks I was first taught how to make in primary school, I still know how to make gunpowder several different ways including the original recipe using honey as a base - the original recipe makes Greek fire and napalm look like toys for children.