Melgar
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A round of applause for ACE Hardware. Especially ones in small cities in semi-rural areas.
Today, I walked over three miles, mostly uphill, in very hot weather because it was becoming clear that the cruddy sulfuric acid I had was interfering
with my ability to get a nice finish, among other things. And ACE Hardware has always had nice clear Rooto sulfuric acid for their drain opener. And
stump remover, how about that? And 10% sodium hypochlorite bleach for $3/gallon. Nice! I headed over to the solvents section and saw full gallon
cans of toluene for $20/gallon. Awesome! I bought one. My eyes scanned the other common solvents. Denatured alcohol... boiled linseed oil...
mineral spirits... acetone... MEK... oh wait, that was MEK substitute? Wasn't that the name of a product that was discontinued years ago? Well, now
that I think of it, the cans seem to have faded labels and a little rust on the edges... Could it really be!?
I frantically scanned the small print on the back of the can. Had to do it three times because I was reading too fast. Finally I read the magic
words: "contains ethyl acetate". Full stop.
There were only two cans left, and I bought both. The print on the bottom said they were manufactured in October of 2011:
The first step in the process of learning something is admitting that you don't know it already.
I'm givin' the spam shields max power at full warp, but they just dinna have the power! We're gonna have to evacuate to new forum software!
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Vosoryx
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Nice find!
"Open your mind son, before someone opens it for you." - Dr. Walter Bishop
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TheNerdyFarmer
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You know when you are a amateur chemist when you take selfies with hard-to-find OTC chemicals lol 
But really, awesome find. I need to check my local hardware stores, occasionally I can find some interesting things in old gas stations or "quicke"
marts.
[Edited on 21-5-2018 by TheNerdyFarmer]
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violet sin
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There are 4 gal or maybe 3.5gal in a small town I know of... All rusty b/c less than a mile from the ocean... ~25$ iirc . Cans specifically say not
for sale in California... LOL
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Velzee
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Oof! Very nice to see a diamond find like this in the haystack! I should do some searching
Check out the ScienceMadness Wiki: http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Main_Page
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
—Arthur Schopenhauer
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aga
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Awesome !
You'll never be caught with scarlet varnished fingernails ever again 
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ELRIC
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They’ve got the same cans at our local Lowes. I was curious as to why it says “substitute” on the can, but never read the label.
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Melgar
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Quote: Originally posted by ELRIC  | | They’ve got the same cans at our local Lowes. I was curious as to why it says “substitute” on the can, but never read the label.
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It was my impression that ethyl acetate was released as a substitute for MEK when California started complaining about MEK being a health hazard.
Then for some reason, California came to the conclusion that ethyl acetate wasn't any safer, even though it's just an ester of two harmless, common
naturally-occurring organic substances. So then they discontinued it, apparently.
The first step in the process of learning something is admitting that you don't know it already.
I'm givin' the spam shields max power at full warp, but they just dinna have the power! We're gonna have to evacuate to new forum software!
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PirateDocBrown
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Yep, my local Ace also has the same stuff, in gallon cans. I got one. I get my Rooto there, too. Another Ace, further afield, had oxalic acid wood
bleach on the shelves.
And a Hardware Hank in the burbs will order sodium nitrate fertilizer, $8 for 4 pounds, ideal for nitric acid production.
[Edited on 5/22/18 by PirateDocBrown]
Phlogiston manufacturer/supplier.
For all your phlogiston needs.
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Magpie
lab constructor
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Don't forget copper sulfate and muriatic acid. One member said that Ace is a chemical supply store masquerading as a hardware store.
Also, in a small town hardware store I found a quart of ethyl acetate labeled as "ethyl acetate." I bought it for a friend who uses it as a butterfly
anesthetic. I have plenty of my own.
Now, if we could just convince Ace to carry nitric acid.
[Edited on 22-5-2018 by Magpie]
[Edited on 22-5-2018 by Magpie]
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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JJay
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I stopped by Ace today and saw Klean Strip Toluol sitting on shelves for the first time ever. They didn't have any MEK substitute, but they did have
MEK, not to mention the cheapest acetone I have ever seen, xylene, sodium hydroxide, several types of lime, boric acid, diatomaceous earth, and a
variety of sulfuric acid drain cleaners. I think True Value has a better selection, but I haven't found bulk calcium hydroxide anywhere else locally,
and Ace has really good prices on solvents.
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meohmix
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ethyl acetate
I contacted the Klean Strip company some time ago and they told me they discontinued the MEK substitute product...sad.
RogueRose inquired about a ethyl acetate group buy:
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=82319#...
Let him know your interested if you are.
(he also mentioned in that thread he knew of a cheap formaldehyde by the gallon source (at Wallmart???), if you know what he is talking about/where to
source reasonably priced formalin, please let us know)
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VSEPR_VOID
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I went there on the day last and requisitioned 8 feet of tubing (for my own condenser, 300mm long, and to hook up an aspirator), sulfuric acid, bleach
of a concentration of 10%, and hydrochloric acid. This all cost me 30 U.S. dollars. Online such a thing would have been much more because of hazard
shipping. ACE is the best friend of the amateur chemist.
Within cells interlinked
Within cells interlinked
Within cells interlinked
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arkoma
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Agreed! My local Ace in Stamps, Arkansas has all manner of goodies, including actual MEK.
"We believe the knowledge and cultural heritage of mankind should be accessible to all people around the world, regardless of their wealth, social
status, nationality, citizenship, etc" z-lib
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PirateDocBrown
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One of the local ACE franchisees carries Fertilome garden chemicals (Hi-Yield). Iron, Magnesium, Aluminum, and Zinc Sulfates, Potassium Chloride,
Calcium Hydroxide, elemental Sulfur, and Sodium Nitrate (as I mentioned before). All readily purified, cheap, and useful.
Phlogiston manufacturer/supplier.
For all your phlogiston needs.
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sodium_stearate
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I too have always had good luck finding what I need
at Ace Hardware.
When I was a kid making hydrogen balloons, I'd walk down
2 blocks to my local Ace Hardware store to get hydrochloric
acid and a roll of sheet zinc.
Many years later when I first started investigating
making the brown wax to cast Edison cylinder recording
blanks, Ace Hardware was where I found my first 1 pound
bottle of "Insta-Flo" brand lye crystals. Turns out
all that's added to the sodium hydroxide in that drain
cleaner product is a small amount of carbon, just to give it
a greyish color. That easily filters out.
So yeah, Ace always has "stuff" 
"Opportunity is missed by most people
because it is dressed in overalls and it
looks like work" T.A. Edison
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