Vinegar dosing minimums?

[mikellini]

Ahhh! So I added about 225g (half of a 450g kalk container) and the whole gallon of vinegar went milky. It's very slowly settling out but this was clearly higher than needed for saturation. So FYI, for anyone else doing this, I'd say start with 100g and go from there :)

Another question for Randy: Does the calcium hydroxide neutralize the acetic acid somehow? What I mean is, if I was dosing 10ml prior to saturating with kalk, will 10ml of the saturated vinegar be an equivalent dose of acetate?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The acetic acid becomes calcium acetate, but once in the tank water it all becomes acetate anyway, and of the same amount. :)

 

[mikellini]

The acetic acid becomes calcium acetate, but once in the tank water it all becomes acetate anyway, and of the same amount. :)

Now that it's settled, it appears that the bottom 1/3 of the jug is an opaque white, and the top two thirds is a translucent off-white. Should I be dosing this, or should the liquid be transparent? Maybe I should just start again, with a smaller amount of kalk?

 

[mikellini]

Also, I've read that trace contaminants are significantly higher when dissolved in straight vinegar, as opposed to kalkwasser or kalk with a bit of vinegar. Any truth to this, should I be worried?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

When you make it this way with excess lime, the pH is about the same as ordinary limewater and impurities still precipitate, unlike actually dissolving all of the lime in vinegar. This is also VERY potent, so you are not dosing much, so I would not worry about impurities, assuming it is good quality line to begin with.

Dose the clearer liquid on top. It may get clearer over time.

 

[mikellini]

When you make it this way with excess lime, the pH is about the same as ordinary limewater and impurities still precipitate, unlike actually dissolving all of the lime in vinegar. This is also VERY potent, so you are not dosing much, so I would not worry about impurities, assuming it is good quality line to begin with.

Dose the clearer liquid on top. It may get clearer over time.

Would it be better to only use enough lime to totally dissolve? How would this change the pH, impurities, concentration etc?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I used a bit more than would dissolve, but not ten times as much. :)

 

[mikellini]

I used a bit more than would dissolve, but not ten times as much. :)

Haha I was following your advice! Oh well, I'll know for next time

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You just add new vinegar into this bottle when the time comes. :)