Old Boiled Skull

Yes you can still use the dawn. i added ammonia to mine but my tank is covered in my shed so i wasn't around the heated ammonia(not very good to breathe)Sea Wolf says you can put it in a 50/50 (i think) mix of water/ammonia and let it sit covered and unheated at room temp. Either way it's gonna take a while.

 

As above. If I can find it, I'll put a photo on here. A boiled and really greasy Russian bear that had been sitting for over 20 years in the state that it was in. I plunked it into a bucket with 50/50 ammonia in it and just left it to sit for about 6 months. I actually forgot about it and buried the bucket under something and re discovered it later. Still a bit of grease but a HUGE improvement. You can just as easily make a mix of the Dawn detergent and add a good shot of ammonia to that and keep it heated. Ammonia used that way isn't going to be an issue with fumes. You do need to make sure that metal parts of your heater aren't contacting the water if it has ammonia in it. Ammonia and certain metals don't seem to play nice together. Your bigger concern would be what shape is the bone in? Is it degraded at all? Powdery, flaking or looking very porous?

This is the skull after I brought it home and just gave it a wash and a scrub in the sink. It was really filthy.



After that 6 month soak in ammonia. A small bit of grease left but a huge improvement and I left it that way.



Other side. Click on the thumbnail for a bigger photo.

 

For the 6 months that skull sat in ammonia, it wasn't changed at all. I would not change it at all unless you see grease floating on the top. The water being cloudy many times is not grease. Just changes in the appearance from exposure to air and possibly a bacterial growth. Even still, it takes quite a bit of grease in the water to slow or stop it from working. If you can froth up a bunch of suds on top that stay for a while, your cleaning mix is still good to go. If no suds or they fall apart right away, it's time to change it.

 

Looks like regular ammonia. The local grocery doesn't carry it in along with the cleaning products? Walmart? Hardware store? Hell, I would go to a business that cleans floors and see if they can sell you some. They probably have it by the barrel. They use it to strip floors of old wax. If you have to order it, that will work but I would search for a local option.

https://ohcanadasupply.ca/cleaning/Cleaning-Chemicals/Disinfectants-and-Sanitizers/jjjamm104l

Finding that ammonia is illegal in Canada ?? Really? Damn. Look at it this way though, you can buy and own all the polar bear skulls and claws you can find as well as dead raptors. Stuff those of us in the states go to jail for.

 

Ace used to carry 10% but I can only find 2% “clear ammonia” in their stores now. Online you can still find the killer stuff. https://www.laballey.com/products/ammonium-hydroxide-50-solution

 

I would not heat the ammonia if that is only what is in there. Especially if you are using a heater submerged in it. The ammonia will react with metal parts and possibly ruin the heater. It will work ok at a normal room temperature. Will take longer because of the weaker solution but I wouldn't heat it. I have heated water mixes of mostly detergent and water with some ammonia added but not with straight ammonia. If you are heating the bucket from the outside that would be safer.

 

The pail heaters have been coming down in price and I may be investing in a few soon. When you say "Dow" ... do you actually mean "Dawn"? I usually have a 5 gallon bucket full of warm water. At least 1/4 cup of Dawn up to 1/2 cup mixed in. I will also pour in up to 8 cups of ammonia depending on what is in there and how greasy it is. If you can wrap blankets around the buckets that will also help to keep the heat higher and at a constant temperature.

 

Good job wrapping that too. That water looks nasty already. If you actually have oil on the surface, add in some Dawn and stir it up well to break up the grease. Otherwise, lifting the skull up through it will just get grease back on the skull that you already removed.

 

I would change it. Is there anything that looks like dried blood, dark areas in the skull?