Anybody tried... (Etching question).

[CodeMonk]

All the various tutorials, etc. I have read about etching says keep the solution warm.
Has anyone tried using a crock pot? You know, just pour the solution into the crock pot and turn it on?
Would it keep it warm enough?.

The reason I ask is that someone I know has a brand new, unused crock pot that they will give me (I just have to go pick it up), as well as a bunch of other stuff (chairs etc.).

Thanks

[mojotron]

 

[mojotron]

I do it unheated all the time - heating it just speeds it up. The Crock Pot may be more of a pain than practical unless you were etching a lot of boards at once - using baggies in hot water.

[jimbob]

I do it unheated all the time -

I 2nd that. Im in no  hurry

[mojotron]

The thing I don't like about heating is that I have had problems with thin traces - slower etching helps to get it right and not over done; I'm just not that good at timing things - YMMV

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I expect a crock pot would keep it TOO warm, the ones I have seen are designed to run pretty close to boiling.

[tranceracer]

What you can do is fill your crock pot about 1/4 to 1/3 water, put your etching solution in another container and put that container in your crock pot w/ the water.  Set the crock pot to the minimum heat and you can remove the etching container if it gets too warm.  The crock pot simmer temperature may be just enough where you don't need to remove the etching container.  I use this technique with an old electric skillet which gets HOT even at the lowest temp.  When the water starts getting too warm I pull out the plug.

The thing I don't like about heating is that I have had problems with thin traces - slower etching helps to get it right and not over done; I'm just not that good at timing things - YMMV

Yes, I totally agree w/ Mojo, you'll have to experiment to see what is the ideal temp to get the best results for your traces.

[MusicAudio]

I gather from your question that you haven't etched before? If that's the case, I wouldn't recommend heating your etchant. My suggestion is the same as the people above, do it unheated - it'll just take a couple more minutes. Provided that you're not  doing a huuuuuuuuuge board or producing many boards at the same time it's almost not worth it to heat it up - we're talking only minutes difference here.

mike

[fredmerts]

I float my plastic etch container (filled with ferric and board) in a sink full of hot water. Not only does it etch faster, floating the container on the water allows for easy agitation (which also speeds up the process).

[David]

If you use muriatic acid and 40% hydrogen peroxide, you don't NEED to warm it.  At room temperature, this solution will etch a two inch by two inch board in less than two minutes.

[Evad Nomenclature]

If you use muriatic acid and 40% hydrogen peroxide, you don't NEED to warm it.  At room temperature, this solution will etch a two inch by two inch board in less than two minutes.

+1.
I just did 2 rounds of etching... (my first 2!)
I bought ferric chloride from a local shop first and all I can say is this.

Use Muriatic and Hydrogen peroxide.

It's quicker, cleaner (but maybe more volatile) I was sooo careful with the Ferric and still managed to get a couple spots on my jeans (tiny)
That isn't coming out... and it stains *ANYTHING* that it comes in contact with, skin, sink, counter... anything... Just from rinsing the boards in the sink when I was done (don't worry, I didn't pour etchant down the sink!  )  It stained it yellow brown on the bottom and I had to comet it and use soft scrub like 3 times to get it back to white... it still has a little tinge even.

I did a round with muriatic today and etched 8 boards in about 45 minutes time.  They are clean as well as myself... Just make sure you take the necessary precautions because hydrochloric acid on you = burn baby burn. (if you don't rinse it right away) 

[CodeMonk]

I have etched before. Made about 20 boards so far.
I usually heat up some water in a tea kettle, pour that into a container and stick another container with my etchant in it into that. Using ferric chloride (I bought it before I found out about the Muriatic acid mixture )
I bought a quart of it. It was about $8 - $12 (I forget exactly).
I'll be going with the Muriatic acid/Hydrogen peroxide when this runs out.

I was just curious since the tutorials I have read say to keep the solution warm.
And I found out early about the staining. I wear rubber gloves now

I do have another question though somewhat related.
To transfer the toner (using photo paper), I set the iron to the highest setting and press on it for about 1 minute, then I spend about another 30 seconds - 1 minute pressing down and moving the iron.
My iron has a section on the back part of the heating section with no holes.
I've thought about having a friend weld a small piece of flat aluminum on the iron so I don't have to worry about the steam holes on the iron.
Ideally, I would like to be able to just set the iron on the photo paper/PCB and use some kind of spring to maintain pressure on it.
Any thoughts on this idea and/or suggestions?

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

If you are using persulphate - which I highly recommend, as it doesn't stain as badly as ferric chloride and isn't as corrosive to your skin as hydrochloric - you will have to warm it, otherwise it will take a lifetime.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Ideally, I would like to be able to just set the iron on the photo paper/PCB and use some kind of spring to maintain pressure on it.
Any thoughts on this idea and/or suggestions?

Maybe, but I think that moving the iron around helps to spread the heat evenly, plus the slight changes of angle and pressure points ensures that all points on the paper are brought into direct contact with the PCB.

[CodeMonk]

Sounds right.
I was just looking for a slightly more "automated" (lazy?) way of doing it.