Outdoor Chem Experiment: Is No Fume Hood OK?

[mishima]

Hi, I was wanting to do an experiment involving mixing 10 mL of 6 M HCl with about a gram of Al in an open 100 mL beaker. I have gloves, apron, and a hardware store mouth/nose style mask. I was wondering if it would be safe to do this outside without a fume hood. Thanks.

 

[Borek]

I would not expect any serious problems. I did much worse things as a kid. But doing such experiments these days can be dangerous for legal reasons. In some parts of the world even owning a test tube without a permit can get you arrested.

 

[SteamKing]

I never rode in a car seat, I never wore a bike helmet, I didn't go to pre-school or kindergarten, I never graduated from the eighth grade (or the sixth). I had a chemistry set as a kid and I poured the leftovers down the sink. I did make some hydrogen once and popped it in an upside down test tube with a match. No goggles, no mask, no fume hood. I feel like Walter White from Breaking Bad. The only two ed credentials I own are a HS diploma and a BS degree.

 

[256bits]

Like this guy's experiment with an inflatable bed.
He wasn't wearing gloves and did not have a fume hood.
On the radio, it said about $200,000 damage.
Man blows up house with inflatable mattress - Odd News - Digital Spy

 

[eigenperson]

Please wear goggles.

There shouldn't be any need for a fume hood or gas mask to work with small quantities of hydrochloric acid and metals, and indeed in high school we were allowed to do similar experiments in the lab outside of the hood. With concentrated HCl you start having to worry about fumes from the acid, but 10 ml at 6M is just not going to produce that much.

 

[chemisttree]

Shouldn't be a problem. I think the dust mask is overkill. You going to heat it or just let it go on it's own? I would place a loose-fitting cover over it like a watchglass or a large petri dish to reduce the acidic aerosol it might produce.

 

[mishima]

Thanks for the watchglass tip. No about the heating, I will just let it go for about 10 minutes, then pour into another 20 mL of water for gravity filration. Eventually it will be mixed with a sodium stearate solution and heated, the main goal is to produce a varnish remover-like substance. So its like recycling the aluminum can into something useful.

 

[chemisttree]

You mean a thickener in a varnish remover formulation?

 

[mishima]

Yes, that's right; by mixing with some organic solvent like methylene chloride. Another demonstration is to mix with ammonium hydroxide, it becomes unable to pour. This is all from the lab activities accompanying "Extraordinary Chemistry of Everyday Things" by Snyder.