questions on chrome kit and using it at home

[alky350 New User Find all posts View Profile Close alky350]

is this stuff safe to use with other houses around me? will people notice something funny in the air? i was thinking about doing this in the garage or just setting everything up outside......i dont want to expose me or the people around me to harmful fumes or whatever else i dont know about.


thanks,
victor

[fxstcguy98 Amateur Metal Finisher Find all posts View Profile Close fxstcguy98]

If you follow Caswells guidelines and read the instructions you shouldn't have a problem. I have a five gallon triple chrome setup in my basement and I haven't had any problems with fumes. The biggest danger is spilling something, you must be carefull, I sunk my tanks down into an old countertop so I wouldn't knock over the solutions.

[alky350 New User Find all posts View Profile Close alky350]

so do you know for sure its safe as far as fumes? im thining about doing a setup outside. can anybody else put there 2 cents in.....

[clydes New User Find all posts View Profile Close clydes]

im getting a visit from the mpca at my shop here this month some time about fumes and waste water. from what caig at caswell has told me and the epa,its not a big deal if you have a small set up (30 gal tanks). ill let you know how it goes.. we have an air scrubber that we made from the manual and it works great. just dont dump any chemicals. our local new paper did a story on it and will be following the progress also.( luverne star herald.com) hope this helps.clydes

[dadkar2 Experienced Metal Finisher Find all posts View Profile Close dadkar2]

My personal preference is I'd rather not be getting visits from EPA officials and newspaper folks. That's only my personal preference.

Also my personal opinion is that others would be nervous about living next door to someone with a 30 gallon tank of Chromic Acid in his basement. That's why you'll probably get more publicity than you want. I wouldn't want that.

My final personal opinion is that I wouldn't use chromic acid in the basement of a home. But I think with the proper fume hood and using Caswell's instructions it can be done safely in a LOCKED ventilated garage or out building. It needs to be locked to keep small children away. Why not a basement? If something goes wrong, the fumes have only one place to go...into the living area.

I think a few gallons (in the 5 gallon range) can be managed responsibly and straightforwardly by most do-it-yourselfers within the bounds of the EPA requirements. Beyond that it gets progressively risky, so you must be more and more careful, and be ready to prove to the authorities that you are. At some point as the size goes up there may be an expectation that you have the facilities to deal with on site waste treatment as well.

The cost of the risk as the tank size goes up (beyond the 10 gallon range) is something to cope with. If you can cope with it responsibly (including disposal), then great.

Check out the EPA website at www.epa.gov. They lay out pretty clearly what the CESQG limits are. If you can stay within them, and meet their expectations for how you dispose of the waste, then you're at least clear on that count. My recollection is that with around a 5 gallon setup it's straightforward, but don't take my word for it. Check it out.

Always have the MSDS sheets available in a nice organized binder for EVERY hazardous substance you have around the plating shop. It's important for your own safety. The EPA will want to see these as well should they pay you a surprise visit.

Kind regards,
Ken

[alky350 New User Find all posts View Profile Close alky350]

thanks for the advice, anybody seen that file on ebay on how to chrome with an arc welder