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Sillyputty67

Registered: 10/06/12
Posts: 2,239
Loc: Netherlands
Last seen: 10 years, 4 months
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Casing mix smells like ammonia
#18444384 - 06/19/13 08:33 PM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
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Hey All,
I just made my first casing mix outta 50/50 Peat/verm, and a a TBS of Hydrated lime. After adding some water and bringing to field capacity, some reaction took place, and the mix started to smell like ammonia.
Any Idea's? Is this normal?
-------------------- 1) Everything I ever posted or say is a lie.
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Violet



Registered: 12/06/11
Posts: 4,205
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Re: Casing mix smells like ammonia [Re: Sillyputty67]
#18445297 - 06/20/13 12:12 AM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
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Seems to me like hydrating allowed the lime's base and peat's acidity to react and likely mostly neutralize.
The at-home "ghetto" pH test is based on this reaction. It works by adding either a bit of vinegar or bit of baking soda & water to a material to see if you can observe fizzing/heat. If adding vinegar causes the reaction, the material was alkaline since vinegar is acidic. If baking soda causes it instead, the material was acidic since baking soda is alkaline.
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Psilicon
Really Nice Guy


Registered: 08/26/12
Posts: 7,057
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: Casing mix smells like ammonia [Re: Violet]
#18445319 - 06/20/13 12:21 AM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Violet said: Seems to me like hydrating allowed the lime's base and peat's acidity to react and likely mostly neutralize.
The at-home "ghetto" pH test is based on this reaction. It works by adding either a bit of vinegar or bit of baking soda & water to a material to see if you can observe fizzing/heat. If adding vinegar causes the reaction, the material was alkaline since vinegar is acidic. If baking soda causes it instead, the material was acidic since baking soda is alkaline.
Peat does tend toward the acidic end of the scale, but the gas evolved from a neutralization of lime would be CO2 and H2O vapor. This would smell slightly acidic and give a faint lingering sour taste, unlike ammonia. OP, mix vinegar and baking soda and stick your face in the fumes. Is that what it's like, or are you certain it's ammonia?
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cubenpete
Aminita good excuse



Registered: 03/13/12
Posts: 837
Loc: Kentucky
Last seen: 3 years, 3 months
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Re: Casing mix smells like ammonia [Re: Psilicon]
#18445343 - 06/20/13 12:28 AM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Violet said: Seems to me like hydrating allowed the lime's base and peat's acidity to react and likely mostly neutralize.
The at-home "ghetto" pH test is based on this reaction. It works by adding either a bit of vinegar or bit of baking soda & water to a material to see if you can observe fizzing/heat. If adding vinegar causes the reaction, the material was alkaline since vinegar is acidic. If baking soda causes it instead, the material was acidic since baking soda is alkaline.
Nice piece of literal-ture.
Quote:
van der griegen said:
Peat does tend toward the acidic end of the scale, but the gas evolved from a neutralization of lime would be CO2 and H2O vapor. This would smell slightly acidic and give a faint lingering sour taste, unlike ammonia. OP, mix vinegar and baking soda and stick your face in the fumes. Is that what it's like, or are you certain it's ammonia?
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Sillyputty67

Registered: 10/06/12
Posts: 2,239
Loc: Netherlands
Last seen: 10 years, 4 months
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Re: Casing mix smells like ammonia [Re: cubenpete]
#18445856 - 06/20/13 06:06 AM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
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Positively ammonia. Come on guys, how many vinegar baking soda volcanoes does one need to make to differentiate the smell?
On another note, I figured when i pasteurize it the majority of the ammonia will be driven off, as ammonia has a lower boiling point than water.
-------------------- 1) Everything I ever posted or say is a lie.
Edited by Sillyputty67 (06/20/13 07:24 AM)
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Psilicon
Really Nice Guy


Registered: 08/26/12
Posts: 7,057
Last seen: 4 years, 1 month
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Re: Casing mix smells like ammonia [Re: Sillyputty67]
#18446656 - 06/20/13 11:21 AM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
malicom said: Positively ammonia. Come on guys, how many vinegar baking soda volcanoes does one need to make to differentiate the smell?
On another note, I figured when i pasteurize it the majority of the ammonia will be driven off, as ammonia has a lower boiling point than water.
Yeah, the boiling point of ammonium hydroxide in water is 76 degrees F or so. If you leave it at room temp for a while it'll also decrease the ammonia, as nitrosomonas and nitrobacter turn it into nitrites and nitrates. Violet does something similar to this when she adds plant food to her grain and lets it sit for a day, which you can see in the tek in her sig.
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veda_sticks
Cultivator




Registered: 07/29/07
Posts: 14,191
Loc: UK
Last seen: 5 years, 13 days
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Re: Casing mix smells like ammonia [Re: Psilicon]
#18446682 - 06/20/13 11:30 AM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
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someone i know claims that he has no sense of smell because he took a whiff of amonia in a science class when he was a kid.
im starting to doubt that claim.
--------------------
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Sillyputty67

Registered: 10/06/12
Posts: 2,239
Loc: Netherlands
Last seen: 10 years, 4 months
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Re: Casing mix smells like ammonia [Re: veda_sticks]
#18446799 - 06/20/13 12:06 PM (11 years, 6 months ago) |
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My grandmother has the same issue. When she was younger, she mixed some cleaning chemicals, and now cannot smell.
Ammonia has been used as smelling salts for a long time safely, so i suspect your buddy got some ammonia + something else to break his sniffer.
-------------------- 1) Everything I ever posted or say is a lie.
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