How to quench lime for construction and garden works

Lime is the most popular material for the treatment of walls. It has disinfectant properties and is absolutely not affected by mold and various fungi. In addition, lime is also very cheap. Its price makes this material indispensable for finishing public places, especially in small towns and villages.

The purpose of this article is to tell the readers how to quench the lime correctly and why you need to do this.

General information

Lime itself is a mixture of substances that are a product of calcination of limestone. Most often on the shelves of our shops there is a quicklime, or a lump, there is also a lime "pushonka".

Treatment of walls with lime is the most hygienic way of finishing. The fact is that this material neutralizes any microorganisms that fall on it. In addition, lime has excellent strength and moisture resistance.

There are such ways of finishing and their shortcomings. If the person doing the work does not know how to dilute the lime, and does it incorrectly, then on the treated surface there will necessarily be stains, blisters and streaks. Too liquid solution will not give a beautiful even color, but excessively dense will go badly to the wall, and after a while it will rise and fall off.

Like all other building materials, lime is subject to standardization. The quality of the material depends on the percentage of calcium and magnesium oxides in it. In lime of the first grade, the aggregate amount of these substances must be at least 90%. The lower the grade, the lower the oxides. In the lime of the lowest, fourth grade, the total amount of magnesium and calcium oxides does not exceed 60%.

The price of slaked and quicklime in the market is significantly different. Unexpected can cost about 3-5 thousand rubles per ton. Much more expensive is slaked lime. Its price can reach 10 thousand rubles per ton and even more.

Use of lime

Slaked lime "pushonka" is used in the farm very widely. In some cases, it is used even when cooking. But most often it is used for such purposes:

• When the ceiling and walls are whitewashed;
• To protect wooden structures from fire or rotting;
• In the production of silicate concrete;
• When laying the inside of stoves and fireplaces;
• In the manufacture of a mortar.

It is also widely used in agriculture. Everyone knows that one of the most necessary materials in the country and in the garden is hydrated lime. Its price is so low that the material can be literally buried in the ground, using for fertilizing and liming the soil.

In agriculture, lime is used:

• For the production of lime fertilizers;
• In the preparation of bleach, necessary for the treatment of trees and shrubs from pests;
• For the treatment of beds from pests and the control of diseases of certain plants;
• When tanning the skin of animals;
• For the preparation of calcium compounds used for the purification of sewage;
• For the preparation of E 526 - an additive used in the food industry.

Classification

Practically in all spheres of management only processed material is used, but before talking about how to quench lime, let's look at its classification. The main division of lime is made depending on the rate of its extinction:

• Slow-wiping - the whole process takes more than half an hour;
• Average extinguishing - quenching takes 15-25 minutes;
• Quickly extinguishing - everything happens very quickly, for 5-10 minutes.

The second classification takes into account the characteristics of hardening:

• Air - this lime is used to increase the speed of hardening mortars in dry conditions, in air;
• Hydraulic - used for solutions that need to have special strength; It is used in works produced in water: construction of port foundations, bridge supports and so on; Is weakly and strongly hydraulic.

The third and last type of lime classification is by fractions. Depending on the size of the pieces, it can be:

• Lumpy;
• Crushed;
• Powder.

Principle of operation and safety

Correctly to extinguish lime in house conditions it is absolutely uncomplicated. This will not take much time, no special skills, no special equipment. Nevertheless, the process must be properly prepared. When extinguishing lime, an exothermic reaction occurs, that is, a large amount of heat is released. And to avoid injuries, before you quench the lime, you need to prepare:

• Protective glasses and gloves;
• Clothes, resistant to alkali, best canvas coveralls;
• A respirator capable of protecting respiratory organs from dust, gas and calcareous particles.

You will also need a quench tank, water and a long stick for stirring.

How to quench lime for construction purposes

So, we proceed to the process of converting quicklime into slaked lime, observing, of course, all precautions.

Before diluting the lime, wear tight protective clothing, goggles, a respirator and gloves.

1. We fall asleep lime in the prepared capacity. It is best to use for these purposes metal dishes without signs of rust. A plastic barrel or a bucket will not work. The fact is that when quenched, the mixture warms up to 150-180 ° C, and the plastic can melt.
2. Carefully pour the mixture with cold water at a rate of one and one (if you want to get a "pusher"). If you need to prepare a calcareous dough, then for 1 kg of lime you need to take half a liter of water.
3. Water should be poured in small portions, especially if your lime is a large fraction. If you pour out immediately all the liquid, there is a possibility that large clumps "coke" and the process will be protracted for a long time.
4. Carefully and very gently mix the resulting mixture. Do this every time as soon as we notice a decrease in steam above the surface of the tank.
5. After the vaporization has completely ceased, we close the container with a lid and leave to infuse for 24-36 hours. After that, the mixture should be carefully mixed again and left to infuse in a cool cool place for at least 14 days (for masonry), or better - for a month. Only after that, lime will receive its properties and it will only be filtered through gauze.

Attention! Do not lean over the container too low - evaporation during reaction can cause severe chemical burns.

Lime for whitewashing and spraying trees and bushes

As we have already said, this remarkable material is used not only in construction, but also for garden and garden works. So let's talk about how to quench lime for trees.

To make a solution for whitewashing trees, you need to take 1 kg of calcareous powder and 2-3 liters of water. Observe all precautions, extinguish lime and leave the solution for 48 hours for infusion. If you are going to use a sprayer or a spray gun for whitewashing, the mixture should be carefully filtered. If you bleach the trees with a brush, then you do not need to filter the solution.

In order to keep the mixture better on the trunk and branches, a little PVA glue, milk or special "sticking", which is sold in the stores for gardeners, can be added to the solution. If you decide to treat trees and shrubs in order to rid them of parasites living under the bark, then, in addition to all of the above, do not forget to add copper sulphate to the solution. The resulting mixture will acquire a bluish tinge, but any living creature in the bark just does not survive.

How to dilute already slaked lime

You already know how to quench lime, so to speak, natural. Now let's talk about how to properly prepare a solution of the desired concentration from the already quenched lime. There are some nuances:

1. In the calcareous dough you can not pour a large amount of water at once, it is best to act gradually. The maximum portion of water that can be poured in one step is 1 liter per 2 kg of "pushonka".
2. Dilute solution only with cold water.
3. Diluted mixture can not be used immediately. Leave it for another 12-24 hours, all components must "make friends" with each other.

If you want to use the resulting mixture for whitewashing the ceiling or walls, use a little trick. Prepare a saline solution (2 kg of salt per 1 liter of water) and mix it with lime, achieving the desired density. Leave the resulting mixture for another 24 hours, after which you must strain through a fine sieve or gauze.

Such an additive will fix the mixture, lime whitewash will last longer on the wall, leaving no traces on hands or clothes when touched.

Conclusion

Lime is a wonderful, cheap and affordable material, an equivalent replacement for it so far no one came up with. Now you know exactly how to quench lime, and you can prepare whitewash for bushes and trees without any outside help and extra costs, make a mixture for masonry or plaster.