Swimming pools use by several gallons (2 liters?) per treatment, and pools get several treatments per year. A gallon for etching is a 10 year supply, unless you start doing major quantities.

Storage is the major problem, but this is true of all the chemicals. My current technique is to wrap paper towel tight around the lid (rolled up tight) to absorb fumes. Then I put it in a plastic bag because I was still seeing corrosion around the bottle. Both the Ferric Chloride and the Muriatic acid has this problem. I store a small bottle of acid that I use for my immediate use, and keep the large bottle to dispense to the smaller bottle.

The MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) sheet I got with the Muriatic Acid says it is 32% dilute (or 1/3 Acid, 2/3 water).

 

OK...I will go hunting for Muriatics tomorrow. I can ask the shop keepers about swimming pool purifying chemicals. This way they would understand..

 

Swimming pools use by several gallons (2 liters?) per treatment, and pools get several treatments per year. A gallon for etching is a 10 year supply, unless you start doing major quantities.

2 liters is about half a gallon
[EDIT]nevermind, I see what you were saying now[/EDIT]

Storage is the major problem, but this is true of all the chemicals. My current technique is to wrap paper towel tight around the lid (rolled up tight) to absorb fumes. Then I put it in a plastic bag because I was still seeing corrosion around the bottle. Both the Ferric Chloride and the Muriatic acid has this problem. I store a small bottle of acid that I use for my immediate use, and keep the large bottle to dispense to the smaller bottle.

I doubble bagged my ferric chloride and wrapped it in towels and havent had any problem with corrosion (yet)
HCl will be worse

Muriatic is a diluted hydrochloric acid. You would not want to use straight hydrochloric acid, as it would eat right through everything - and it would be dangerous to use. Swimming pool "muriatic acid" is at the right dilution for homemade PCB's.

Using straight HCl could be done, but it wouldn't be worth it. You would need some pretty expensive material to use for a resist.

 

OK ...once again...
I have plans for the enchant.
Now the question arises on the type of the clads.

What I need to know is what type of clads will work for me. It's not the SS or DS problem.
It's the copper thickness or the copper oz problem.
Do I need thicker one's ?

What thickness will be suitable for both the acid etching and PCB engraver applications.
If I am to buy I need copper clads that will work for both apps.
Another question is that do you choose the clads with the transfer method in mind.

Does UV transfer clads differ from thermal transfer clads.
Which is better or what would you recommend for me.

Thanks guys.

 

You would not believe what I got finally.

gopalyajur was kind enuf to send me whole 2 kg of it,
Love u guys for helping me so much.

But I need a translator.
How do I store these?
does need an air tight container after opening?
does I add water first or chemical to water?
Can I make just enuf for the small PCB I have in mind?
How do I store used chemical?

I like all the answers
Thanks

 

Double, or even triple bag it, and don't store it next to metal, any metal. I don't know what the ratio of water to powder is. FeCl is pretty non-toxic, so you can store it almost anywhere there isn't metal (and don't put it under the sink, as there is lots of metal to eat there).

Even mixed with water the shelf life is extremely long. FeCl's only drawback as far as I can tell is it stains anything it touches.

I don't think you need an airtight container, but it can't hurt. The fumes are the only thing I worry about, but it is a major concern. I wish I had taken a picture of my tools after they were exposed, it was both impressive and depressive.

 

What is the mixing procedure ?
water first or chemical first ?
Does the amount or percentage need to be accurate ?

 

Add the crystals to water.
Never add water to dry crystals!!!

I usually add 2 to 3 spoons of ferric chloride in 250 ml. Use plastic spoon and always use gloves. Work in a ventilated room or under a fume extractor.

 

Aah! now tht's what I am talking abt.

But first, got to finish up the jobs u know.

 

Eisen(III)-Chlorid granulat 56% is "Iron chloride granular 56%" according to Google Translate:
http://translate.google.com/
in other words, ferric chloride, granular, 56%.
"Inhalt in 1.25L wasser auflosen Ergibt 1.75L fertige" translated means "Dissolve contents in 1.25L of water, results in 1.75L of solution."
But you wouldn't want to mix it all at once.

The Google translator isn't perfect. I only learned a very little bit of German, and that was many years ago. You really have to interpret the translators' output.

 

"Inhalt in 1.25L wasser auflosen Ergibt 1.75L fertige" translated means "Dissolve contents in 1.25L of water, results in 1.75L of solution."
But you wouldn't want to mix it all at once.

I have my ferric chloride in a plastic canister, it is about 3 liters of it in a 5 liter canister from disitlled water. I have been storing it like that for years without any problems. I allways return the etchant back to the canister, and even though it might be a little weak after the years, it still works.

 

I have my ferric chloride in a plastic canister, it is about 3 liters of it in a 5 liter canister from disitlled water. I have been storing it like that for years without any problems. I allways return the etchant back to the canister, and even though it might be a little weak after the years, it still works.

I only said that because it can become a spill hazard if you mix up a lot at once.

I had some pre-mixed ferric chloride solution that I'd purchased many years ago and misplaced - I tried it out last year and it worked fine. However, Rifaa may have somewhat limited storage available as well - so keeping it in the powdered form will be a space-saver as well as reducing the spill hazard.

 

So to say after etching a PCB I can pour it back to the unused ferric's.
What if I mix little amounts. Just enough to cover the PCB needed. Of course I will use plastic container.
How many times can I reuse the diluted acid?

Can any one tell me what is the mix ratio. Like to how many grams shud go into how many Milli liters of water.

 

So to say after etching a PCB I can pour it back to the unused ferric's.

I wouldn't do that, as you will dilute the strength of the fresh chemical.

What if I mix little amounts. Just enough to cover the PCB needed. Of course I will use plastic container.

You could do that; however if you use ground and power planes (copper fill) then you reduce the amount of copper that needs to be etched away, which makes the etchant last much longer.

How many times can I reuse the diluted acid?

It depends upon how much copper you remove when you etch.
Using copper pour areas helps to minimize the amount of copper that has to be removed. Your etching will go faster and your etchant will last longer.

Can any one tell me what is the mix ratio. Like to how many grams should go into how many Milli liters of water.

You have 1Kg in one bag. That 1Kg needs to be mixed with 1.25L of water. So, mix 1/5Kg (200mg) of the ferric chloride in 250ml water; distilled water is preferred.
Alternatively, 100mg of the ferric chloride per 125ml distilled water.

 

Now I got to buy some air tight containers for storage.

Sgt, how did you know I have very little storage space?

 

How did you know I have very little storage space?

You forgot that you described things awhile back.

 

You have 1Kg in one bag. That 1Kg needs to be mixed with 1.25L of water. So, mix 1/5Kg (200mg) of the ferric chloride in 250ml water; distilled water is preferred.
Alternatively, 100mg of the ferric chloride per 125ml distilled water.

Should be grams instead of milligrams I guess.

 

Yes, thanks for the correction.

 

One last thing, if you get it just above luke warm it will work faster. The professional etchant tank I used to service got it hot (60°C), but that is overkill IMO. It will work when it is cold, but how fast it works is somewhat dependent on temperature.