Author Topic: ammonia ?  (Read 10643 times)

jim m

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ammonia ?
« on: August 01, 2008, 02:45:09 AM »
I've seen ammonia mentioned in several posts and was wondering what ammonia you are refering to. the ammonia I have worked with in refrigeration boils off at 28 below zero farenhiet, so I know that won't work. is it household ammonia or is there a little stronger solution available.

Offline Eric Kettenburg

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2008, 03:40:06 AM »
I just use plain old grocery store ammonia. 
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Offline Jim Filipski

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2008, 04:36:12 AM »
I just use plain old grocery store ammonia. 

Yes just plain household ammonia in the bottle at the grocery store ( NH3 + Water) Makes a grand 18th century  style cake by the way!
Jim
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Offline Acer Saccharum

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2008, 04:38:24 AM »
Oh, goodie, can we trade recipes? i have a great one for pie crust.



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lew wetzel

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2008, 05:14:34 AM »
can i get a piece of that with a cup of coffee.i would gladly give you two shillings..

Offline Z. Buck

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #5 on: August 01, 2008, 05:19:46 AM »
wow Tom, i have never seen such a beautiful pie, with a lock next to it no less, how delicious, what a way of mixing passions, food and gun building
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Offline B Shipman

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #6 on: August 01, 2008, 07:53:39 AM »
My wife's been visiting relatives for the last week and I'm really hungry. Will you marry me. Then again, there's nothing to restrain me from drinking manhattans. Forget it. I'll eat out. Good looking pie though. :P

Trkdriver99

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #7 on: August 01, 2008, 03:35:13 PM »
Dog, that pie looks good. You gonna post the recipe? I sure could use a big ole chunk of that with my morning diet Mtn Dew. I bet the cake is good too.
Ronnie

Evil Monkey

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #8 on: August 01, 2008, 04:08:19 PM »
I just use plain old grocery store ammonia. 

Yes just plain household ammonia in the bottle at the grocery store ( NH3 + Water) Makes a grand 18th century  style cake by the way!
Jim

Jim, are you sure about that?. NH3 is ammonium nitrate (AKA anhydrous ammonia) which is a source of nitrogen applied as agricultural fertilizer in a gas state. It has a great affinity for water and therefore is easily added to water but I didn't know that grocery store ammonia was just NH3 + water. Interesting stuff.

Offline deano

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #9 on: August 01, 2008, 04:14:18 PM »
So are the lock parts baked in the pie and allowed to slowly cool on a window sill to anneal them correctly?

Offline Acer Saccharum

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #10 on: August 01, 2008, 04:18:26 PM »
SO, how does the ammonia neutralize the acid? is ammonia a base?

What part does ammonia play in cake?
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Evil Monkey

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2008, 04:30:32 PM »
So are the lock parts baked in the pie and allowed to slowly cool on a window sill to anneal them correctly?

You laugh but IIRC, Arnold Griebel used to temper his gravers by putting them in his wifes cake batter and when the cake was baked, the gravers would be tempered.

Offline Jim Filipski

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #12 on: August 01, 2008, 04:49:56 PM »


Jim, are you sure about that?. NH3 is ammonium nitrate (AKA anhydrous ammonia) which is a source of nitrogen applied as agricultural fertilizer in a gas state. It has a great affinity for water and therefore is easily added to water but I didn't know that grocery store ammonia was just NH3 + water. Interesting stuff.

No I'm not sure(?)  I just use it for baking cakes! you guys use it for neutralizing browning
Jim
" Associate with men of good quality,  if you esteem your own reputation:
for it is better to be alone than in bad company. "      -   George Washington

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Offline Jim Filipski

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #13 on: August 01, 2008, 04:59:50 PM »
Just checked: Store bought Household Ammonia  is NH3 +H2O (Ammonia Hydroxide +water)

I believe aqueous ammonia was used as a leavening agent in the 18th & 19th Century
I will post the recipe for "The Cake"  when I get home Great for annealing I'm sure
Jim
" Associate with men of good quality,  if you esteem your own reputation:
for it is better to be alone than in bad company. "      -   George Washington

"A brush of the hand
of Providence is behind what is done with good heart."

