Silver Refining Pure Silver Crystal Part 1of3

[@jammadturn]

Thank You for not melting the coins.

[@Avalanche2]

The coins are generally worth more than the silver melt price. To melt them would be ignorant.

[@hashglass]

i know i was like dont at first

[@OldManandtheSuperC]

I’ve bought worn silver dollars from a coin dealer for same price he could get from the refiner. They have little to no numismatic value and he didn’t want them cluttering up his inventory. I also bought small silver bars that people buy off ‘precious metal investment’ ads. Any bars that were scratched or worn he sold me for 90% of melt value since he could not resell as investment bars. They were all .999 bars, mostly 10 or 25 gram size. Bought all of them he had. Pretty sure he was buying them off people wanting cash and only giving them 70%-75% of melt value. Three parts 99% coin silver to one part fine silver pretty much melts to sterling .925

[@fito21091980]

Q

[@johnthomas6224]

For me it all depends on the condition of the coin and what’s in it

[@Floridays48]

I too am happy to see coins get to stay in original form, process is slick great to watch someone that knows what's up!!!!

[@ut000bs]

I immediately wanted to look to see if anyone else asked if you went through those coins before you destroyed them. Whew. I kept watching and kicked myself knowing you were smarter than that. ‼️ Thanks, Chief. On to part 2! 👍

[@icon2012]

THANK YOU for not refining the coins. I almost cried out loud when you started showing them as possible melt content. thank you thank you thank you. and thank you for these videos. the time and effort you make to document and explain the process is much appreciated.

[@sreetips]

There are some folks who will want to refine the silver from coins and it is possible to do it using the process in this video. But it would not be the smart thing to do.

[@jasonsilver6474]

@@sreetips Mr. Sreetips, could you send me an email please , I could really use some expert advice with a few small issues I have. [e-mail]

[@victorbressler7156]

@@sreetips its also illegal to deface currency

[@wadehampton1534]

Incredible, I never weary of seeing metals dissolve in solution, and precipitate out again. I can't believe how loaded the solution is with silver, it made a very respectful haul of silver cement! This is where I am going to start, I'm going to be on the lookout for sterling silver, and begin to buy it. I'll set up a silver cell and take it from there. Thank you, sreetips, this is invaluable information and I'm very appreciative to you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us!

[@Newmath907]

I love your presentation it is impossible to misunderstand the process. Thank you sir for your kind and benevolent works.

[@dwightgordon803]

Was so happy to hear you recommend against destroying those beautiful coins.

[@RestoreITdontJunkIT]

Thank you sir for NOT MELTING THE COINS.... 😍😍😍😍

[@taino1642]

i was screaming at the screen when i saw those morgans and mercs. i was really not looking forwards to watching him refine those. glad they will end up in his safe.

[@Johnmasterson5600]

925 fine

[@roadrash90]

It's against the law to destroy legal tender, I think it might be a federal offence.

[@roadrash90]

@Xtreme Performance oh ok, didn't know that, just remember seeing something about a while ago, thanks for the info 👍

[@thereptileguyz7265]

I just refined a bunch of coins that were in the fire this last year most of them were melted together or really badly damaged made my grandfather happy to get back some good silver

[@shaneyork300]

A few weeks ago when I started watching your vids for a second time I started to take detailed notes of procedure and supplies. I'll refer to this and then when I get the gold refining book I'll have this and the book. My notes could be a mini book already, great referral source for when I start to refine!! Thank you and Have a GREAT Day!!!

[@mps7929]

Do you have a link for the book ?

[@shaneyork300]

@@mps7929 not yet, but hoping to get the hard copy for my birthday next month.

[@mps7929]

Yea.. it's: refining precious metal work by CM hook.. hard copy is better

[@1000rr2008cbr]

I may never refine anything but I sure enjoy watching you do it. Thank you for the awesome videos...

[@kayrizob92]

I absolutely love these videos. Your a grate educator. My school never would have tried to teach chemistry to me or my classmates. I believe if schools explained refining chemistry before doing what thay probably do (the structure of chemical elements) a lot more people would care about the planet and the stuff it's made of. Keep up the good work. I'm going to buy a book all about refining/metallurgy.

