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View Full Version : Decomposition of AP under Solution


CragHack
August 6th, 2001, 06:22 PM
I know the most accepted way to store Ap is in acetone. I don't know if this works to well. I had finished a batch of AP just before the 4th of july (i live in america, big holiday) with the intent to makes some crackers. Well this 4th it happened to rain so i scrapped the idea. I never did use the AP soon after that, a month or so went by and i got the urge to here a boom. So i went to the AP i THOUGHT i had, and low and behold more than half of the white powder was gone. Now i thought that my room (where the reaction took place and where the AP was stored) got a little warm so more AP dissolved in the excess acetone of the reaction. (yes this was the reaction vessel, complete with excess acetone, h202, HCl and water) Well i put the vessel in the fridge to see if i could get any crystals to precipitate out. Nope. So i carefully took the container outside, walked it about 500 feet from my house and dumped it out. Long story short, AP under water or acetone can and will decompose.

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"If you must, do it with intelligent people, at least they know how to talk to the cops."

BrAiNFeVeR
August 6th, 2001, 07:25 PM
I think it all depends on the temperature at wich the AP is stored, and not so much in what you store it ...

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"Mess with me, and you'll end up with a .44 under your chin and your brains on the ceiling"

Anthony
August 6th, 2001, 07:59 PM
I've had a batch of AP disapear after being left in the reaction solution for a long time. Maybe some of the AP just floated to the surface, where it was exposed to the air and volitarised?

CragHack
August 6th, 2001, 08:41 PM
that is what i was thinking, although in hindsite i wish i had checked the cap for deposits before i ran in under water. Ohwell.

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"If you must, do it with intelligent people, at least they know how to talk to the cops."

BrAiNFeVeR
August 7th, 2001, 05:31 AM
I've just recently had some AP lost in an acetone bath, there was some left, so i filtered it out ..
After the acetone has evaporated, little cristals became visible (i wonder what these could be ;-), so i tested them bij putting the pot over a flame and it did "Whoesh" so some of the AP must be dissolved in the acetone, and evaporate together with it I guess ...

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"Mess with me, and you'll end up with a .44 under your chin and your brains on the ceiling"

CragHack
August 7th, 2001, 02:38 PM
well this wasn't a pure acetone bath so to speak. It was the reaction vessel just after the reaction was completed. So all the AP that had formed was the stuff that couldn't dissolve in the available acetone. So this wasn't the case. I think the other scenario, where the acetone floated to the top and then decomposed is the likely situation. Moral of the story: don't think putting this in just acetone will work. you can have the crystals exposed to air AT ALL. if you are using acetone make sure you use enough to dissolve ALL the AP. Don't use water to store AP for AP does not dissolve in it.

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"If you must, do it with intelligent people, at least they know how to talk to the cops."

BrAiNFeVeR
August 9th, 2001, 07:06 PM
Then it would take a lot of acetone to store your AP !! (all lost -> evaporated)
There must be a better way, i think i'd rather store mine in the open if it is only for a short time (a few days) or rolled in a tissue or something ...

Does anyone know the effect of the cristal size to the speed of "decay" of the cristals, because even my very little ones (rough powder alike) resist pretty long ...

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"Mess with me, and you'll end up with a .44 under your chin and your brains on the ceiling"

CragHack
August 9th, 2001, 08:28 PM
i would think the smaller the surface size the more readily it would decompose, due to the increase in surface area exposed to air. I think the only good way to store AP is with it completely desolved in acetone. Impractical from a economic standpoint yes, but this is the safest way to do it. Basically you shouldn't store AP, and if you want to you have to pay the price.

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"If you must, do it with intelligent people, at least they know how to talk to the cops."

BrAiNFeVeR
August 10th, 2001, 07:04 PM
How about a zip lock bag ?

You can put your AP in, and wet it a little bit with acetone, water or alcohol to make it less sensitive to friction. (when it comes between the lock part)
Or for all that matter you can use a (unused ;-) condom or whatever flexible container you may have (I'd like to see some AP explode in a condom, can someone test and post some pics or movies ??)

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"Mess with me, and you'll end up with a .44 under your chin and your brains on the ceiling"

CragHack
August 10th, 2001, 07:50 PM
yes but there is still air present in all of these containers, no matter how tightly you seal it. The air will come in contact with the AP and the AP will decompose. SO you have to completely dissolve the AP in a liqued to keep it from decomposing.

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"If you must, do it with intelligent people, at least they know how to talk to the cops."

Anthony
August 10th, 2001, 09:10 PM
A zip lock bag or condom provides enough confinement for AP to detonate. They also have the same risks of accidental detonation upon opening as other containers.

Static would also be a problem with a plastic bag.