Insurance To Keep Liquid Deicers Honest printable pdf download

Hydrometers:

Insurance to Keep Liquid Deicers Honest

by: Rob English

al solids in the material that could be calcium or could be

something else, but in any case it is clear that it is not within

the specification range for 32% calcium chloride which you

Hydrometers are widely used to measure specific gravity,

ordered. It is almost too easy to for the dishonest butcher

or density, of liquid materials. Most people have used a

to put his thumb on the scale when weighing up the deli

form of hydrometer to check the level of glycol antifreeze in

order, and accordingly it is also easy for the dishonest liquid

their car radiator or the battery acid strength in the car bat-

deicer supplier to put a little more water in the product and

tery. Those types typically employ a series of colored balls

not have the customer catch that he just got 27% CaCl2

that individually will float up at various densities to indicate

even though the paperwork says it is 32%. The use of the

strength. ERTCO manufactures the glass hydrometers that

hydrometer will empower you to quickly see if what you

we use for testing of our BioBrineTM product line of magne-

bought is within specification or not.

sium chloride, calcium chloride, and sodium chloride liquids

for deicing. If you are making salt brines, now ERTCO offers

Here is a common chart showing the specific gravity of vari-

a specific hydrometer for salt brines that shows the percent-

ous concentrations of calcium chloride liquid. In the second

age of salt, but we use the standard chemical laboratory

column from the left, you will find a list of specific gravities

glass hydrometers with graduation marks in 0.000 incre-

which correspond to the percentage of calcium chloride in

ments for accuracy and these are the hydrometers that we

the solution indicated immediately to the left. The other

suggest be used as they are reliably accurate.

columns of this chart show the gallons per ton of the solu-

While not a chemical test that gives a percentage of ingredi-

ents per se, hydrometers are the backbone of spot checking

the density of a liquid deicer to confirm that it is either with-

in specification or not. Heavy chemicals are materials that

are heavier than water. Water has a specific gravity of 1.000

at 68F (room temperature). We know from high school sci-

ence that water weighs 8.34 (8.3369) pounds per US gallon.

This basic understanding is important, because any liquid

deicer that is heavier than water will be the specific grav-

ity times the weight per gallon of water to determine the

weight per gallon of the liquid deicer. 32% liquid calcium

chloride weighs 11.03 lbs per gallon and that is determined

by multiplying the specific gravity, 1.322, times the weight

per gallon of water, 8.34 to arrive at 11.03. This fundamental

basis is the used for all the common liquid deicers that we

encounter in snow and ice management.

For example, if you were to receive a bulk tank truck delivery

of 32% liquid calcium chloride deicer, you could capture a

sample and then fill up a one gallon jug with the product

and it should weigh pretty close to 11 lbs. If it is 9 or 10 lbs,

then you are getting a good bit more water in the load then

you expected, and if its 12 lbs, then you are getting addition-

Insurance To Keep Liquid Deicers Honest

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