Salt Petre

[ianjoe]

I know Salt Petre is potassium nitrate, but what is this product, and what is it used for? I went to a local drug store and they said they never heard of it. It would be easier to track it down if i knew what it was.
I ordered a couple pounds of potassium nitrate from Light Manufacture. However, I'd still like to find this product as an alternative in the future.

thanks,
ian

[djlen]

The bottles of it that I have were found in a small, privately owned pharmacy. Not a chain. Many of those chain people are clueless. It's like a mom and pop operation, where I go when I need something I know no one else will have. I found my alum(aluminum sulfate) there as well. I use that for killing snails on plants before I put them in my tanks.
The bottles of Salt Petre that I have, have no instructions or possible uses written on them. They just say, "For Technical Use" on them. The only other words are Potassium Nitrate.
Legend has it that Salt Petre is used in prisons and other such institutions, in food served to inmates to lesson sexual desire. I have no clue how accurate that is, so take it for what it's worth.
I will say that it is pure white KNO3 and dissolves quickly and completely.
Len

[Skittyfish]

Isn't that the same as stump remover?

[JLudwig]

Salt Petre is used in making black powder and other explosives, also as a component in fertiliziers (which we want it for). I have no clue if it has any medicinal uses... A few brands of stump remover happen to be KNO3, but not all, and there is no gaurantee of purity. Even if it worked for someone else, a new batch or lot may come from a different supplier who may tolerate a wider/smaller range of purities.

The easiest, cheapest and safest way to obtain this stuff is via mail-order thru a hydroponics outfit, they will sell it as a fertilizier component. A pound or so is basically a lifetime supply....

[djlen]

Yes Skittyfish, it's the same but the Salt Petre I have seems more pure and is definitely easier to dissolve.

Len