Battery Acid?

[ramellis]

Hello All,

I'm just getting into this so please bare with the stupid newbie questions. I tried doing a search on this but didn't quite find what I was looking for. I just purchased a Caswell Tin Plating Kit and the manual is telling me that I need "battery acid" and distilled water. For the "battery acid" are they talking about H2SO4 (I think that's right for sulphuric acid) or are they talking about HCL hydrochloric acid? (Or do I just need to read the manual more carefully?

Where do I purchase either Hydrochloric or Sulphuric acid and where does one get distilled water?

Where does one dispose of Hydrochloric or Sulphuric Acid?

They address this a little in the manual but just say things like "purchase it" and "take it to a collection point."

Can one purchase it at say Home Depot?

Thanks!

[spankey666]

its sulphuric acid you want.
available from a auto spares shop. unless you live in the uk, then its a pig to buy.
small quantities of hydrochloric acid can be flushed down the sink providing you are on main drains and not a septic tank, as its used as a common household de-scaler. sulphuric acid can also be the main ingredient in drain cleaner, so again small quantities can be flushed, but its best neutralised with bi-carb before hand just to be on the safe side. you dont want it to mix with any bleach !!

again all of the above applies in the uk, not sure what the regulations are elsewhere.

[ramellis]

Thanks Spankey, I live in the U.S. but the thoughts on an autoparts store are worth following up, I'll look into that. Thanks! Anyone closer to my part of the world have any thoughts?

[CarWiz]

NAPA, AutoZone, PepBoys, O'Reilly's, etc. all cary battery acid down here. Most motorcycle and tractor shops carry it too. Distilled water is available at just about any grocery store. It's in the same isle as the drinking water (in gallons).

[woodjames]

As far as the battery acid, the plating manual lists NAPA auto parts - that's really the cheapest I've found. You can get a gallon for 13 bucks or 5 for 39 if I remember right. As far as the distilled water, I usually get mine from wal-mart, usually runs in the .75 range per gallon. I've tried some big commercial water places in town, but they don't carry it, just bottled water. You'll find that the r.o. system buy Caswell is probably a good purchase depending on how often you plan on doing this. As far as disposal, if it's just acid, neutralize with baking soda, 'till it stops fizzing, then you'd be ok with the drain. Your town/city should have a hazardous household chemical transfer station for anything with metal salts in it.

Thanks Spankey, I live in the U.S. but the thoughts on an autoparts store are worth following up, I'll look into that. Thanks! Anyone closer to my part of the world have any thoughts?

[ramellis]

Fantastic information all, I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond, I will check those sources out.