And the winner is ?

[strantor]

Man, you're not messing around with the equipment. I get it, malaria is a killer. But what's with the N95 particle mask? That stuff you're spraying doesn't look like particulates to me. Fumes, mists, and vapors call for a real respirator with a chemical filtration cartridge. A lot of pesticides cause nerve damage, aka the funky chicken, the dying cockroach, the ginger jake, or my fave, the Harlem shake. Eek!

The warnings on the label are what the government probably requires, to the letter. That is to say, a bunch of mumbo jumbo like "The 5-hr upper permissible limit with no respiratory protection for indoor applications with less than 5 cubits per centi-hour of ventilation is an airborn distribution of 1.9378 imaginary units per cubic decimeter of fluid with an active ingredient concentration of 500 milli-somethings per liter." I figured if it was known to any place other than California to cause funky chicken, it would say so in big letters (or more likely icons) on the front. I figured as long as I didn't bathe in the mist and stay up-wind of where I'm spraying, it would be ok.

But I have done some research since then and yeah, it's something you should wear a respirator for.

 

[ltlvt]

A lot of people are singing the praises of Evaporust (which I agree with, none better) on a thread supposed to be about home brews so I'll join the mob. But on the sub-topic of insect poison.

I am surrounded by rice farms and the mosquitoes out here are unbearable. Before moving here I thought mosquitoes were mosquitoes were mosquitoes. Turns out there are different types, just like there are different types of cats. The different types have different sizes and temperaments. What I had known all my life were the "house cat" type of mosquito. What we have out here are Lions, but their attitudes are more like that of the honey badger. They are called "Shaggy Legged Gallinippers." They are around an inch or longer and have a mean streak a mile wide. They will fly through a black cloud of citronella smoke to get to you, and you can smack them out of the air (they're big enough for you to see and hear the impact) into the ground, they will get right back up and fly straight at you.

There is no "safe" or "natural" cure that is effective for these things. At least not that I've tried, and I'm pretty sure I've tried them all. I hate to use anything that can impact bee populations, but I do anyway, because to do otherwise would mean my property would be useless for several months of the year. You cannot get anything done outside when this scourge is in full swing. There will be a literal cloud of them at the front and back door, and as soon as you open it, they get sucked in and attack. Those that don't get sucked in, follow you from the time you walk out, and torment you wherever you go. This is what it looked like after I sprayed the first year; these were swept up just from my 4'x6' concrete landing outside my front door:

View attachment 463812

I rigged up a sprayer to spray for them. Not your typical hand pump sprayer, and not even the "professional" backpack sprayer. It's a 55gal drum connected to a gasoline powered pressure washer with a turbo nozzle, that I move around with my tractor.

View attachment 463813


View attachment 463814


I spray the whole property with this setup (2.5 acres) paying special attention to the areas known to be hot spots for mosquitoes. I do NOT spray the rose bushes or any other flowering plants, and I keep the lawn cut regularly enough that no flowering weeds have a chance to grow. The last thing I want is bees getting tangled up in my mosquito defenses. The next day after I spray, no mosquitoes. This lasts about a week, then they start gradually being replaced by younger immigrants, but just at a trickle, and the number is manageable. I've never needed to spray more than twice in a year, and it seems like every year there are less.

This or this is the stuff I use; which ever Tractor Supply has in stock when I go; either one works as well as the other but the first one leaves a milky residue on the house and cars while the second one dries clear like water. If you're going to spray this stuff, please be aware that it's absolutely apocalyptic on the scale of little critters. It kills them all, even the beneficial ones. It kills crawfish, and if you let it get into ponds or streams it kills fish too. It kills ticks and fleas which is awesome if you have pets, but it can kill your pets too, so don't let them out until it's had a day to dry. It kills mud daubers, wasps, spiders, everything. Please be responsible and do everything you can to avoid killing bees!

I recommend you move to Arizona

 

[Nesse1]

I like Evaporust, but rarely use it anymore because it's expensive. For one thing, it's active ingredients deplete with usage fairly quickly. I find it most useful on painted items; derusting a motorcycle gas tank, for example, where the paint job is still decent.

My go-to derusting agent is phosphoric acid. Kleenstrip Concrete and Metal Prep is phosphoric acid. Dilute it several times, and it still works. Collect the chemical after derusting, and it still works. Heavy sludge will form on the bottom of the container on the used sauce, so after it does, pour off the clean chemical on the top. I've yet to find its lifespan, after years of use.

 

[MikeInOr]

I use Evaporust when what I am de-rusting is worth the money I spend on the EvapoRust. I just finished restoring a Delta 16" long arm radial arm saw that I paid $100 for. Most of the rust was in the in the gear box for the elevation screw and I couldn't raise the arm at all. The end result was easily worth the money I spent on the Evaporust.

I am cheap, I wouldn't use Evaporust if it didn't work so well!

 

[pontiac428]

I like Evaporust, but rarely use it anymore because it's expensive. For one thing, it's active ingredients deplete with usage fairly quickly. I find it most useful on painted items; derusting a motorcycle gas tank, for example, where the paint job is still decent.

My go-to derusting agent is phosphoric acid. Kleenstrip Concrete and Metal Prep is phosphoric acid. Dilute it several times, and it still works. Collect the chemical after derusting, and it still works. Heavy sludge will form on the bottom of the container on the used sauce, so after it does, pour off the clean chemical on the top. I've yet to find its lifespan, after years of use.

Kleen Strip metal prep is good stuff. It used to have up to 50% HCl for concrete prep, but they changed to straight phosphoric a while back. Phosphoric acid is triprotic, it has three protons for every phosphate, so it does last a long time. I haven't changed my bucket in some time. I also like that it blackens steel well.

Edit: And phosphate is a great base for paint!

 

[matthewsx]

I like Evaporust, but rarely use it anymore because it's expensive. For one thing, it's active ingredients deplete with usage fairly quickly. I find it most useful on painted items; derusting a motorcycle gas tank, for example, where the paint job is still decent.

My go-to derusting agent is phosphoric acid. Kleenstrip Concrete and Metal Prep is phosphoric acid. Dilute it several times, and it still works. Collect the chemical after derusting, and it still works. Heavy sludge will form on the bottom of the container on the used sauce, so after it does, pour off the clean chemical on the top. I've yet to find its lifespan, after years of use.

How many batches did you get out of your Evaporust? I got at least 8 or 10 cycles with old drill bits, tools and other items. Gets bretty black when pro

 

[Nesse1]

How many batches did you get out of your Evaporust? I got at least 8 or 10 cycles with old drill bits, tools and other items. Gets bretty black when pro

That's a good question. I think it depends on surface area, and how deep the rust goes. 8-10 sounds about right..., but I'm not sure.