[@scott27288]

I love this cementing silver reaction. I could watch it all day. Thanks for not melting the coins.

[@ProfaneGod]

i love that beautiful shade of blue of the solution it always catches my attention

[@dustinmiller2775]

That's copper! 🙂

[@katykessinger7437]

Love that you made your own "bobbin winder" for the copper wires!

[@mattmakes2135]

I purchased a sterling silver dish/art piece, and upon inspection, it was in fact silver, and the manufacturing company specializes in silver and pewter. After I was satisfied that I did in fact have silver, I broke it down to fit in my crucible, which was clean, and melted it down. Once it was molten, I added borax, and then it got interesting. It stopped behaving like silver and started acting like zinc. It flashed up with smoke and zinc oxide and a bright yellow glow. After I poured it, it did not freeze how zinc normally does, with a hexagonal crystalline pattern on the top, it froze as a normal bar of metal, but at the rate you would expect zinc to freeze. Naturally I tested it with some hydrochloric and I got zinc results. The bar has a dull finish to it unlike zinc. which usually freezes with a shiny finish. What do I have on my hands here, Sreetips? Was this a zinc dish that was coated with a thicker layer of silver, rather than just a plating? Should I take it to a analysist who can tell me the material content of my ingot?

[@sreetips]

Test with schwerters to verify silver: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3SbYWqPecutb9k

[@slugtheslayer]

A sterling job sir, thank you for your videos.

[@rowanfraser922]

I really loved seeing the gold processing waste make a reappearance. I was very curious as to its re-use. As for your copper wire. A simple crank-handle press could be used to run the wire through to turn it into copper foil which would be the ideal form to use

[@riverrat1431]

Thank you for so much detail . I'm new at gold and silver recovery and your videos really help me out a lot . thanks

[@scott27288]

I'm going to be honest, when I saw that you had all those gorgeous silver coins on the table I ALMOST stopped watching the video because I couldnt bear to watch you melt down those beautiful coins. As a coin collector myself it just breaks my heart to think of all the collectible coins that have been destroyed all for a little bit of silver value. Thank you thank you for saving them! You rock!

[@brookechandler6265]

im pretty sure it was made illegal to melt down us currency....

[@victoriastevens3166]

@@brookechandler6265 no sir.

[@wadehampton1534]

@ Brooke Chandler, it is illegal to melt US coins that are currently in circulation. Once they have been removed from circulation, they can be defaced (melted). That being said, only a fool would melt down silver or gold coins, they all demand a premium, as collectable.

[@Steelythestacker]

​@@brookechandler6265just 1 and 5 cent coins.

[@cheryljason9617]

Im a electrician and I've used those side cuts before and I'll say I got some Kline and they cut a whole lot better... but those will work as well... thanks for sharing I appreciate it

[@lesliefrench2229]

Guy you are a hell of a chemist to be doing this i never knew silver could be held in a solution like this . i sincerely love watching you do this .im learning tons here .i would like to try this on a little smaller scale . you have me intrigued here for sure .you are a book of information . but im really glad i didnt see you melt the coins . ive collected coins for 39 yrs now i was 20 yrs old when i started and ive got one hell of a collection . for that i commend you for telling everybody watching theres value in old coins . awesome

[@sreetips]

Thank you

[@geraldposey1496]

I watch many of these videos and often ask myself, "Why am I watching this?". This video answered that question. Instead of explaining lab procedures, Sreetips is explaining wire stripping. I think if Sreetips makes a video explaining a phonebook I would watch it.

[@jankrizek5562]

Amazingly detailed set of videos. I wish you were my chemistry teacher at school. Thanks !!!

[@jofloresz]

Hey if you get a table vise then you can just put your knives in them and split open the knives down the seam and open them up like that to get the insides out easier.

