Potassium nitrite

Topic created by Anon
on Fri, 31 May 2024 at 16:40

Anon said on Fri, 31 May 2024 at 16:40...

Anyone make poppers with potassium nitrite? I always end up with a low yield and something that doesn't stay stable long. Is this due to the lower solubility of it in water? I thought it would be a straight substitution.

Nitrite Evangelist said on Mon, 3 Jun 2024 at 20:12...

It may have to do with it not salting out the ester as well as sodium does. Acid will DESTROY the yield. That is why you have to keep the acid feed far away from the surface.

I have been trying a method at temperatures ever so slightly above 0 degrees C. In theory, you should never have a blue/green top layer and a super blue bottom layer. The pH is far too low and the HONO will degrade the higher concentration anyway. My results are inconclusive yet, but below -1 or so, the alcohol and HONO do not want to react. Right around -1 or 0, they do react, and I never see blue liquor in the bottom.

anonymous said on Tue, 4 Jun 2024 at 19:33...

HIgh quality alcohol of the highest known purity...99.9% is MANDATORY for making high quality poppers that give the best effects and last the longest. One Pentanol and the other alcohols DO degrade, even in a sealed bottle. I received one TCI factory sealed pentanol ONCE that would not produce any amyl nitrite with any potency. Got a refund. They sent a different batch and the results were 100% improved.

You use a slight excess of alcohol and sodium nitrite. You want plenty of alcohol to be available to suck up as much nitrous acid as possible. You should NEVER see a lot of brown gas leaving the pot, even with a fairly rapid addition of ice cold acid. If you do, you have way too much sodium nitrite OR your alcohol is too impure and will not suck up the nitrous acid before it degrades into nitric acid and oxides.

anonymous said on Tue, 4 Jun 2024 at 19:38...

One Pentanol....11.5 mls to 10 mls of muriatic acid
Sodium nitrite....7.2 to 7.5 grams should be plenty

Neutralize with soda/water/brine. Dry immediately on anhydrous potassium carbonate. Let sit 15 minutes. Then dry on more anhydrous in a different capped bottle overnight...12 to 24 hours. Should be clear, after the carbonate has settled. Pipette off or pour off....Popper should store well and last till the last drop without becoming acidic and stinging to nostril.

anonymous said on Tue, 4 Jun 2024 at 19:42...

Distilled water = 25 mls/grams for the above amounts.

anonymous said on Tue, 4 Jun 2024 at 19:43...

Impure alcohols will cause massive variation in product, low shelf life and toxic effects.

anonymous said on Tue, 4 Jun 2024 at 19:47...

Papers were published in 1914 by chemists who solved the riddle of why all the amyl nitrite on the market was highly variable in purity.

They discovered that the amyl alcohol WAS NOT pure enough in most instances and that when they tried various purities of alcohol, ONLY the highest purity alcohol produced high purity poppers.

anonymous said on Tue, 4 Jun 2024 at 19:49...

Back in the 1970s when poppers were first marketed, access to high quality chemicals was a whole lot easier than it is now. If those poppers were consistently good, that's why.

anonymous said on Tue, 4 Jun 2024 at 20:00...

N Amyl Nitrite made from one pentanol of the highest purity SHOULD NOT cause any unpleasant effects. If it does, it's not PURE enough.

It should not cause bouts of low blood pressure, hot flushing of face and chest, headaches or any other uncomfortable sensation with normal heavy use...meaning sniffing from a 10 ml wide mouthed bottle. Not a gas mask full of concentrated vapors.

Anon said on Thu, 6 Jun 2024 at 19:01...

Anything freshly made correctly, in my experience, has little to no unpleasant effects. If you use a lot, you might see spots temporary but that is hitting it pretty hard. I not even convinced isopropyl nitrite is bad, just that if you buy it commercially, it will have degrade due to being less stable. I haven't tried amyl but I suspect that the only grace it has is that it is more stable than the other nitrites.