Cleaning antifreeze from used radiator shop solder

[Chandler]

Hi everyone. I signed up to be able to read and see posted pics. My name is Danny and I live on the west shore of Galveston bay in Texas. I've been casting bullets for some time. I have some WW, some pure lead and some linotype and came upon a radiator shop that sold me a bucket of waste solder I bought for the tin. It is the waste and much of it is fines so I have been reluctant to just take a hose to it and maybe that is what I need to do.

I've googled just about every which way to see what I need to do and get no useful info. I thought surely someone has used this source of tin and dealt with the antifreeze. No luck. I'm about to light the fire and let it cook it off while staying a safe distance. Ethylene glycol is not really water but it is wet and that has been my hangup.

I just wanted a cheap supply of tin to supplement my stock for alloys. My screen name comes from the fact that we make scented candles as a business and if you have females that like scented candles they may have burned some of ours. A candle maker in olde English is a Chandler. My wife is the chandler. I spent decades in the electrical power generation business and a decade in autobody repair. I have used lead in autobody repair and can tell you straight up that bondo does not stick to leaded seams. There is no tooth to stick to.

Anyway, this seems to me to be a site with friendly folks looking for answers to unknown questions and I thank everyone in advance for any information you care to share.

 

[Brad]

I would put it in a pot and light a fire under it. Might need lots of fluxing but it will eventually melt.
Ethylene Glycol has a boiling point under 440° F so it will boil off. I don’t k ow how healthy it would be to breathe in the fumes so I would stay downwind.
Might not be a bad idea to put 5” in a 5 gallon bucket, fill with water, then strain. That will remove much of the glycol and the water will evaporate quickly.
You can add wet stuff to a hot pot but ONLY after the remaining metal has solidified. Pot need not be cold but wet metal into molten metal is very bad. Good way to get burns from molten metal flying around
And welcome to the forum!

 

[Rick]

Welcome to the forum Chandler, glad to have you.

If you put it in a COLD pot and let it heat by the time the tin starts to melt the liquid should be gone. DO NOT add any to a hot pot that has melt in it. As always the usual safety precautions such as goggles are a good plan. I'm not to sure about anti-freeze either so staying a respectable distance until it's completely melted probably wouldn't hurt anything.

 

[RicinYakima]

"Inhalation:
Vapor inhalation is generally not a problem unless heated or misted. Exposure to vapors over an extended time period has caused throat irritation and headache. May cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness and drowsiness. Pulmonary edema and central nervous system depression may also develop. When heated or misted, has produced rapid, involuntary eye movement and coma. "

I would not want to heat this. Wash, put rinse in sanitary sewer. Stuff is very toxic to cats! Very toxic to fish! Spread it out to dry in the sun at least 72 hours. Put in a cold pot and heat. FWIW, Ric

 

[Brad]

Listen to Ric!
He is a guy who knows environmental chemistry. I would follow his suggestions to a T.

 

[fiver]

let dry and melt from a cold pot.

 

[Bret4207]

I would wash it off good with pressurized water (car wash) and then let it dry in the sun. As said, start with a cold pot and you should be fine.

 

[Chandler]

Thanks for the replies and the welcome everyone. I've been sitting on this stuff for a couple of years now. I did consider the environmental issues but did not consider the vapors issue. Thanks for that warning. I'll stew on this some more before I decide what to do. It may just return to the radiator shop for proper disposal and be done with the stuff.

 

[fiver]

I'd use it.
your not gonna get a decent tin alloy for cheap, and a little caution is necessary for melting anything we get or have on hand.
I have seen ingots start sweating just from sitting in the shop as they warm up sitting by the pot, dropping one of them in the pot will guarantee a bubble up or worse.
this is really no different and the glycol will black out on top of the pot with the rest of the dirt becoming a non issue.
just don't stand over the pot as it heats up.

 

[uncle jimbo]

Welcome Chandler,
I got a bucket full of radiator slag a few years ago, and I did it just like Rick said. When it finally melted, I fluxed it a couple of times and cast it up into small ingots.
It looks good and works good. So don't be afraid to use it.
But if you are afraid to use it, let me know and I will send you my addy and you can send it to me for proper disposal.

 

[RBHarter]

I'm pretty sure Brad meant to stay UPwind not downwind .....

Glycol is pretty hard on dogs too . The critters get into it because it smells and tastes sweet . The higher the dilution is the lower the health risk is for pouring it off . Unfortunately it tends to stick together so whatever you start with will be there after the water cooks off .
As a wash through a spare window screen fully supported frame down should keep most of the metal from wandering off during the wash . In a 5gallon bucket of floor sweep I doubt that antifreeze volume is over an oz or 2 unless there was a significant spill swept up as generally washing and soldering aren't done in the same place . .

 

[Ian]

I was gonna make that offer, too....race ya to Galveston!

If there's liquid antifreeze to deal with, poke a hole in the bucket and let it weep out into a pan so you can take it to an auto parts store or repair shop that accepts waste oil/coolant. The remaining residie wont be enough to worry about unless you're standing iver the pot huffing it. AF mix boils at about 270F, so start from a cold pot, simmer off the dampness, and make sure you are far enough away that you can't smell it strongly. A lid on the pot may help keep the heat even when boiling off the moisture.

I've done this before but the shop used de-ionized water in their vat so no AF. All the soldering was done in or over the vat, not sure why. The challenge is with the oxide to metal ratio and small particles. Sawdust flux can help that a lot.

 

[Chandler]

I should have anticipated the offers to take it off my hands I do like some of the ideas though. The screen and the bucket sounds like something to try.

 

[creosote]

That just proves what a great bunch of folks that are on this site. They don't even know you, but are concerned for your well being.

 

[JSH]

I have had the same stuff from radiator shop local to me.
I rinsed mine several times. I don't know how much you have, but don't fool with a full bucket and try to wash.
Put maybe 4-6" of the "fines" into the bottom of a five gallon bucket. I rinsed it a bunch so as to get it to rolling in the bucket. Anything that floats out you don't want any way.

IMHO there is not enough glycol or antifreeze in the stuff to worry about. The sludge and iron was the hardest to deal with.

If you dry it and it has a lot of sludge, it makes a mess.
If you try and sift or strain in you will loose some alloy.

Rinse real well, put it in a COLD pot and heat up and stir. If you rinse well there will be a lot less crap float to the top.