[@danieljameschamberlin1726]

Hey SreeTips, if you do the stripping of your wire in this form it would help you to do it by starting with the wire out in the mid day sun. it softens the coating and comes away like butter.

[@sreetips]

Excellent tip - thank you

[@silverdawn2767]

I was tripping at first thought he was going to ruin all those coins I would have died alot of those could be worth twenty times or more the value of the silver value

[@bksduskmirror1250]

You should make a video showing how to extract and refine THC out of a cannabis plant.

[@slip8293]

I would fold a large flat piece of copper so there is a lot more surface area for the silver to cement onto

[@fullpushmetals6711]

And yes THANK YOU! For helping me get off the ground safely and with a huge jump start on the learning process.

[@sreetips]

Excellent

[@frankz1125]

You are probably correct. It is not the same as you had before. But it will work if you use your multimeter at the cell and set it how you like. An amp meter would be useful as well.

[@josephintravaia7670]

Thank you for not destroying the coins. Thank you so much .

[@roberthainline4552]

For stripping the wire tried cutting back a little bit at the beginning then take the bare ground wire and pull it down the sheath and it should strip a clean cut all the way down

[@russsherwood5978]

i never had chemistry in school so this video an yer channel i pay attension to, i dont do this in my recycleing i leave this to you knowagable guys to do and jist sell/stock pile the scrap,, silver i buy is already been pourd int rounds or bars,, them crystals ya have by the bowl full is still havein me druling,,100 thumbs-up fer the series thank you fer thet,, be blessed an safe

[@crystalkim7130]

I was flipping out looking at the coins thinking you were going to refine them... whew you got me.

[@Steelythestacker]

I have some constitutional coins on the block for refining. They are very very worn to the point you can't read the date and they have lost 15 to 20% of their original weight, so won't be usable for fair barter. I actually have one quarter that is 1.3 grams lighter than it was from the mint and it has not been clipped. It looks like it was dipped in acid or something just making it very thin with a very rough surface.

[@charlesdecharleroy7209]

I usually dissolve all the silver I can, then toss in a few little pieces of silver plated stuff, and let the free acid left over dissolve as much as it can. Usually some thin copper skeleton is left over.

[@disgruntledtoons]

I notice in this video as well as in the videos about gold refining is that when the metals are in a pure solution their color is move vivid and beautiful.

[@sreetips]

disgruntledtoons agree, whom ever came up with those colors really knew what they were doing

[@jasonneugebauer5310]

Great video. You are an excellent teacher. Thank you for providing this knowledge to the world.

[@sreetips]

Thank you

[@videolabguy]

0:08 - Heck! My tummy does that every day! 0:22 - Now my girlfriend wants a fume hood for her birthday. ;-) 0:35 - Found the neighborhood cat burglar! Seriously, I actually love your videos. Keep up the good educational work. Be safe.

[@authorunknown7262]

I found kitchen sheers to be helpful for copper wire. I just cut around the metal and then slide/pull off the rubber casing with pliers.

[@TheKrzy65siek]

Why you do not use any kind of bubbler when cementing out silver on copper? It should be easier to bubble it than stir?

[@lydiaanderson2870]

@Hello Krzysztof Kulesza, How are you doing?

[@cynthiajantz9314]

Fascinating to watch and learn!

[@misterguts]

1:28 "You must choose, but choose wisely. The True Grail will being you life!"

[@rb6756]

In the knives is paraffin wax hit it with a torch and they fall right out. I have been working with a silversmith for 14 years and that is how we do it

[@sreetips]

I’ve been refining gold and silver for fourteen years. And I’ve never seen wax in the knife handles. It’s a white chalky sort of cement.

[@silverstruck2753]

Ha, that's funny. You can hear fireworks (I think) in the background - July 4th. Thanks, this is great and very educational. You are practical and frugal - using what is at hand for the processes.

