Where to buy lye/caustic soda/Sodium hydroxide in bulk?

[newbury]

I need it for paint stripping. Need ~ 30lb. I've lots to do outside and $20/gallon (for other paint strippers) to do 100 sq ft is expensive.
Bulk online runs about $190/50lb (www.bulkapothecary.com) w/shipping.
Just 1lb @HD/Lowes is $5, so I don't seem to save much in bulk.
But most of the sites seem to emphasize "food grade". WTH does that mean when your talking about lye? "non-toxic and safe for consumption."???

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Food grade often just means that a product can be used to clean or service machines, tools, containers, in food processing facilities. There are some food preservation techniques that use lye as well. And lye is used to turn corn into hominy.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

If its food safe and they don't list it that way...may mean the difference in somebody buying a few 18 wheeler loads or not. Gotta draw a bigger circle around yourself.

 

[Alan W.]

Ive seen 50 lb bags for sale at the Amish stores.
Will be down that way tomorrow will check on their price.

 

[Ken45101]

Amazon has it for $130 for 40#, including shipping. Likewise walmart.com

 

[dougtrr2]

The Norwegian dish of lutefisk is made by soaking in lye. But I am not sure whether lutefisk itself is considered food grade.

Doug is SW IA

 

[groundcover]

Sodium Hydroxide Beads Pails - View Prices and Purchase

Sodium Hydroxide beads from ChemWorld.com. Buy directly online with free shipping.

www.chemworld.com

 

[newbury]

Amazon has it for $130 for 40#, including shipping. Likewise walmart.com

Thanks.

Sodium Hydroxide Beads Pails - View Prices and Purchase

Sodium Hydroxide beads from ChemWorld.com. Buy directly online with free shipping.

www.chemworld.com

That is $275 for 50 lbs, I'm not trying to find the highest price!
A lot of the complaints on Amazon and elsewhere were shipments ending up being one big block due to poor packaging.
So I went with 32 lbs Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Evenly-Sized Micro Pels (Beads or Particles) - 16 x 2lb Bottles - Lye Drain Cleaner - HDPE container for $70+$50 shipping.

Amazon.com: 32 lbs Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Evenly-Sized Micro Pels (Beads or Particles) - 16 x 2lb Bottles - Lye Drain Cleaner - HDPE container with resealable Child Resistant cap : Industrial & Scientific

Buy 32 lbs Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Evenly-Sized Micro Pels (Beads or Particles) - 16 x 2lb Bottles - Lye Drain Cleaner - HDPE container with resealable Child Resistant cap on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

www.amazon.com

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I need it for paint stripping. Need ~ 30lb. I've lots to do outside and $20/gallon (for other paint strippers) to do 100 sq ft is expensive.
Bulk online runs about $190/50lb (www.bulkapothecary.com) w/shipping.
Just 1lb @HD/Lowes is $5, so I don't seem to save much in bulk.
But most of the sites seem to emphasize "food grade". WTH does that mean when your talking about lye? "non-toxic and safe for consumption."???

Lutefisk. Maraschino cherries.

A gallon of any stripper should do 100 sq. ft. no problem. That's 10 x 10, a pretty small wall.

 

[ponytug]

What is your paint remover recipe? Just curious.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

When you see someone asking about:

Where to buy lye/caustic soda/Sodium hydroxide in bulk?​

You're tempted to ask if they have 40 acres of sand and a backhoe, too.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

When you see someone asking about:

Where to buy lye/caustic soda/Sodium hydroxide in bulk?​

You're tempted to ask if they have 40 acres of sand and a backhoe, too.

Or if they ask you where they can buy 55 gallon drums close to Lake Mead.

 

[newbury]

You're tempted to ask if they have 40 acres of sand and a backhoe, too.

Look in my sig

 

[newbury]

What is your paint remover recipe? Just curious.

All the best,

Peter

mix about 0.9 cup (1lb) lye to 2 gal water, then 1 cup cornstarch

A gallon of any stripper should do 100 sq. ft. no problem. That's 10 x 10, a pretty small wall.

I estimate that I'll need to do about 1,500 to 2,000 sq feet overall, so I'm planning on stocking up.

 

[ponytug]

Thanks for the recipe. Much less environmentally toxic compared to some commercial strippers.

That is a lot of stripping! Good luck. Keep your PPE on!

All the best,

Peter

 

[Wis Bang]

Dispatched about 9 tractor trailers of 50% solution every day for a few years.

Found out is was considered a kosher cleaning compound while showing the Rabbi what was the prior 3 products in prep for a shipment of kosher coconut oil to Hoffman LaRoche. Got real easy to schedule the right trailer 2x a year when we did the kosher load.

Be cautious with powdered 100% caustic, the dust can burn you through clothing and it isn't pretty. Had one guy charge the caustic solution tank in the trailer cleaning deparment without the pants to the safety suit. The clinic was across the street and they peeled him and dumped him in a therapy tub while i gave the desk his info.

