Ammonia smell copper aluminum melt

ammonium chloride wouldnt survive a melt. Alum residue in a jar would produce a sulfur smell as it would free sulfur in the process of reacting with the copper. Moisture would have come from the cooling process if anything at all. I can get into the chemistry if you like but the alternatives, a true ammonia like smell would mean the copper melted was actually C14500 machineable beryllium copper. If it was melted WITH the use of a flux then an acid reaction from the jar would produce Beryllium chloride. So lets hope not.



Most likely is you melted dirty pipe with salt residues, and if you did that you likely also melted mineral residues and thats where the reaction came from in the jar with sufficient moisture and bimetal contact. This is the most likely scenario unless you melted bare bright or virgin copper product.

uh sure, it is a component of this inquiry so it would qualify as "the jar" just the same. People make the scientific significance of the insignificant, in this case the source of the alum doesn't actually matter because we dont know if he was smelling sulfur or ammonia. I suspect he was smelling sulfur which is the better and more logical outcome here. Food grade "Alum" has no chemistry in which it could produce a chlorine smell in a reaction unless we consider machinable copper.

Now, for everyone here, and I do mean everyone. If your into casting, only cast copper from wire or virgin pipe. Never ever use bus bar, contactors or anything else. Beryllium is no joke, as a amalgamate no big deal. But you definitely should not melt it...exhibit A right here for everybody to take note of. Is it likely you can melt it and never experience this, sure. But hey, please don't. Beryllium hydroxide (the worst), chloride and sulfate are all possibilities with the exposure of common acids, and all of those compounds are heavy duty carcinogens.

Side note: Also don't break microwave magnetrons...that pink or white ceramic device is beryllium oxide, and if you shatter it, the ceramic powder is incurably carcinogenic. The same item is present in a xray machine, which has a cavity klystron with thorium in it. The ceramic is beryllium oxide again.

Be safe peoples, have a good week.