[@splintercelloo7]

Fireworks or gunshots? I heard it too and played back a 2nd time cause I just imagined him living in some gutter neighborhood where his neighbors are all bottom feeders of society and dont care about the older couple living next door that's always stuffed up inside the house. They just see him coming home all the time with distilled water and thrift store cookware because he's a broke @ss man with no hobbies. Little do they know he's a wealth of knowledge and sharing with the world. Not to mention the trace amounts of platinum group trinkets he might have laying about the house. I love this guy. I wish I could be his lab assistant for a few months. I think I would pay him just to have the opportunity to clean up behind him.

[@jackmccarthy5600]

Approximately how many ml of nitric acid does it take to dissolve 1000 gms of silver?

[@sreetips]

Somewhere the number 1.2ml nitric to dissolve a gram of silver comes to mind.

[@jackmccarthy5600]

@@sreetips Thank you

[@justthetipgaming1720]

smack the silver end of the the butter knifes with a hammer breaks up the cement faster and slips off

[@2507ryan]

You know with the right little amount of start up cost you can essentially keep creating new silver over and over again and sell it on the the open market and make some significant amount of money but the only thing I worry about is if too many people flood the market with silver the price of silver will drop significantly.

[@RafalScrapper]

great job sir everything well explained and nicely showed im just finishing my little refine tho much smaller then you had about 100 g and just stop by to check if i don´t forget about something

[@kurtschultz8199]

Re: burn-off before placing silver items in nitric acid: would it be simpler or more efficient to bake those things in an oven, say at 450 degrees F?

[@sreetips]

I've never tried it, but my guess is a torch is quicker and easier.

[@kurtschultz8199]

@@sreetips I suspect it is more expensive... and you could be doing other things while you are waiting for the oven to cycle. The step might be made unnecessary if the recycled materials are first melted into shot. Do you see any advantage to placing shot into the nitric acid, rather than chunks of the burned-off materials? It seems to me that if nothing else, the granularity of shot would make it easier to stir when adding more nitric acid to the reduction flask, which should reduce the risk of boil-over.

[@SilverBull30]

Glad you left the coins to be! Great score on the Roosie folders $20, each even in 2018, Thanks!

[@danethegreat5366]

So why don't you melt your wire into a bar? We have seen you have a little melt furnace.

[@sreetips]

Not necessary, the wire works just fine like it is.

[@JoeyGambella]

Ment to say.. You know the expression "it takes Money to make Money" Well it "takes Silver to make Silver" At first i thought i could just mix some chemicals together and make silver 😂 This is not the case Thanks for explaining the process in detail ....you saved my whole kitchen too There needs to be more useful videos like this Nice job Scientist Fella

[@jacquesbouchard8884]

Checked some other videos but this channel is the place to go for precious metal refining! Great work !

[@MrRammsteinforlife]

Nice diy solutions for preparing the copper coils.

[@TheBrassCaster]

Some of the TOWLE, "Old Master" sterling silver knives have solid sterling blades. Check eBay, they are, RARE and worth much more than the sterling content.

[@riceire2445]

Do you sell the silver crystal ? Would love to have some raw crystal

[@sreetips]

I’ll get some more of it listed on my eBay site

[@stokerboiler]

When you do initial clean up I notice you don't use aluminum foil to remove tarnish. Is that sulfide inconsequential to refining operations?

[@sreetips]

I use a flame to incinerate. I've never used aluminum in any of the refining processes that I use.

[@scarsprospecting]

Can’t wait to do this ! In the process right now of refining my sterling

[@benjaminforman8901]

39:55 "I flip the switch and hang on!" Why does this feel so profound?🤣 I think I've got a new catch phrase! 😆

[@TURKEYHUNTER18ABLE]

What a good job you are doing, I am learning so much than I could have ever dreamed, watching your viedo .

[@NandiCollector]

*I would like to see him to extract some pure silver from some of those coins. Normally, no key dates or rarities, just for the fun of it. :)*

[@samsonian]

A way to go about getting your hands on good solid copper is to have a relationship with the local metal recyclers…that way you can make arrangements to buy the big, thick pieces of pure copper or swap like for like (stripped wire aka “bright” copper) by weight. If you throw in a 12-pack of beer or whatever they like to drink or a pizza for the crew they’ll often do plenty for you!

