FlaMtnBkr Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I recently bought 20 lbs of barium chlorate and 2 lbs of paris green that came in a 5 gallon bucket with lid from a fellow pyro. When I pulled the lid off the bucket it has a fairly strong vinegar smell. Do either chemical have a similar smell? I doubt it but figured I would ask as I don't know what would cause it. Each chemical is double bagged and the barium is a pure white. I haven't taken them out of the bucket to see if it might be the bucket as I like the idea of them being sealed well. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I'd put my money on the paris green. It's copper acetoarsenite. It has a component of acetic acid, aka vinegar. I've never had any real Paris green, so someone else could tell you if it always has that kind of smell, or if it's possibly just an impurity. I know at least that clean copper (II) acetate does not have an odor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I have some Paris Green and it doesn't smell of anything. Perhaps the bucket was previously used for making pickles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 While I do have plenty of pickle buckets that still smell exactly like a dill pickle, it appears to be a brand new bucket from Lowes with their logo. I assume the paris green has been around a while so hopefully it hasn't decomposed much as it wasn't exactly cheap. But I wanted to get some to compare more modern blue formulas with the older formulas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Paris Green isn't soluble in water. You may want to try to wash a little bit of it with water or alcohol to see if that fixes anything. If there was left over acetic acid from manufacture, it'd have that smell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdmiralDonSnider Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I read that the smell doesn´t say anything. It´s fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bcorso85 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Hey guys. I'm still new in this hobby and I have a question about Paris green. How do you properly handle and store the chemical, as well as realgar. I want to safely use these chemicals. Specifically the realgar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Paris Green and realgar are inert on their own, so there are no storage problems. Using them, wear latex gloves and a dust mask - you wouldn't want to inhale them - and don't eat or drink around them, obviously. Otherwise they're no more hazardous than antimony sulfide or sodium oxalate. Strictly use no chlorates around the realgar, since potassium chlorate and realgar is very impact sensitive and was once a favorite for anarchist assassination throw-bombs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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