Surfactants of choice and concentration

[Aaron Rodgers]

So I've poured over SDS sheets, these forums and elsewhere. I know people have used SLS, SLES, and Triton x-100.

Some are in flake form like SLS, SLES is most commonly found in 28% concentration and is like a goo when higher, while Triton is in 100% concentration and is very thick and clearly has to be diluted to be able to be added to the lava fluid and actually disperse. 

My question is, who out there is using these things, and in what concentrations? How much are you adding to a rebuild of a lamp? For example magma tower is 10ml per quart. If your weapon if choice is SLES, what concentration and amount do you use for a quart / 32oz globe?

Any notable difference among them as to stretchy wax, or smaller blobs? 

[Claude J]

only dilute enough to get consistency necessary to flow easily to coat the globe

[Aaron Rodgers]

Dilute...what material and by how much? I know you have experience here and I know you're not just eyeballing it. What ones have you tried or had the most success with?

Claude J said:

only dilute enough to get consistency necessary to flow easily to coat the globe

[Claude J]

Whoops

sorry

It goes over my head sometimes.

I use very little distilled water to loosen it up until it flows better

Usually, 1tsp to 4 oz with the brand I buy.

it a trial by error for the correct mix because it varies per particular  manufacturer

[Aaron Rodgers]

Thanks Claude, I'll try and see what it looks like. Have you tried any of these that you didn't like?

[Claude J]

DO NOT BUY THE GALLON. 
It is a different chemistry and severely clouds the lamp

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sodium-Laureth-Sulfate-Solution-28-SLES-Su...

[Sentrex]

I bought a gallon of the 100% pure stuff (SLES) and dilute it with DI water at about 30%. I have to use a small rubber spatula and kind of mash it for a while to get it to break up in a lrage glass measuring cup. I have not had any clouding with it so far. Not sure if I got it on ebay or Amazon.... just checked an the label says "Natures brand". I will say that it is a lot of SLES and will likely still be some left when I pass someday.

[Claude J]

Yeah! I got a whole gallon of that crap sitting around taking up spacer

Turns into white flakes if not heated

Sentrex said:

I bought a gallon of the 100% pure stuff (SLES) and dilute it with DI water at about 30%. I have to use a small rubber spatula and kind of mash it for a while to get it to break up in a lrage glass measuring cup. I have not had any clouding with it so far. Not sure if I got it on ebay or Amazon.... just checked an the label says "Natures brand". I will say that it is a lot of SLES and will likely still be some left when I pass someday.

[Aaron Rodgers]

So diluting that to 70%, how much are you adding in say a 32oz globe? I imagine even at that mixture is probably still very gooey! Does it disperse in the lamp alright?

Sentrex said:

I bought a gallon of the 100% pure stuff (SLES) and dilute it with DI water at about 30%. I have to use a small rubber spatula and kind of mash it for a while to get it to break up in a lrage glass measuring cup. I have not had any clouding with it so far. Not sure if I got it on ebay or Amazon.... just checked an the label says "Natures brand". I will say that it is a lot of SLES and will likely still be some left when I pass someday.

[Sentrex]

Mine is still liquid, no flakes, but it's only 2 years old.

I dilute 70% H2O and 30% surf by volume in a large glass measuring cup. I do not know how much to add to the globes, I just add a "swig", run the lamp, and adjust from there. Of course, if you add too much then you basically have to dump part of the fluid and start all over again with PG, DI H2O, and Surf.

[Aaron Rodgers]

Thanks for the info, love the avatar, I have a goofy GSD as well.

Ok so eyeballing the surf I get. But when you're adding wax back to a globe, how much surf do you have in the bottle to keep from having sticking issues? Or are you just coating the globe, no other liquid and lava goes in cools, then you're adding all the fluid back in?

The reason I'm asking is because I'm having sticking issues and adding SLES in my case isn't really having much if any effect on the flow at all

Sentrex said:

Mine is still liquid, no flakes, but it's only 2 years old.

I dilute 70% H2O and 30% surf by volume in a large glass measuring cup. I do not know how much to add to the globes, I just add a "swig", run the lamp, and adjust from there. Of course, if you add too much then you basically have to dump part of the fluid and start all over again with PG, DI H2O, and Surf.