MoltenTiger
Well-Known Member
the sodium metasilicate doesn't do much but make it basic. PBW is 30% Na2SiO3 so its oxidation potential is generally higher than oxy cleaners which usually have about 1% metasilicate, but the main beneficial chemical seems to be PBWs surfactants.i have used actual pbw and the budget oxy action i get does have metasilicate its in the ingredients list. I noticed no difference in glass cleaning between the pbw and alternative other than a more soapy smell therefore requires more rinsing. Since i pay £12 for 500g of pbw vs £1 per 500 g of fake oxyclean its a no brainier. either way actual pbw didn’t clean my cu as well as iso just my opinion based on experience. infact recently ive gone back to iso and a funnel to clean bubblers just a 1 min shake and can be reused many times. and drop the cu in a mason if iso , no reclaim with pbw/oxyclean.
anyway theres no need to worry about pbw damaging the cu so no problem trying it
None the less if you've already tried it and it's not working out for you, then that's that. However I feel with the right process it should work quite efficiently, but certainly both IPA and PBW are perfectly suitable for the task at hand, so by all means use whatever works best with your methods.
I just thought it was worth mentioning that there is no substitute for PBW*, and if you try and make it yourself it will probably cost more per weight than the real stuff, which for vaping purposes is a once off purchase for a lifetime supply at about $15. That doesn't even buy me half a litre of IPA in Australia by the time I've evaporated it away, I could have just bought some damn herb
So PBW is a desirable option
*although there are many options that might be similar enough for basic glass cleaning