[ARC5] MEK, benzene, acetone for Q dope.

Mon Mar 10 12:44:28 EDT 2014

You're a medical expert now?  Look up the effects, including liver damage. 

Peter

> On Mar 10, 2014, at 9:28 AM, "J. Forster" <jfor at quikus.com> wrote:
> 
> Well, if what you say is true, where are the acres of dead plumbers? PVC
> cement and cleaner is mostly MEK. They slosh it on rags to clean joints.
> 
> Or the hospitals full of boat and car body builders. MEK is used to thin
> epoxy in large quantities.
> 
> -John
> 
> ================
> 
> 
>> You cannot say for certain no harm will come from casual exposure. It is
>> simply not known, and there is tremendous variation among different
>> people.
>> 
>> 
>> Peter
>> 
>>> On Mar 10, 2014, at 8:56 AM, "J. Forster" <jfor at quikus.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> MSDSs are for Industrial Exposure...  40 hours per week for many years.
>>> Not for occasional, casual use.
>>> 
>>> You can die from drinking water or eating carrots too.
>>> 
>>> -John
>>> 
>>> =====================
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> All,
>>>> Here is the Material Safety Data Sheet for the MEK. They always sound
>>>> scary,
>>>> but with the toxicity at greater than 2 gram per kilo you would have to
>>>> drink about 3 ounces to get close to an acute  problem. The most danger
>>>> is
>>>> it is very flammable so think like gasoline; use in a well ventilated
>>>> space
>>>> away from ignition sources. Best outside unless it is snowing. A
>>>> basement
>>>> might pose a problem if you spilled a pint bottle.
>>>> I am a voyeur on this site. My dad was W6FKQ and I got on your mailing
>>>> list
>>>> when I asked one member about some WW2 radio gear my dad had in the
>>>> attic
>>>> and in his rack in the basement. I have appreciated learning from all
>>>> of
>>>> you
>>>> about some of the gear. There are a number of pieces in the attic, some
>>>> new
>>>> in the box, and one ARC-5 (sans tubes, but I probably have them in the
>>>> few
>>>> thousand tubes he tested and saved). I plan to get to divesting this
>>>> gear
>>>> and plan to start here as I know it will find a good appreciative home.
>>>> I never got my ham license though my dad tried to interest me. I am a
>>>> chemist and could not "see" what the electrons were doing vs what I
>>>> mixed
>>>> in
>>>> a flask. Also, I could not make them explode.
>>>> Regards,
>>>> jim
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net
>>>> [mailto:arc5-bounces at mailman.qth.net]
>>>> On
>>>> Behalf Of J. Forster
>>>> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 10:02 AM
>>>> To: Leslie Smith
>>>> Cc: ARC-5 List
>>>> Subject: Re: [ARC5] MEK, benzene, acetone for Q dope.
>>>> 
>>>> If you have a jar of MEK and leave it uncapped for a day, you have an
>>>> empty
>>>> jar.
>>>> 
>>>> It does not 'rust' metals. I removes all oil films, and then the metal
>>>> rusts.
>>>> 
>>>> An occasional whiff of MEK is not hazardous, but it's stupid to stick
>>>> your
>>>> head in a tank of it's vapors. You'll probably get high, as with
>>>> hundreds
>>>> of
>>>> other solvents.
>>>> 
>>>> -John
>>>> 
>>>> =================
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>>> An observation, but without actual experience.
>>>>> 
>>>>> MEK is prone to rust ferric metals.
>>>>> I wouldn't breathe fumes from MEK (but I don't think any sensible
>>>>> person would do that).
>>>>> Benzene is a known carcinogen, but not liable to rust metal.
>>>>> Acetone should dissolve polystyrene "chips" but less hazardous than
>>>>> the other two.
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 73 de Les Smith
>>>>> vk2bcu at operamail.com
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 8:19, Kenneth G. Gordon wrote:
>>>>>>> On 8 Mar 2014 at 14:25, hwhall at compuserve.com wrote:
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> I had done some googling on plastics when thinking about coil
>>>>>>> supports
>>>>>> and the
>>>>>>> polystyrene used in Q-Dope, plastic peanuts, and model airplanes
>>>>>>> was
>>>>>> about the
>>>>>>> most completely RF-transparent common plastic that anyone had
>>>>>>> reported
>>>>>> on.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The "Q" dope someone here suggested to me, 1/2 pint of MEK and as
>>>>>> many plastic peanuts or styrofoam (same stuff, AFAIK) cups dissolved
>>>>>> in it as it will take.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Worked absolutely prefectly for me.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The 1/2 pint of MEK took 16 large styrofoam cups and could have taken
>>>>>> more, but as I said a while back, it was taking longer and longer to
>>>>>> completely dissolve them, so I quit and used it as was.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Nice stuff.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Ken W7EKB
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> 