Question: What are some options for copper materials to make a copper plate test kit?

warren is asking a question about kits
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by warren | December 06, 2017 17:55 | #15321


We've looked at copper pipes and plates as potential materials for our prototype copper plate discoloration test for hydrogen sulfide.

What are some other options? We're looking for:

  • low cost
  • easy to cut would be nice
  • small, say 3x3 inches or less?
  • can be scrubbed with acetone or solvent to clean off
  • high purity copper?

What have folks tried, or wanted to try out? We're hoping to make a prototyping kit for this!

Also see this related question about setup:

What's the best setup for a copper rod or copper plate test for DIY hydrogen sulfide detection?

And this one about how to scrub them clean before testing:

Can you use rubbing alcohol for prepping copper for Hydrogen Sulfide test?



3 Comments

Great notes on choosing different copper pipes (apparently there's red copper and blue copper?) by @sara on this post:

https://publiclab.org/notes/sara/5-2-2012/materials-copper-pipe-work

Also a good discussion of whether adhesive copper foil could work, or if it'd interact with the acetone badly, with @gretchengehrke and @zengirl2:

https://publiclab.org/notes/gretchengehrke/11-02-2017/copper-sheet-hydrogen-sulfide-detection-activity#c17756

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I was looking for some pre-cut smaller pieces of copper in standard sizes, in part to avoid the warping that cutting big sheets with shears can cause. I found these copper stamping blanks that have 2 holes predrilled:

https://www.amazon.com/RMP-Stamping-Blanks-Rectangular-Copper/dp/B00MHWRLDI/

They're $13 for 10, so $1.30 each, and the holes could make it easier to mount them.

But what's best is that they have a protective film coating -- designed for stamping through with letters and numbers. I was thinking that potentially this could be removed when you want to start the test, presenting a consistent surface at least the first time... but in any case preserving the surface even before you sand it down and acetone it as per Gretchen's documented method: (#15142)

They're 1"x2" with rounded corners:

copper-blanks.jpg

I'm liking this a lot. I might want to try these for my experiment as I think snipping copper is hazardous LOL. Also, this could make an interesting campaign if you have people wearing their exposure levels.


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