Cling??

What can be used to make the sodium hydrox. cling? Does anyone have any ideas. We mix dry at the site and I have long been looking for anything to make the chemical cling. Some use corn starch-at what oz. per gallon?

Thanks

David

This is what I have been doing.
Approx. 1/3 cup corn starch to gallon of water. Mix this first, it takes some mixing and it is easier and safer to do it without the Sodium Hydroxide in it. I found that if I add cornstarch slowly and simply agitate with my hand that seems to with the best, I started using a wire whisk but that seemed harder.
Note: the water will not get thick at this point. Then while stirring, slowly add the Sodium Hydroxide at whatever strength you deem necessary. I’m not a chemist but this causes a reaction that makes the liquid thick, it will turn from a milky white to a yellowish color, at this point it will have thickened up.
You may want to play with the mixture. This one may be a little thin. I have only been doing this for a couple of weeks myself, haven’t worked out the application part yet, if I make it as thick as I would like, it gets harder to apply.

Let me know how it goes

David we've been using Cornstarch for several years. this is how we do it for a 5 gallon batch
In a 5 gallon pail we mix up our soda beads than in a seperate container we add about 1 qt. of water (cold if its hot it will clump up and will look like dumplings) stirring while we add the starch, you can add up to 1lb of starch per 5 gallon of mix,depending on how thick you want it, then we get the caustic mix moving and slowly add the starch to the caustic stirring all the time then we strain the mix in to our pressure pots.

oh ya just a note
Bryan,
we never have trouble with applying it, we use 10 gallon pressure pots sorta like over sized soda cannisters than we presserize them to 125 psi,( we have compressors in our trucks) we can run 150' of hose and the wand to spray the mix on let sit for 15- 30 min.

Great info guys,,,,

5 years, where were you before I spent $800 on a foamer that I doesn't work? Can you give me some specifics on your application method, did you buy it or make it?

Do you think a sureflo pump will work for the thicker liquids

I was just wondering if any one has tried the corn starch with any luck.

Has any one tried the caustic performence builder from e-spec?

With all these companys out there making degreaser, Why have they not come up with a compound that keeps the grease from creating such a bond. Like a Pam spray for contractors, Or a gel that creates a bond before the grease does.

Matt

Would it be possible to run this thicker mixture through the presssure washer pump?
Maybe if it wasnt mixed to such a thick consistancy?

Richard- Where can we find these pressure pots you speak of?
I hear of some peolple using soda syrup canisters.Charged with air pressure as you spoke of.

http://www.pdsweb.net/3-gal-tank-page.html

here's one.

Just a note, the method of mixing I stated earlier in this thread should be disregarded, follow the direction in the very next post, it's pretty simple.

ok. We have seen the cheminator. How about we see some home made jobs?

What you guys are looking for is a thyxotropic agent. What it is is a real fine clay type material. When put in suspension in a liquid it thickens up or gels. When energy is put to it , stirring, it becomes fluid.
Corn starch is a cheap substitute, but it works. The problem I have is cleaning up the white residue which is left behind.

Bonzi markets this type of degreaser.
I think what we all are looking for is a thickening agent to add to our own chemical mix at a reasonable cost.
To apply you need a shurflo, flojet type pump or a air pressure driven sprayer. A pump up sprayer doesn't have enough pressure to push it. I have done some searching and haven't come up with much . I even had some chemical companies going to send samples but then they backed out. I'm still searching.