Homebrew PCBs

Okay, it sounds like I'm back to plan A -- saving the etchant and making a bubbler tank down the road. A followup question -- now that you have the CuCl, how long does it take to etch a board with it?

BTW, is it CuCl or CuCl2?? I think I've seen it both ways on this forum??

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, DJ Delorie <dj@...> wrote:
>
> 
> "awakephd" <a_wake@...> writes:
> > I am following up on a comment in an earlier thread, to the effect
> > that starting with 2 parts drug store hydrogen peroxide + 1 part
> > Muriatic acid, one cannot ever get to the point of having CuCl2.
> 
> This is wrong - I did exactly that.  I started with two parts 3%
> (drugstore) peroxide and one part 37% (hardware store) HCl, added
> copper, and now have a tank of gleaming green CuCl etchant.
> 
> It's not instant - I dumped the copper in the tank, turned on the air
> bubbler, and waited - it took a few days to completely convert (3
> liters solution, 0.5 lb copper).  Probably would have gone faster if I
> had put the copper in right away, but I didn't figure that part out
> until a few days had past, and most of the H2O2 was decomposed, so I
> had to pour more in.
>