Just a word of warning about Sodium bi-sulphate.
It’s a “double salt”. The sodioum ions are atatched to two acid
radicals. This means that the acid is still reactive. The solution
will eat into clothing, mark steel and iron and cause all the same
problems if it’s spilt that the dilute acid will. So be just as
careful with the solution in the pickle pot as you would be with the
dilute acid.
Incidentally acids are NOT caustic - that’s a word applied to
alkalies (lye, sodium hydroxide, lime plaster etc.)
Acids and alkalies are opposites and comnbine together to form
salts. For example Sodium hydroxide NaOH (alkali) combinbes with
Hydrocloric acid HCl(mutiatic) to form soduim cloride (common
salt)thus
NaOH + HCl = NaCl + H20
Tony Konrath
Gold and Stone
www.goldandstone.com