Skip LaCroix

+ Follow
since Mar 18, 2015
Merit badge: bb list bbv list
For More
Reeds Spring, MO z 6-7 prev South Florida, z 10a-10b 1989-2015 prev 1981-1989 North Vermont
Apples and Likes
Apples
Total received
In last 30 days
0
Forums and Threads

Recent posts by Skip LaCroix

My previous statements were the results of googling and are not representative of personal knowledge or experience.
2 weeks ago
Adding Water Glass research here.

Water glass is a common name for sodium silicate, a chemical compound made from sodium oxide (\(Na_{2}O\)) and silica (silicon dioxide, \(SiO_{2}\)). The composition is more accurately represented as \((Na_{2}O)x\cdotp SiO_{2}\) or \(Na_{2}O\cdotp xSiO_{2}\), indicating a variable ratio of sodium oxide to silicon dioxide. The formula \(NaO\cdotp 3SiO_{2}\) mentioned in the query is a slightly incorrect representation of a particular ratio, typically written as \(Na_{2}O\cdotp 3SiO_{2}\). Key properties Composition: A colorless, crystalline solid or a clear, viscous liquid, often made by fusing sand and sodium carbonate (soda ash) at high temperatures.Solubility: Water glass is soluble in water, especially hot water, forming an alkaline solution. The solution becomes a hard, glass-like solid when it dries.Reactivity: In acidic solutions, the silicate ions react to form a hard, glassy silica gel. This property makes it useful as a bonding and sealing agent. Common uses Adhesive and cement: As a strong, high-temperature adhesive for paper, cardboard, ceramics, and more. It's also used in refractory cements for applications involving high heat.Concrete sealer and soil stabilizer: To reduce the porosity of concrete and masonry products, making them more durable and water-repellent. It is also used to stabilize soil during construction.Egg preservation: A traditional method for preserving fresh eggs by sealing the pores of the shell to prevent bacteria from entering.Detergents: Added as a builder in laundry and dish detergents, where its alkalinity helps in removing fats and oils.Engine repair: Used as a temporary fix for leaking head gaskets. The heat from the engine causes it to form a glass seal. The specific properties of water glass can be adjusted by altering the ratio of silica to sodium oxide, allowing it to be used for a wide range of industrial and consumer applications. 

You can convert sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) into sodium carbonate (washing soda) by heating it in an oven or on a stovetop. This process, called thermal decomposition, drives off carbon dioxide and water from the sodium bicarbonate, leaving behind the more alkaline sodium carbonate. A common method is to bake it at around 200°C (400°F) for an hour, spreading it evenly on a baking sheet.
Steps to Convert Sodium Bicarbonate to Sodium Carbonate
Preheat the oven: Set your oven to a temperature of about 200°C (400°F).
Spread the baking soda: Pour a layer of sodium bicarbonate onto a baking sheet.
Bake: Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Stir (optional but recommended): Stir the baking soda once or twice during baking to ensure all of it reacts evenly.
Observe the reaction: You will see the baking soda puff up and hear bubbling as water and carbon dioxide are released.
Check for completion: The conversion is complete when the bubbling and gas release stops, indicating all the sodium bicarbonate has been converted to sodium carbonate.
Cool and use: Let the baked baking soda cool, and it will now be sodium carbonate.
Chemical Reaction
The chemical reaction that occurs during this process is:
2 NaHCO₃(s) → Na₂CO₃(s) + H₂O(g) + CO₂(g)

To make molten sodium carbonate, you must heat the anhydrous salt to at least its melting point, which is 851 °C (1,564 °F). Heating it above this temperature will result in molten sodium carbonate, though it can decompose at very high temperatures, so temperatures around 900-1000 °C are often used for processes like molten salt oxidation.
Key points
Melting Point
: The precise temperature for sodium carbonate to become a liquid (molten) is 851 °C.
Anhydrous Form
: This melting point applies to anhydrous (without water) sodium carbonate.
Decomposition
: Sodium carbonate will decompose at sufficiently high temperatures, so it does not have a boiling point.
Practical Uses
: In practical applications, such as molten salt oxidation, temperatures of 900-1000 °C are used to ensure the salt is fully molten and to facilitate the process.

Sodium silicate is made by reacting silica (silicon dioxide), often from sand, with a sodium source, such as sodium carbonate (soda ash) or sodium hydroxide (lye), at high temperatures. The most common method involves fusing silica and soda ash in a furnace to form a glass-like mass, which is then dissolved in water to create "water glass," an aqueous solution of sodium silicate. Alternatively, silica can be dissolved in a hot, concentrated solution of sodium hydroxide under pressure in an autoclave to produce the desired solution.  
Methods for Making Sodium Silicate
High-Temperature Fusion (Furnace Method)
Melting: Silicon dioxide (sand) and sodium carbonate (soda ash) are mixed and then heated to high temperatures, typically in a furnace.
Reaction: The silica melts and dissolves into the molten sodium carbonate, forming a glass-like solid.
Dissolving: This solid mass is then dissolved in water to create an aqueous solution of sodium silicate, known as water glass.
2 weeks ago
Why did the permie cross the road?
To look at their berm and play with a toad.
6 years ago
Thanks for all the ideas in this thread folks. I'd like to add another one that the YouTube algorithms have given me.

6 years ago

Dave Burton wrote:silly rephrasing of words in my head when I think too fast:

-lit an ass under my fire



My mind very strongly wants to correct that automatically while I am reading it. Took about 6 tries to actually see what you switched. Lol
6 years ago
I would like to try and revive this post.

I am considering constructing a outdoor rocket mass heater bench style with large rocks from my property. I'd like to carve out half circles in the underside of large stones to surround the pipe on the top side and carve the same half circles in the top of insulating kiln brick and insulating fabric on the bottom side.

Then I want a diversion valve at the barrel that can send the heat through a 25' straight pipe with 8" pipe 3' deep under a garden bed.

A garden and sitting area with a rocket mass heater making the area entirely functional in the winter in southern Missouri. The lowest we see is zero fahrenheit and that's rarely.

But I don't know what kinds of pipe I could use for either totally exposed under a rock or buried three feet under garden soil.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
7 years ago
I read an article stating that protesters were facing drastic anti technology measures attempting to inhibit news and social media postings. Everything from direct account hacking, fake WiFi spots for transmission intercepts, to fake cell towers blocking phone transmissions. Hope they are still ok out there because I haven't seen much on Facebook since reading that article.
8 years ago
I give this DVD 8 out of 10 acorns for being a wonderfully put together informationally dense presentation of imminent importance and need. Wish we had had this technology when I was a child in northern Vermont. Would've saved my father from hand chopping and burning 12 cords of wood every winter. Keep up the good work!
8 years ago
Totally awesome that you are here on Permies! OMG, I actually have met someone from here in person! I would love to do that. It's a bit too cold and rainy for me today and I know you must be busy with your family for the holiday or I'd ask to come over this weekend. I always have Sunday off of work if that works for you?  
8 years ago
Does anyone know of a place in Southwest Missouri where I could go and just be able to try to use a scythe? I'd really like to give it a go a couple times before I just go out and buy one.
8 years ago