Using an old dishwasher for etching PCBs

[Merlysys]

People here throw away their old and working dishwashers to get new ones, a problem created by excess income I suppose.

I noticed that dishwashers have a (water) sprayer along with a rack (to place PCBs). So I thought of experimenting with such a machine. They come with a built in pump too!. Are there problems I overlooked?

I wonder which of the two common  chemicals should be used. If you have links showing this idea already in use please give details as I haven't found any.

[CrashO]

What's up with the Hit-and-run tactic of opening topics?
So far I have seen a bunch of topics created by you, but in none of them (I did a quick check on your last 6) you replied after the initial post..
If you want to ask without discussing, I suggest Google instead of a discussion board   

[Ian.M]

Your etchant will etch the dishwasher about as fast as it does the PCBs.   You'd be lucky to get a few hours running, before it dies and pisses etchant all over the floor, then you have a heavily chemically contaminated scrap dishwasher to dispose of.

[Merlysys]

What's up with the Hit-and-run tactic of opening topics?
So far I have seen a bunch of topics created by you, but in none of them (I did a quick check on your last 6) you replied after the initial post..
If you want to ask without discussing, I suggest Google instead of a discussion board   

I follow the answers daily, just that I don't have anything new to add.
Google is not always helpful.

[Merlysys]

Your etchant will etch the dishwasher about as fast as it does the PCBs.   You'd be lucky to get a few hours running, before it dies and pisses etchant all over the floor, then you have a heavily chemically contaminated scrap dishwasher to dispose of.

Are you certain of this or just speculation?

[Ian.M]

Dish washer detergents are strongly alkaline with pH up to 12.5, but typically the concentration isn't very high.   Etchants are high concentration strong acids and acid salts., with active HCl and in some cases Hydrogen peroxide.   Parts that are alkali resistant may not be acid resistant.  You'd need to check each part for bare metal that could corrode and all plastics for acid resistance.  Its a fair bet that somewhere in the system there will be a part that cant take acid exposed to the solution - all it takes is one metal washer in the pump or spring in a valve and you are FUBARed.