[@johntimpe8365]

i have been watching your youtube video's and find it amazing how your able to refine silver and gold and other precious metals into bars. i am seriously thinking about doing this myself although i won't be repairing jewelry my eyes ain't that good anymore. i have heard that computer mother boards and video card pathways have silver in them is this true and if so would it be worth going after.

[@sreetips]

John, I don’t refine escrap anymore because the yields are too low. But for someone who likes to tinker, getting a piece of pure silver from some of that type scrap could be a blast.

[@jasonsachs6688]

Just my perspective as I watch the fast foreward parts, thinking if only I could work that fast, I'd be able to get stuff done!! Lol. Another great video. Thanks.

[@grom7826]

"Honey, can you bring in the clear salad plates, ? We have company coming tonight for dinner, Oh I need the Corning ware too. " Great video !

[@fullpushmetals6711]

Bigger solid grounding wire would be better then 12 or 14ga. #10 is the least i would use. But solid #6 is great for not breaking off in batch when forming crystals.

[@sreetips]

Bigger wire means more current flow. It's the current that does the work.

[@fullpushmetals6711]

@@sreetips wonder how much more? If finessed it would eliminate the wire problem.

[@TomTom.o.]

If you grab just the wire one wire in one hand the other 2 or 2 in the other and pull it apart the plastic coating spits without a razor.

[@johnr4032]

The reason for my questions is I am trying to dissolve some sulphide ore cons that contains a lot of silver but can only seem to get about half the assay amount of silver to dissolve. Maybe I just did not heat enough or long enough but I was leaning toward the solution being too weak or wondering if the material develops a coating that won't let the silver dissolve. IAW with an ASAT procedure I am only using a 15 percent nitric solution to start with as that is purported to be the best for dissolving sulphide ore cons.

[@sreetips]

I've never worked with sulphide ore cons. If silver is being shielded from the acids, if it were me, I'd get a sample of the ore then try melting it into a button, if that's possible. Then I'd alloy the button with some sterling silver, stirring with a graphite rod to ensure a homogenous alloy, pour it into water to make some granules, then hit it with your 15% nitric boils until no more red fumes appear. Any gold should remain undissolved and the silver can be recovered by siphoning off the liquid after it settles overnight. Repeat the nitric boils until no more fumes appear. Then filter and rinse the solids to see if any gold can be recovered from that. If it were mine this is the experiment that I would try.

[@dennisgeroux4483]

Good description of the process.

[@mikeheller1080]

Excellent video, very detailed, wish all tutorials were like this

[@raymondcote6669]

Stirring yes. Also off the heat like you do and add more silver to cool more quickly

[@andrewbako9494]

1763F... melting point of silver... if you were wondering why not just melt it down

[@whitebuffalo84]

Ok i know these videos are old. Here is a serious question. have you started with a known quanity of silver that you are starting with to see if the cementing of the silver and silver cell crystals to see if you have a gain or loss over the whole process. that would be a great series.

[@SilverMac47]

You gave me a heart attack at first. Thought you were gonna melt the Constitutional coins. 🤣😂😂😂😂

[@sreetips]

Palladium (AQUILLA refining) on the goldrefiningforum.com once told me, "you'll throw rocks at the small glass and graphite silver cell once you cross over to a stainless steel silver cell." He was right. In the larger stainless cell the crystals grow fatter and you don't have to keep pushing them down like you do in the 1 liter glass cell. I have an earlier video that shows how to construct and use the stainless steel cell. But the small glass cell is what I used to learn.

[@cheryljason9617]

I know lol

[@66bigbuds]

I melt junk constitutional coins all the time.

[@MarkMarvin1983]

My Grandpa and his brothers were all Chemists and Pharmacists. I love seeing a chemical refinement. I mean using a propane furnace and a crucible is fine but this is pure!

[@mikewhitfield8425]

Most commercial electroplating operations use titanium for their anode baskets. Have you considered using a titanium mesh filter or a titanium rod for your cell?

