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itsallgoodjames
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Mercury in Canada
I've been looking to get around half a pound of mercury metal, but the cheapest I've been able to find is nearly $200 CAD from sciencecompany . That seems rather expensive. I have a handful of thermometers, but they only have a few grams of mercury in them each. Is the
200 going to be the cheapest I could expect to get it, or is there a cheaper way to get it?
Edit - I've considered refining mercury from cinnabar, but I decided I really didn't feel comfortable distilling mercury, so anything that requires
distilling mercury is defiantly a no-go.
Edit 2 - I just found plante1999's method for refining mercury from cinnabar. Depending on how cheap I can get cinnabar, that could be a possibility
Thanks!
[Edited on 12-10-2020 by itsallgoodjames]
[Edited on 12-10-2020 by itsallgoodjames]
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Sulaiman
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Recovery of mercury, especially from amalgams etc. often requires distillation.
So I think that you should consider waste management before ordering mercury.
CAUTION : Hobby Chemist, not Professional or even Amateur
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B(a)P
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mercury switches
This is how I get mine, not this exact product, but something similar.
It may not be practical for the 200 g you are looking for though.....
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itsallgoodjames
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Approximately how much mercury does each switch contain?
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B(a)P
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I get 3 mm ones and they have about 0.5 g.
The ones in the link I posted claim to be 5 mm, so they might have around 1 g per switch.
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valeg96
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The best way to get mercury is to look for old amateurs/small local companies willing to get rid of old stock. Most times, hazardous chemicals and
mercury are so expensive to legally dispose of, that they will keep them stored away until a qualified and responsible buyer comes by.
See an ad on craigslist or similar places of a company selling their lab equipment because they are closing or renovating? Ask them if they sell their
old chemicals as well. See an ad of a collector of pharmacy bottles? Ask if he has any filled with old chemicals. See an amateur selling generic
surplus chemicals? Ask him for some Hg.
I've once contacted a company that was dismantling their soil and water analysis lab- in the end they just wasted my time as it turned out they wanted
to sell their chemicals in bulk (around 10k€) but they had literal kilograms of HgSO4 and such chemicals.
A very fair price for mercury is 100€/kg. 1 kg of Hg is about 60 mL so don't be disappointed when you get to see your purchase lol.
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itsallgoodjames
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Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P  | I get 3 mm ones and they have about 0.5 g.
The ones in the link I posted claim to be 5 mm, so they might have around 1 g per switch. |
Oh wow, that's more than I was expecting. I was expecting it to be more like 0.1 or 0.2 grams. Just from a quick ebay search, it doesn't seem to be
all that cost effective, as it'd be around $400 for the half pound of mercury.
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B(a)P
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link
Here is 50 for $10 plus postage
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itsallgoodjames
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I don't know why I didn't check amazon. Thanks. I'll probably end up ordering 5 or 6 of those.
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B(a)P
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Maybe start with a smaller order to make sure they are legit and so you can work out the mass of mercury that each switch contains.
That is approaching, 'to good to be true' territory.
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itsallgoodjames
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| Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P | Maybe start with a smaller order to make sure they are legit and so you can work out the mass of mercury that each switch contains.
That is approaching, 'to good to be true' territory. |
Yeah, of course.
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valeg96
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You realize that half a pound (230 g) of mercury from switches will cost you 100-200$, right? Doesn't sound too cost effective to me. Unless you
desperately need it, I don't think that'd be an efficient way to get it. Besides, it's only 10 mL after all the hassle.
If you're that desperate buy cinnabar from aliexpress (30€/100g)and decompose it.
[Edited on 12-10-2020 by valeg96]
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B(a)P
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| Quote: Originally posted by valeg96 | You realize that half a pound (230 g) of mercury from switches will cost you 100-200$, right? Doesn't sound too cost effective to me. Unless you
desperately need it, I don't think that'd be an efficient way to get it. Besides, it's only 10 mL after all the hassle.
If you're that desperate buy cinnabar from aliexpress (30€/100g)and decompose it.
[Edited on 12-10-2020 by valeg96] |
Did you look at the Amazon link? At that price 200 of them would cost $40.
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wg48temp9
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| Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P | I get 3 mm ones and they have about 0.5 g.
The ones in the link I posted claim to be 5 mm, so they might have around 1 g per switch. |
That's a lot of mercury for a miniature tilt switch. The density of mercury is 13.5g per 1cm cube. So the mass of a 5mm cube would be about 0.1g. I
doubt a 3mm switch has 5mm cube of mercury in it. Probably closer to about 50mg. That's almost 10,000 switches for a pound of mercury !!!
