Making Stannous Chloride Solution To Test For Gold Easily & Inexpensively 

Yes, I save the tests, but usually not in the stock pot. I try to keep it free of tin. I dump the tests in with my filters and rags.

I'm no expert in this area. I've only ever made it from pure tin or solder.

Im no expert either. I have read: Potentially you are testing dirty, contaminated solutions, so a high purity tin is not of utmost importance. Some solutions will be highly contaminated depending on your material. Im planning to use lead free pewter and have read this is satisfactory. I Also save relatively clean tin (possibly gold/silver/ lead/soldermask + contamination) from BGA scrapping to test effectiveness. I Will take the residues undisolved by the HCl through a process to test for precious metals. If you have another use for high purity tin, i would save it for that. Great vid, great question. Appreciate the vid.

Long winded, sorry. If its cheap and readily accessible the SnCl² crystals are a great option, I also came across a post that mentioned supplementing your solution with a small amount of undissolved Sn as a preservative. It might give you a slightly extended usage. If you test this, let us know!

Waste of money and yet more sediment. If the silver percentage is high enough, the solder may not dissolve at all

@@omegageek64 I use bga chips for making SnCl2 as you demonstrated ones. Bga suppose to contain about 10% of silver, so you strip Sn contamination from bga chips, sediment is mostly silver and SnCl2, after filtration is ready for testing of gold in solution. I like killing few flies with one swipe. Warning about solder containing silver is at the best confusing, but hey, I like your videos. Thumb up every time.

Um, tin plus HCl = stannous chloride.

@@omegageek64 Um, TIN dissolved in HCL is not "Stanous Chloride". Granted it is the first step in creating Stanous Chloride. Your missing a few important steps, like evaporating the aqueous solution, until crystals of the dehydrated form, "Tin Salt" or Stanous Chloride. After this process, you rehydrate the concentrated, Stanous Chloride, with HCL and three nines fine Tin, to achieve a cohesive PGM testing solution. Three eggs, butter and cheese, don't make an omelet. You have to add heat, salt pepper, or you end up with a nasty mess, that, well. I guess you could eat; but, it wouldn't be an omelet. Usually, shortcuts, just end up getting you lost, or worse. If folks are wanting to test for Gold and PGMs, in solution, wouldn't you believe that it would be worth the extra effort to practice true chemistry, rather than risk a nonviable solution, that could cause someone to discard a solution that tested negative. Not because it lacked Gold or PGMs; but, rather, the testing solution they used wasn't what it should be. There's a reason why, "Chemistry", is called "Science". There are no shortcuts.