[@sreetips]

No I haven't, stainless bowl and plastic anode basket work very well. But I do believe that titanium would work also. In part three (I'm working on it now) I use a piece of graphite as the cathode.

[@mikewhitfield8425]

sreetips looking forward to it.

[@roberthainline4552]

I like your message for the individual wires though

[@AlienRestoMod]

Started watching the second video, and you said (wasted disposal) that it's covered in that video. Thanks.

[@AmosPressley]

Wow. This is a tremendous amount of work, requiring time, tools, energy, and chemicals. Are you sure it's worth it?

[@quinntenlindley8432]

Hi sreetips. As I have watched these videos on refining silver. To cement the silver with the copper wire is there a specific diameter of wire that should or shouldn’t be used. I understand that when the silver gets cemented it turns the silver nitrate into copper nitrate so to use too thin of a wire wouldn’t work I can understand that.

[@sreetips]

The thicker the better

[@66bigbuds]

The sterling already had 7 1/2% copper. I thought you were going to remove it. But it looks like you added some.

[@JesusisLord-7A]

To start, I love your videos. I'm working on doing this myself. When you are precipitating, you should try using a fish tank air bubbler to help move the solution and metals. I do agree with the ones that say to melt the copper in to bars. I'm about to start making copper triangles out of my wire using a farrier's forge and one of those cast iron cornbread skillets. A question for you. When you're down to small amounts of silver left, why not do like you do when make the aqua regia and just put pipettes at a time to dissolve the rest of the silver? That way you dissolved everything but you don't have too much nitric acid in solution.

[@sreetips]

Melting copper into bars is an extra step, the wire will work just fine like it is. Those tiny bits of copper wire can be avoided by removing the coil when it gets very thin and putting in a fresh coil of copper wire. I could add small doses of nitric, but it would take a long time. I prefer to let the nitric get consumed and leave some silver behind like in the video.

[@quinntenlindley8432]

Hi sreetips. I greatly enjoy watching all of your videos and love this kind of work. Having a question for the anode basket. You use a filter from a shop vac Dacron type EE. is there another type of filter that can used or is that the recommended filter for this project??

[@sreetips]

I’ve used that kind of filter for years with excellent results.

[@jeraldehlert7903]

I don't know why I like watching these videos, but I do.

[@garycarroll9447]

You can make or buy wire stripers

[@garygeahos4363]

One thing that would be helpful is knowing the exact proportions going into a process. How many grams of a material mixed with how many ml of acid or distilled water? Sometimes its given., sometimes not. I'm trying to get the exact proportions of deplating silver from different silver plated items.

[@sreetips]

I use 150 grams of pure silver in one liter of solution.

[@360Vacation2]

Wow! Fine line to get right. I looked on the web and found that beakers are very expensive.

[@sreetips]

Now thats because inflation = insanity.

[@Shogun459]

When other 'faux' currency, i.e. Paper dollars become worthless, those silver coins will retain their value in silver and can be used as money BECAUSE their content of Silver is known. It makes them a type of silver ingot. Precious metals, stones, water rights and real estate are the only real currency around.

[@sreetips]

Agree. As long as people remain in the dark and think that paper money has value then we will be able to use it (fake paper money) to buy real metal. But this won’t last forever. Eventually, after printing too much paper dollars, there will be a loss of faith in paper. Then we won’t be able to find the metals anywhere.

[@SilverMac47]

You are awesome my friend. I’m about to start refining silver myself. Thanks for these videos. 💪

[@TheOne-ql6cf]

Sreetips, as much as you cook, and what you cook, I reaaaalllly hope your Mrs. Sreetips does all the meals, just sayin'.

[@AceBullion]

Always love your videos, Plus thank you for opening up your eBay shop to the UK. I really wish you try the Poormans aqua Regia method. ALOT of people can not obtain Nitric acid, and yes we can make it but possession of it is illegal unless under licence. At 5% or 10% max.