Don Tripp

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #14 on: August 01, 2008, 05:34:44 PM »
Re the original post:

I use regular household ammonia to change the appearance of cherry and oak (particularly white oak). Anhydrous ammonia may be available in rural areas but apparently should not be released into the atmosphere. I used to work for an answering service that took calls for Michigan's version of the EPA and whenever some farmer would release a little into the air he would get fined.

Easy Off oven cleaner reportedly works good on cherry. I'm going to try that on some scrap that I have before I treat a stock or a piece of furniture with it.

I wouldn't substitute the Easy Off in the cake recipe. By the way I've got a slew of recipes too. Maybe we can start a new forum.. Call it the Baking Powder Room ;)

Offline Roger Fisher

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #15 on: August 01, 2008, 06:17:21 PM »
Re the original post:

I use regular household ammonia to change the appearance of cherry and oak (particularly white oak). Anhydrous ammonia may be available in rural areas but apparently should not be released into the atmosphere. I used to work for an answering service that took calls for Michigan's version of the EPA and whenever some farmer would release a little into the air he would get fined.

Easy Off oven cleaner reportedly works good on cherry. I'm going to try that on some scrap that I have before I treat a stock or a piece of furniture with it.

I wouldn't substitute the Easy Off in the cake recipe. By the way I've got a slew of recipes too. Maybe we can start a new forum.. Call it the Baking Powder Room ;)
Or otherwise known as the "little outhouse on the hill" ::)

jim m

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #16 on: August 01, 2008, 08:28:57 PM »
ammonia works to neutralize acid because of it's ph. on the ph scale anything below 7 is acidic, and ammonia is extremely alkaline with a ph of 14

Offline Acer Saccharum

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #17 on: August 02, 2008, 03:44:52 AM »
Oh, man, you guys are bad. Somebody monkeying around with my post....like putting my picture in there,  and then  the Baking "Powder Room."

tom

jim M, that's what I was wondering. It's REALLY basic.

Would ammonia help my hair?
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Offline Jim Filipski

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #18 on: August 02, 2008, 04:54:36 AM »
Tom,
I'm thinking if you put your engraving helmet on no one will notice
Jim
" Associate with men of good quality,  if you esteem your own reputation:
for it is better to be alone than in bad company. "      -   George Washington

"A brush of the hand
of Providence is behind what is done with good heart."

jim m

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #19 on: August 02, 2008, 05:50:39 AM »
Acer, might help the hair, but the face, well, uh ,well I take the 5th  ::) in it's pure form, anhydrous ammonia is so caustic it will destoy your muscus membranes and lungs. it's deadly in concentrated form, but when released to the atmosphere breaks down into it's basic elements, nitrogen and hydrogen.

Offline Acer Saccharum

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #20 on: August 02, 2008, 03:33:19 PM »
I got most my 'do' pretty well under control, but that big wad of bed head in the back refuses to lay down properly.

Maybe Dennis could help me with my hair problems. He seems to have plenty, must know how to manage all that hair better than most guys.
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Offline Long John

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Re: ammonia ?
« Reply #21 on: August 04, 2008, 06:16:43 PM »
For those who are interested a short chemistry lesson:

Ammonia is NH3.  Anhydrous ammonia is just ammonia without any water.  Usually ammonia is dissolved in water.  When ammonia is dissolved in water it ionizes the water formin NH4OH. The OH part of hydrous ammonia (ammonia dissolved in water) combines with the H part of an acid like HCl (hydrochloric acid) or HNO3 (nitric acid) to form water.  That's how ammonia "neutralizes" an acid.  Keep in mind that the NH4 part of the ammonia and the NO3 part of the nitric acid are still in solution.  If you boil the water off you will get ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3.  Ammonium nitrate will behave just like the potassium nitrate in black powder; the nitrate part will break down and yield free oxygen that combines with the carbon in the charcoal to produce carbon dioxide gas (BOOM!)

I hope this clears up any missunderstandings from earlier posts, here.

Best Regards,

John Cholin