 

[newbury]

So I went with 32 lbs Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Evenly-Sized Micro Pels (Beads or Particles) - 16 x 2lb Bottles - Lye Drain Cleaner - HDPE container for $70+$50 shipping.

Amazon.com: 32 lbs Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Evenly-Sized Micro Pels (Beads or Particles) - 16 x 2lb Bottles - Lye Drain Cleaner - HDPE container with resealable Child Resistant cap : Industrial & Scientific

Buy 32 lbs Food Grade Sodium Hydroxide Lye Evenly-Sized Micro Pels (Beads or Particles) - 16 x 2lb Bottles - Lye Drain Cleaner - HDPE container with resealable Child Resistant cap on Amazon.com ✓ FREE SHIPPING on qualified orders

www.amazon.com

Well that darn stuff was supposed to get here by May 11, but arrived today, May 5th.

I did a test patch on my deck and the recipe seems to work well. But now it's looking like it's going to rain for a week

 

[Captain Dirty]

You (OP) may have solved your problem for now. I have sampled numerous ship-loaded parcels of liquid Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide).

It is pernicious stuff, highly corrosive to human flesh. Callouses on one's hands may provide a couple of minutes protection, but the backs of one's hands, other exposed flesh will burn in seconds. I always worked with long-sleeves, double (2 of glasses, goggles, or face shield) eye protection, rubber gauntlets when sampling the liquid, and fabric gloves when handling things like hatch covers that supposedly didn't have caustic on them. I washed my hands after each exposure, and invariably my hands were "slimy", indicating there was caustic on them. I carried a 6 - 8 oz. bottle of vinegar to aid in neutralization during hand washing or chance spill. Have a charged water hose nearby.

Also be aware that dilution of caustic soda with water or mixing dry flake with water gives off "heat of hydrolization" that can raise the temperature to near boiling, and be aware the dust/fumes are corrosive if inhaled.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

You (OP) may have solved your problem for now. I have sampled numerous ship-loaded parcels of liquid Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide).

It is pernicious stuff, highly corrosive to human flesh. Callouses on one's hands may provide a couple of minutes protection, but the backs of one's hands, other exposed flesh will burn in seconds. I always worked with long-sleeves, double (2 of glasses, goggles, or face shield) eye protection, rubber gauntlets when sampling the liquid, and fabric gloves when handling things like hatch covers that supposedly didn't have caustic on them. I washed my hands after each exposure, and invariably my hands were "slimy", indicating there was caustic on them. I carried a 6 - 8 oz. bottle of vinegar to aid in neutralization during hand washing or chance spill. Have a charged water hose nearby.

Also be aware that dilution of caustic soda with water or mixing dry flake with water gives off "heat of hydrolization" that can raise the temperature to near boiling, and be aware the dust/fumes are corrosive if inhaled.

Let's keep singing that protective gear song. In my shop I have respirators, masks, goggles, face shields, ear muffs, gauntlets, hard hats, rubber gloves, rubber boots, rubber, canvas, and leather aprons, first aid kit, fire extinguishers, and a wash down station right outside the door.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

You (OP) may have solved your problem for now. I have sampled numerous ship-loaded parcels of liquid Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide).

It is pernicious stuff, highly corrosive to human flesh. Callouses on one's hands may provide a couple of minutes protection, but the backs of one's hands, other exposed flesh will burn in seconds. I always worked with long-sleeves, double (2 of glasses, goggles, or face shield) eye protection, rubber gauntlets when sampling the liquid, and fabric gloves when handling things like hatch covers that supposedly didn't have caustic on them. I washed my hands after each exposure, and invariably my hands were "slimy", indicating there was caustic on them. I carried a 6 - 8 oz. bottle of vinegar to aid in neutralization during hand washing or chance spill. Have a charged water hose nearby.

Also be aware that dilution of caustic soda with water or mixing dry flake with water gives off "heat of hydrolization" that can raise the temperature to near boiling, and be aware the dust/fumes are corrosive if inhaled.

Good advice. The concentrate is extremely dangerous if you get it in your eyes; it's almost guaranteed blindness. Sodium Hydroxide, (Lye) and animal fat is what they use to make (Grandma's) lye soap. The slick sensation is the reaction of the lye with your flesh, making soap.

I used to be a chemist, worked in a research lab and one Summer worked at a chemical plant. I was told that a man had fallen (they said he jumped) into a vat of very hot Sodium Hydroxide there at the plant; and the only thing they recovered was the brass buttons from his overalls. So be careful VERY CAREFUL. I would always have water handy, preferably an eyewash fountain, but I know that's not possible.

When I was in the lab, we used pipettes that you had to use your mouth to make the vacuum. Very primitive, but I learned what concentrated reagent grade Sodium Hydroxide can do to the inside of your mouth, and just how rapidly it works.