Make Sodium Acetate "Hot Ice" with vinegar and baking soda (Pt2)

An improved method to make "Hot Ice" sodium acetate from vinegar and baking soda.

Boiling down the sodium acetate solution to exactly the right level is key to making sodium acetate work. Since most of you don't have precise glassware like I do, you can follow this new method of boiling to get the concentration just right.

Simply make a raw sodium acetate solution like in our previous video at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEZWdPIg9o

But instead of boiling down 90%, just watch the surface of the boiling liquid.

As you pass the key concentration for making hot ice, a crust of sodium acetate will start to form on the surface. As soon as you see this crust take it off heating. While it is still hot, stir the mixture and add a small amount of water, usually just a spoonful or so, to redissolve the crust.

It should still smell like vinegar, if it does not, there was not enough vinegar in the original mixture. So you'll need to add another quarter-cup to half-cup of vinegar and boil it back down while looking for the crust. Once again stir it and add water.

Keep repeating the vinegar addition and boiling until the boiled liquid has a faint smell of vinegar.

Once you have the clear, hot, vinegar smelling liquid, place a covering it and then cool it in the fridge until it becomes cold to the touch.

Now you're at exactly the right concentration to do hot ice.

To initiate the crystallization or "freezing" process, just drop in a solid piece of sodium acetate. You can get this by scraping off some of the crust earlier and then saving it separately.

Touching is not a reliable way to initiate crystallization, sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

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Special Notes:

If you have bad sodium acetate from previous experiments, you can "fix" it by heating it and adding water until it completely dissolves. Then follow the boiling instructions in this video (including the vinegar addition if needed) to fix bad sodium acetate.

But if you have dirty sodium acetate then it won't be fixable by this method.

I don't think i'm emphasizing how important the following two points are: IT MUST SMELL LIKE VINEGAR AND BE TOTALLY CRUST-FREE before you can put it into the fridge. Otherwise, it WILL freeze automatically or turn to a mush.

If you want to know the temperature of hot ice as it freezes, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAwxhAP9mnc

If you want to reuse/remelt your sodium acetate after it has solidified, put it into the microwave and heat it until it *just* starts to boil. Then take it out and stir it until it completely dissolves. If it does not completely dissolve even when its really hot then add in water until it dissolves. Once it's completely dissolved cover it and put it in the fridge.

FAQ: The yellow thing in the bottom when I'm adding the baking soda and boiling is a magnetic stir bar that stirs the ingredients.

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