Removing scale in Jabsco toilet bowl

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

If anyone is worried about using acid to disolve scale, then don't ever eat tinned citrus fruit .....

In that case they should also be careful about tinned peaches! The halved peaches are sprayed with caustic soda to loosen the skin which is then removed by jets of water.

If people knew what goes on during the production and processing of 'food' they would likely consider starting to grow their own, like our ancestors did!

 

[ghostlymoron]

It's obvious that my fears about hydrochloric acid are unfounded. The source of my fear is remembering the effect of school acid on my lab coat.
C4 Food Unwrapped is an interesting programme, the way green olives are turned black involves some industrial chemistry as well. I've largely taken to eating the natural green ones.

 

[Ric]

What do the Greeks do with their freely available hydrochloric acid?

Clean bricks with it?

I live in France where "chlorhydrique" acid is freely available. I wondered for years reading this forum what "brick cleaner" was...

 

[aquaplane]

I have been using some 94% sulphuric acid I found in a shop in Tarbert, it's quite effective. <£4 for a 3 or maybe 500ml bottle. I only use about 50ml a dose.

 

[VicS]

I have been using some 94% sulphuric acid I found in a shop in Tarbert, it's quite effective. <£4 for a 3 or maybe 500ml bottle. I only use about 50ml a dose.

"I have been using some 94% sulphuric acid "

 

[aquaplane]

It's not that scary. Bear in mind I worked in a chemisty lab and understand the dangers and know how to handle acids.

Beside which, you know when you have strong acids on you and quickly wash them off.

Actually, the last bottle I got in Rothesay.

It's better than pratting about with vinegar which is so weak it doesn't work nearly as well.

 

[RichardS]

It's not that scary. Bear in mind I worked in a chemisty lab and understand the dangers and know how to handle acids.

Beside which, you know when you have strong acids on you and quickly wash them off.

Actually, the last bottle I got in Rothesay.

It's better than pratting about with vinegar which is so weak it doesn't work nearly as well.

Good grief! I used to have 1 litre brown glass bottles on maximum concentration nitric, hyrochloric and sulphuric acid when I was a kid at home as I used them for my home chemisty experiments. The sulphuric acid was known as fuming acid and was around 98% concentration max.

This stuff was deadly, far more so that the hydrochloric or nitric and could be deadly just trying to dilute it as it would boil the water. If I tiny splash were to get in one's eye from the dilution process then one was blind in that eye. On skin the damage would be instantaneous and if any entered the blood stream it was extremely poisionous.

These days, I do not believe that it is possible to buy sulphuric acid of this concentration other than through a specialist supplier and probably with a licence.

Richard

 

[VicS]

I worked in a chemisty lab and understand the dangers and know how to handle acids.

Likewise and, in fact, responsible for the day to day running of several.

I have no problems with handling concentrated strong acids in a laboratory where appropriate safety equipment is available but I prefer not to have anything quite as hazardous as concentrated sulfuric in my home or on my boat.

Hydrochloric acid, IMO, is a little less hazardous and for the purpose that is the subject of the thread just as suitable and effective , if not more so.

 

[pvb]

I'm not brave enough to use some of the stuff that's been mentioned! I use Kilrock Multi-Purpose Descaler, widely available in hardware stores. It contains formic acid, and works well to remove the slight build-up of scale in the pipe at the bottom of the Jabsco bowl.

 

[Dockhead]

We buy hydrochloric acid in 500 ml bottles in supermarkets in Greece, strength is usualy 6%. One of these is sufficient for cleaning up the toilet and joker valve. I now put all of it in and pump until there is a little left in the bowl. Action is then taking place throughout. I leave it for about half an hour. Strong fizzing stops in five or ten minutes but there is still something going on for much longer than that.

Nothing in the toilet or fittings will be harmed by this and the only chemicals pumped into the sea are chloride salts, which are already present there in large amounts. The CO2 generated in the reaction is probably insignificant from an ecological point of view.

Hydrochloric acid is extremely corrosive to various metals, including stainless steel.

Have you not noticed any deterioration of metal bits in your black water system?

 

[RichardS]

Hydrochloric acid is extremely corrosive to various metals, including stainless steel.

Have you not noticed any deterioration of metal bits in your black water system?

That is not strictly true. On a molecular level you are right that HCl is corrosive to stainless but it not "extremely" and it is a very slow process at the concentrations we are talking about. All my stainess goes into HCl to remove calcium build up. Once the fizzing stops the calcium is gone and the article can be removed. This process takes a few minutes and there is no adverse effect on the stainless. I would not leave stainless in strong HCl for hours ..... but as it's usually not easy to buy strong acids (above posts excepted) that's not an issue.

Richard

 

[vyv_cox]

Hydrochloric acid is extremely corrosive to various metals, including stainless steel.

Have you not noticed any deterioration of metal bits in your black water system?

No it isn't. I tested seacocks in brass, bronze and stainless steel during the YM seacock campaign with a variety of household products including 6% HCl. None of them was even stained after about 20-30 minutes exposure. I have been treating my toilet with HCl for more than ten years on a regular basis. No metal, elastomeric or plastic parts have been damaged in the slightest.

 

[johnalison]

No it isn't. I tested seacocks in brass, bronze and stainless steel during the YM seacock campaign with a variety of household products including 6% HCl. None of them was even stained after about 20-30 minutes exposure. I have been treating my toilet with HCl for more than ten years on a regular basis. No metal, elastomeric or plastic parts have been damaged in the slightest.

That's very reassuring to those of us with mostly rather dramatic memories of school chemistry.

 

[rogerthebodger]

No it isn't. I tested seacocks in brass, bronze and stainless steel during the YM seacock campaign with a variety of household products including 6% HCl. None of them was even stained after about 20-30 minutes exposure. I have been treating my toilet with HCl for more than ten years on a regular basis. No metal, elastomeric or plastic parts have been damaged in the slightest.

The one thing HCl dose atack is the rust from steel.

I use it to clean the rust from my steel deck when I find any. I follow this with phosphoric acid, then wash with fresh water and paint.

Not as good as grit blasting but better than grinding. I just chip off the thicker rust before applying the HCl with a paint brush, reapplying until all the rust has been removed.

 

[VicS]

dramatic memories of school chemistry.

Kids expect school chemistry to be dramatic ... that's half the fun.... the bigger the bang the better.

I remember perfecting one demo one quiet afternoon when half the school and many of the staff were doing games. Got it just about right ........ but a very frightened deputy head came rushing in from another classroom expecting to find the Junior chem lab in ruins and bits of me splattered everywhere

 

[Parsonsheath]

I have used steradent tablets for renovating and cleaning lime scale following advice from a colleague and have had great results with a safe and secure method, just did not like the idea of strong acids,too many memories of the school chemistry lab.

 

[MarcJ]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313.TR4.TRC2.A0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=hydrochloric+acid&_sacat=0

 

[Poecheng]

Kids expect school chemistry to be dramatic ... that's half the fun.... the bigger the bang the better.

I remember perfecting one demo one quiet afternoon when half the school and many of the staff were doing games. Got it just about right ........ but a very frightened deputy head came rushing in from another classroom expecting to find the Junior chem lab in ruins and bits of me splattered everywhere

We had one that was dramatic all right.
Chem teacher (PhD) demonstrating the nature of potassium (IIRC) and he cut up the potassium from its store and placed it onto a tray of water. Hmm, think the piece was a bit too big and off we went with it out of control and 'smoke' everywhere and labs abandoned and alarms going off. Great fun !