[@buggsy5]

The problem with the "Poor man's" nitric acid is that there is undesirable metal contamination of the pregnant solution. Some of the metallic contamination will be drug down when the desired metal is precipitated. Very careful washing can minimize, but not eliminate, the contamination.

[@JustJeff62]

Love these videos for sure! Is there a video of your very first gold refining?

[@sreetips]

No, but there’s pictures. It’s documented on the goldrefiningforum.com my user name is kadriver there.

[@JustJeff62]

@@sreetips Awesome! Thank you! Going to have to check it out!

[@sreetips]

Do a search for my posts, then go all the way back to 2010 when I joined. You’ll see me as a newbie novice hopelessly lost. It’s been a fascinating journey. I’m thankful for what I’ve been granted.

[@JustJeff62]

@@sreetips Okay...Will do. Oh I'm sure the journey has been incredible! Probably continues to be incredible! Everything your doing is so interesting to me. The refining is my favorite for sure! I'm thankful to you for knowledge.

[@JustJeff62]

@@sreetips WOW!!! Thank you for introducing me to the forum. I went and checked it out, ended up joining the forum. Went and checked out some of your old posts. AMAZING stuff!!! I already know where I'll be when I'm not watching Sreetips video's. I will be soaking up knowledge in the forum. I see way back then you were asking the same questions I had or have. Also I found a place on there that sells 67% nitric acid, good price and free shipping. Oh and I downloaded C.M. Hoke's book. I am all in on this adventure. Going to be very interesting for sure. Thanks again!

[@Indie9999]

You could do with a sonic bath, that would obliterate that metal in there and speed that cementing up no ends.

[@nathanielrittenhouse9965]

One question...... How do you know your not destroying and antique silver piece worth way more than melt value of the silver its made from? Just wondering in case I come across any sterling flat wear. Thanks

[@joewarrick6043]

I’m curious. How did you learn to do all of this stuff? I’m hooked on all your videos and just wonder how you got into all of it

[@sreetips]

I learned on the goldrefiningforum.com

[@jimw1274]

Great video! How much silver is in the short fat candle holders that are cement filled?

[@patmccrady6063]

jim w there can be up to an ounce of sterling in the small candle sticks.

[@sreetips]

Patrick is right. It depends on the maker. Some have a very thin coating of silver while others are much thicker.

[@buggsy5]

@@sreetips Most that I have seen have roughly 1/2 ounce of silver. None contains anywhere close to what you would think they have on first inspection.

[@StevenSchoolAlchemy]

The blue color is pretty.

[@philipbender956]

If you have a excess of nitric acid in your solution, would you boil the solution to remove the nitric acid?

[@sreetips]

I would add a few more pieces of silver until all the nitric is gone (no more fumes being produced with heat) and ensure that there are a few pieces of undissolved silver left over after the reaction is done.

[@philipbender956]

Thanks. What if you had used up all your silver?

[@sreetips]

Well, I don't like to do it, but I've added sulfamic acid to a silver solution to kill excess nitric. But it must be added in tiny amounts, I'm talking pinches. Too much and the silver will come bubbling out all over the place. It bubbles even more when it is stirred.

[@sreetips]

Or you could just add copper until all the excess nitric is used up. But it would make the silver solution heat up and produce lots of red fumes. Then the silver will come out into the copper like it's supposed to.

[@philipbender956]

sreetips thanks again for all your help. Precious metal refining is a hobby I would like to get very good at. You are the most complete resource I have found on this topic. (Other than actually reading a book :0) Have you ever made your own nitric acid for your experiments?

[@bill老外]

I have silver cutlery marked 800, as it seems to be more common than Sterling 925. Is there any difference in the process when refining 800 silver? Assume mixed with nickel. Thanks for awesome videos. Not must sterling in Australia.

[@sreetips]

I’ve seen 800 silver that was solid 80% silver, 20% copper. But I’ve also seen 800 silver over brass marked “800”. The only way to tell if it’s plated or solid is to file deep into the metal and apply some silver testing solution to the file mark. It’s it turns red then it’s solid silver. Blue black or green is junk. The acid don’t lie.