I am wg48 but not on my usual pc hence the temp handle.
Thank goodness for Fleming and the fungi.
Old codger' lives matters, wear a mask and help save them.
Be aware of demagoguery, keep your frontal lobes fully engaged.
I don't know who invented mRNA vaccines but they should get a fancy medal and I hope they made a shed load of money from it.
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monolithic
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I've read that mercury contactors contain much more mercury than switches, like tens of grams. Might be worth looking into. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l...
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Fyndium
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I always wonder where does all the mercury end up which was once used for any reason? Likely they turn it into mercury sulfate, the most stable form,
but after that, is it stored somewhere indefinitely in containers, or is it dug into ground like nuclear waste?
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Metallophile
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| Quote: Originally posted by wg48temp9 |
That's a lot of mercury for a miniature tilt switch. The density of mercury is 13.5g per 1cm cube. So the mass of a 5mm cube would be about 0.1g.
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That doesn't sound right. I get about 1.7g for a 5mm cube. Hg is heavy!
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valeg96
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| Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P | | Quote: Originally posted by valeg96 | You realize that half a pound (230 g) of mercury from switches will cost you 100-200$, right? Doesn't sound too cost effective to me. Unless you
desperately need it, I don't think that'd be an efficient way to get it. Besides, it's only 10 mL after all the hassle.
If you're that desperate buy cinnabar from aliexpress (30€/100g)and decompose it.
[Edited on 12-10-2020 by valeg96] |
Did you look at the Amazon link? At that price 200 of them would cost $40. |
Yes. Assuming they contain 0.5 g of mercury each, 200 switches contain 100 g of mercury. For half a pound (230 g) that's at least 90$, and even more
if they contain just 0.4-0.3 g. It's ridiculous, especially if you consider that by looking around enough you will find it for as low as 100$/kg. But
then again, y'all can do whatever you want with your money, but imho it's not worth it.
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wg48temp9
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Oops! yes your correct I am glad somebody was awake. For some reason I divided the density by five cubed and should have divided it by two cubed.
I am wg48 but not on my usual pc hence the temp handle.
Thank goodness for Fleming and the fungi.
Old codger' lives matters, wear a mask and help save them.
Be aware of demagoguery, keep your frontal lobes fully engaged.
I don't know who invented mRNA vaccines but they should get a fancy medal and I hope they made a shed load of money from it.
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Herr Haber
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| Quote: Originally posted by valeg96 | | The best way to get mercury is to look for old amateurs/small local companies willing to get rid of old stock. |
I should be getting 2kg in a couple of weeks from a guy that has been holding to it for the last 40 years not knowing what to do with it.
Chloralkali, here I come !
The spirit of adventure was upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn what the words 'act upon' meant. - Ira Remsen
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itsallgoodjames
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| Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber | | Quote: Originally posted by valeg96 | | The best way to get mercury is to look for old amateurs/small local companies willing to get rid of old stock. |
I should be getting 2kg in a couple of weeks from a guy that has been holding to it for the last 40 years not knowing what to do with it.
Chloralkali, here I come ! |
Out of curiosity, how much did that cost?
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Herr Haber
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Zero !
It was pure luck, someone from another hobby.
My friends brought me to an abandoned lab, I found some mercury, later talked with some friend saying how fun it was that it happened to me and that
guy I didnt know chimed in 
Sometimes you just get lucky 
The spirit of adventure was upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn what the words 'act upon' meant. - Ira Remsen
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XeonTheMGPony
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that's how I got 4 pounds of it, lots and lots of asking, in the end cost me 20 bucks 
Harder out in the prairies but still having luck now and then, pure lead how ever is much much more difficult, but that is due to digital radiology in
dental now days .
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B(a)P
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These guys seem quite cheap
Lab Alley
I have never used them, maybe someone else here has.
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Morue
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Isn't mercury regulated in Canada? I'm not sure you can legally import mercury into Canada, and even if you can, taxes and duty will probably be very
high. You should have a look at CBSA website first, I wouldn't be surprised if that 200$ ended up being 300$.
There's this company : https://alphachem.ca/ which apparently sells chemicals to individual. I've never order from them, I don't know if they sell mercury metal, but
maybe you could give them a call and ask. They appear to be based in Ontario, but they mention on their website "no dangerous goods surchage".
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