Homebrew PCBs

I share your concerns -- especially since I have a garage full of woodworking and machine tools that I do NOT want to get rusty. I bought a 5-gallon bucket with lid at a big-box hardware store and keep my gallon jug of HCl in it, along with the 1.5 liter jug of used etchant. I store this outside. So far (8 months), no problems. I do all my etching outdoors -- once the etchant is mixed up and used, it does not seem to fume, but the HCl fumes whenever I open the jug, so I don't like to open it inside the garage.

As for the cold ... I just etched a couple of boards in around 0-degree-Celcius conditions outdoors. It seemed to etch more slowly than I remember from warmer times, but I nonetheless had good results. "One of these days" I plan to take all the used etchant and make a tank to convert it into CuCl etchant -- need to bubble air through it to re-oxygenate. I might also put a small aquarium heater in at that point. I'm not sure if I'll store it outdoors at that point -- others seem to be able to keep the CuCl indoors without undue problems.

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "oliverstwists" <oliverstwists@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks for you replies. I meant to include the units - I'm operating in Celsius degrees. 
> 
> Could you provide me an idea of what reasonable concentrations of HCL h202 might be? I would be using the low strength peroxide and building boards of no greater than 4" by 4".
> 
> My worry is that the corrosive fumes from etching and storage will pose a hazard to anyone sleeping in the bedroom above the garage and to any metal, like my car, stored in the garage. 
> 
> Is anyone else in the same predicament as me? 
> 
> 
> --- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, Brian Lalor <blalor@> wrote:
> >
> > On Feb 7, 2010, at 10:56 AM, Zoran A. Scepanovic wrote:
> > 
> > > - -10 degrees of what kind?
> > > 
> > > - -10 Celsius = 14 Farenheit
> > > - -10 Farenheit = -23.3 Celsius
> > 
> > Does it matter?  Either way, it's freakin' cold!
> > 
> > --
> > Brian Lalor / blalor@
> >     You snooze, you lose
> >     Well I have snost and lost
> >
>