Where can you buy Hydrochloric acid in the UK?

[fizzy]

There is no legislation in the U.K. ,as far as I am aware,to stop you buying or owning Sulphuric acid.
Freely available from APC pure.

"It is now a criminal offence for members of the public to possess sulphuric acid above 15% concentration without a licence, with offenders facing a 2-year prison sentence and an unlimited fine."

Government introduces tough new measure to prevent acid attacks

The government has banned people possessing strong sulphuric acid without a valid reason as part of its drive to tackle acid attacks and violent crime.

www.gov.uk

 

[fizzy]

That is despite the fact Vitriol attacks have been happening since Victorian times.

 

[Maker]

I today's climate I'd have had armed police outside the door after blowing up a tree stump with weedkiller and sugar...

My brother made a batch of "rocket candy" a few years ago, good fun.

 

[roofman]

Whats in car battery's?...don't they have sulphuric acid

 

[optima21]

"It is now a criminal offence for members of the public to possess sulphuric acid above 15% concentration without a licence, with offenders facing a 2-year prison sentence and an unlimited fine."

Government introduces tough new measure to prevent acid attacks

The government has banned people possessing strong sulphuric acid without a valid reason as part of its drive to tackle acid attacks and violent crime.

www.gov.uk

at least you can water it down if you have some that is too concentrated


and remember the acid must be added to the water

 

[500e]

Gill aircraft batteries come with the acid in separate plastic bottles

 

[Melvyn Best]

Alloy cleaner?

I think that’s what they use it for, sprayed on from a garden type spray. We had one customer that took their year old Golf to a hand wash and ended up with a handprint on the front wing where a gloved hand was

 

[Jim2007]

Thanks everyone for the reply's, i now have a lot of good options!

Sorry, i really should have clarified what this was for:
I am thinking of using it to make a Copper(II) Chloride based etching solution, for use etching PCBs, so it needs to relatively pure, i don't want all sorts of junk in my etchant.

 

[500e]

Ferric Chloride crystals

I have about 2 Kg sat here doing nothing £"10 +carriage

 

[500e]

Had them awhile but in a plastic bag in a plastic container as they came I used about 1/2 kilo
Sheet that came with them in PDF

 

[Ross365]

I've been involved in making printed circuit boards since the 1960's, and the use of hydrochloric acid for this task is quite unusual. For a very long time, ferric chloride solution was the way to go, and that's what I still use. That has largely being replaced now by what I think is a persulphate compound???

I'd guess the reason the the acid was never popular is that it is no more than a solution with water containing dissolved hydrogen chloride gas, and the latter is bad for everything, the fumes attacking body tissue and just about any and every metal with glee. I would never keep any hydrochloric acid in my workshop.

 

[8ob]

Thanks everyone for the reply's, i now have a lot of good options!

Sorry, i really should have clarified what this was for:
I am thinking of using it to make a Copper(II) Chloride based etching solution, for use etching PCBs, so it needs to relatively pure, i don't want all sorts of junk in my etchant.

Rattle @sako243 `s cage, Ed knows rather a lot about this subject.

Bob

 

[sako243]

We use ferric chloride as @Ross365 mentions

 

[Bluemotion]

Thanks everyone for the reply's, i now have a lot of good options!

Sorry, i really should have clarified what this was for:
I am thinking of using it to make a Copper(II) Chloride based etching solution, for use etching PCBs, so it needs to relatively pure, i don't want all sorts of junk in my etchant.

I’ve got some hydrochloric both medium strength and full nasty strength. Got it from a place that does bulk cleaning products if that’s any help?

 

[DAPPH]

Whats in car battery's?...don't they have sulphuric acid

YES .. sg 1.24 when battery fully charged

 

[123hotchef]

As an aside, I find it’s brilliant for stripping plasma dross and mill scale off parts pre paint.

You need to then dunk it in a bath of alkaline to neutralise it but it’s far easier than grinding away for ages

Tell me more how long in the acid and how long and in what to neutarilese it.

 

[Maker]

I'd guess the reason the the acid was never popular is that it is no more than a solution with water containing dissolved hydrogen chloride gas, and the latter is bad for everything, the fumes attacking body tissue and just about any and every metal with glee. I would never keep any hydrochloric acid in my workshop.

This cupric chloride Jim's after is used by hobbyists because you can "regenerate" the solution by bubbling air though it and topping it off with a bit more HCL, someone on Instructables boldly claimed it's better than ferric chloride a few years ago and no one seems to have questioned it. Supposedly it's better because you never have to throw away old solution, you just bubble in air or add a splash of acid. Of course eventually you'll end up with a huge amount of etchant because you're never getting rid of the old copper ions, so it only makes sense for hobbyists doing very small quantities, doing it professionally you'll quickly have so much etchant that you'll still have to pay to dispose of it, so you may as well just use ferric chloride and not have to deal with rusty fumes.

 

[Beeezer]

I today's climate I'd have had armed police outside the door after blowing up a tree stump with weedkiller and sugar...

I had a police helicopter up in the air quite a few years ago for a similar incident……

 

[Ross365]

People may find it worthwhile to look at the "Explosive Precursors and Poisons Regulations", which list hydrochloric acid (>10%) as a poison under Section 7.2

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...rs/supplying-explosives-precursors-and-poison

Quite a lot of things that used to be "common place" are now listed under those regs.

 

[Morrisman]

Be careful with HCL - gives off very nasty fumes - use only in well ventilated areas or with a full face gas mask.

I remember using it to clean rust off steel parts when I lived in the far east. I left an open bucket in my locked up (for the safety nazis) workshop while I went offshore for six weeks. When I got home again everything of bare steel in the workshop was covered in rust.