The alcohol in my wash tank is getting cloudy with resin and i was wondering if i just need to add new clean alcohol or if i am just supposed to dump it out out and start fresh? Any help is appreciated.
Thank you,
Stevenson Dental
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when it gets really cloudy, i get rid of it.
Last time… it got so cloudy, I set the wash station tank outside- in the sun on a warm day. I figured the warmth would evaporate the IPA and the sun would harden the resin that was making the IPA cloudy.
What happened tho was that the sunlight CURED the entire gallon of IPA. It didn’t make it hard- it ended up like Jello gelatin. When I went to pour it out- it slid out in a big squarish lump like the wash tank was a jello mold.
Made it real easy to get rid of, tho.
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DON’T dump that alcohol. It’s contaminated with liquid resin, very dangerous to the environment.
Put it in as clear a container as you can and put in the sun for a few days. It should harden the resin then the alcohol might be reused or disposed of.
I use a still to re-still my used alcohol. A lot cheaper that way. At $25 a gallon and about $25 a gallon to use a disposal company it’s a good way to save money.
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I use the form ipa bucket and form wash but my IPA just evaporates away. What do you use to retain the IPA so 90% doesn’t disappear after a week?
Also the resin can be thrown out like regular trash after it has cured and hardened?
For one, I don’t leave parts hanging in the open mode of the Form Wash. I quickly flip the build plate up and at a 45 degree then set it back on the FW holders to drain the excess IPA off the BP. That only takes 30 to 60 seconds. I remove the BP and immediately pop the parts off the BP. I put the FW in Sleep Mode at that time. This helps to keep the IPA from evaporating.
I have sheets of corrugated cardboard, 9x12 inches with a sheet of paper shop cloth on top. As I’m running multiple jobs I have a half dozen of these available and call these drying pads below…
Put the BP on the holder and score it with a red Scotch Brite Pad. Wipe the BP dry and leave it there. I have two Form 2 Printers running and 3 Build Plates available and those rotate.
I then orientate the parts on the drying pads so they evaporate the IPA the best and place on an open surface to dry.
I generally have 6 to 8 gallons of fresh IPA on hand. Mine is close to 99% seeing I do the distilling. I drain and fill the FW about once a week or so. I also partially drain the FW and then use a baby bottle brush to scrub the sides and other areas that accumulate resin film. This helps keep the machine clean. I then finish draining the IPA and then refill.
Hope this helps explain how I handle it.
I take my cloudy IPA outside, pour it into a pan and light it on fire. The resin remains are hard and crusty, and they go out in the trash.
Don’t overthink the environmental impact as the average user is going to fart more methane between IPA changes than the IPA/resin mix is going to harm Mother Nature.
I like the semi cured block of goo as it sounds similar to ballistics gelatin.
Question is, what happens if you light the block of goo on fire ? 
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That sounds like fun, especially if it were formed into a zombie head.
It doesn’t light. You end up with something that looks like a block of burnt toast, which is good for driving pigeons/seagulls insane…
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