Test Stump Remover for Chlorate, Nitrate or Metabisulfite

How to test tree stump remover for potassium chlorate, potassium nitrate, or sodium metabisulfite.

All of these chemicals are useful and stump removers can be an easy to obtain source for them. The stump remover SHOULD be labeled. But if it isn't you can perform these tests.

First mix an equal portion of sugar and stump remover and add sulfuric acid. This might cause the mixture to catch fire (add more acid if it doesn't go at first). If it does, it's most likely potassium or sodium chlorate (usually potassium).

If it doesn't light with sulfuric acid, then try torching it. If it starts to burn on it's own, then it's potassium nitrate.

To be absolutely certain, you can run the nitrate test we already showed in a previous video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5M3rUqaEYs

If it's sodium metabisulfite, it won't burn with sugar under any circumstances. To confirm it's metabisulfite, in a separate container of 10mL of water add 1gram of the stump remover and 0.5 grams of iodine from one of our previous videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F_kPXbi2D8

If it is sodium metabisulfite it will fizz and dissolve as seen in the video.

Once you've identified the stump remover you can start doing experiments!

Chlorate - Make fire without matches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgh76gPSg3M

Chlorate - fire storm in a test tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJbllSaj_L4

Nitrates - Make nitric acid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yE7v4wkuZU

Metabisulfite - Make Sulfuric Acid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okvvD3-DF9U

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Stump
• remover
• potassium
• chlorate
• nitrate
• sodium
• metabisulfite
• test
• nurd
• nerd
• rage
• nurdrage
• DIY
• chemistry
• experiments

[shortyjk95]

Yeh simple..... Right like I have sulfer just Layin around

[NurdRage]

@shortyjk95 Its painfully obvious you didn't watch the video, at no point do you ever use elemental sulfur. Don't complain about things that don't exist.

[shortyjk95]

@NurdRage actually i did watch THE WHOLE THING but what ever chemical thing you put on that i don't have so it isn't as easy as you thought

[NurdRage]

@shortyjk95 Sulfur is not equivalent to Sulfuric Acid.

[shortyjk95]

@NurdRage whatever smartass stop being a nerd

[NurdRage]

@shortyjk95 You're mistaken, the problem isn't me being a nerd, It's you being a moron.

[JorgeBM2204]

You should make nitrocellulose a.k.a. guncotton

[lolkilljoy]

hi! how do you purify the tree stump remover to become just pottasium chlorate?

[pyrocrazzy]

Or for the potassium nitrate example you could just note the explicit nitrogen dioxide and other NxOy's

[ScienceTry]

@mikefx12 U can try drain cleaners. I got my sulfuric acid from one. It is concentrated, but you can perform a simple titration to determine its concentration, and then dropper it into appropriate amounts of water to make acid which is 6M

[ScienceTry]

Technically, its not only a sulfuric/chlorate mixture that will ignite sugar, even a sulfuric/permanganate mixture will.

[mikefx12]

@ThePickledsoul oh, cool beans, thanks lol :D

[ThePickledsoul]

@mikefx12 your best bet would be a car battery, but i believe the acid is only 3M.

[zackeyjay]

LOL shortyjk95 just got pwned by the awesomest nerd on youtube. Good job NurdRage. =)

[mikefx12]

@NurdRage those comments completely made my day.

gotta love those trolls that fail.

but where exactly would you be able to get say.. 6M sulfuric acid???