Ed Huntress wrote:
On Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:04:54 -0800,
wrote:

(...)

http://www.essentialdepot.com/servle...l-Grade/Detail

32 smackers for 10 lbs NaOH in 5 - 2 lb bottles. Free Shipping!

Is that a good deal Ed?

Yeah, that's good. $3/pound delivered is what I expect to pay.
Sometimes they offer big discounts to their e-mail list, but you might
wait for months.

Note that they're now selling 2-pound bottles for $1.99. I didn't
check shipping to your area, but you'll probably find that the
10-pound/free-shipping deal is better.

Yup. With shipping to me, the two pounder goes for ~$9.00 a lb!
Still, a much better deal than Lowe's.

My local Lowe's does not admit to selling any kind of lye
on their website but I have not called them yet.

Go to Lowe's site and search for "Crystal drain opener." You'll see
two brands. One is Roebic, which is the one you want. Two pounds for
$11.69 in my neighborhood.

Yes, I see it now. It's $12.24 for the two pounder here. Thanks!

I used lots of lye to clean the 80-year-old cast-iron drains in my
house, but I've been slowly replacing them with plastic, so I don't
buy quantities these days. Mostly I use it for producing a matte
finish on homemade aluminum radio chassis (another thing I haven't
done for a few years), and as an ingredient in Ted Edward's E-clean
electrolytic cleaner/de-ruster:

http://metalworking.com/dropbox/_199...es/E-CLEAN.TXT

I love that stuff.

It works a treat, even if you use plain washing soda.

--Winston