There was a depressive and mentally disturbed kid who emptied two acid bottles into a jar in a tiny bathroom and got his face, trachea and lungs badly burned, eyes... he looked horrible - found it somewhere on the Web but never stored the link.
He was quite dead though, I guess it didn't matter to him, he wanted it so much.. now that was extreme, in a larger volume room it wouldn't have happened, but all acids are corrosive. My dad was an engineer and taught me to handle hazmats from a very young age onward - always respect reality, which is literally inhuman, in the sense that humans are rather reality-resistant herd animals and will prefer crowd-compatible delusion over reality anytime. Hope, you know...
This is even frequently the reason why they want to kill themselves, ironically. It may be off-topic, but you realize that being delusional is one of the most important human rights ? They call it 'religious freedom.' Okay, I digress, but it proves the point. Better not do that here... last time it got me into a debate, got banned... so I had to improvise a bit, because my job here wasn't quite done, which I'm trying to correct now.
Rationality till the end will carry us through.
Active coal filters is what they officially sell for gas masks to take out acid fumes, these are the simplest of filters, they sell more sophisticated stuff to take out CO itself (but people keep confusing this. It doesn't help that 'active coal' - charcoal - is also used by many to produce CO by burning).
So a coal mask will take out the acid and let the CO through almost unharmed, which makes it a very simple way to go.
Wearing a mask while handling small amounts of acids in a room or larger ones in the open air is not necessary, just don't breathe it in directly, but fumes will come from acids like hydrochloric and formic, a bit less from sulphuric, and at least have a nasty smell. I never used a mask, just turn my face away. But a mask won't hurt of course, it's a sensible investment.
I also mix the acids at the last instance, using a plastic bag inside the mix-container (blog). It's all a compromise between efficiency and keeping it simple... this is where you will always make your own decisions... yeah it's motivating to do this perfectly, dominating it all with logic. It's freedom.
Sure you can get 300 liters inside the bags and transport them, but handle them carefully as they tend to be fragile... you would need about 10 liters of acids each to make sure you get at least that, though 7 might do... I wouldn't advise using a tent, tents are designed for breathability and air flow / gas flow, you don't want that (need to use foils on/over the tent to keep the gas from sneaking away).
I will personally leave the bags in the 10 cbm room I chose for the purpose.
Say, you're inside the car and it's well isolated, and you have the radio on and feel a bit elated, almost happy because soon you'll be literally FREE, and the biggest problem is that right now, you really don't feel like dying... damn, it's such a shame, what a waste ! Moi ! Sigh...
So you take a sip of some favorite spirit and maybe a Valium(wouldn't necessarily advise, makes you dumber, don't take too much but a bit won't hurt - most of us will be able to handle it but some will just wake up next morning), you get a bit tired, and yeah, it's now or never, no further delays - no more wasted emotions, so you slit the bags... you take a deep breath and you immediately feel VERY tired, yawn, and only your survival instinct will keep you awake some more. Maybe. That's the part you need to get over, you don't want to open the door now ;) You want to sleep.
I had a meeting with a little 3 hp generator in a shed years ago, busy and unthinking I went in as always, to shut it off, my head full of "important issues," and I almost died there right then. The air was exhaust-gas-clogged, my knees started to give, and all I felt was curiosity at what was going on... then I realized that CO must have had accumulated - very unusual, something had obstructed the air flow... I barely got out by falling/moving in the right direction, getting my head outside... that was a cool experience. I mean to say, there was nothing to it, just like going to sleep. That's it. No after-effects, no headaches, all was well.
Your setup on the shot looks entirely workable... given there aren't any leaks (small leaks can still kill a setup, given enough time). I would advise adding some aromatic substance to the water (like soap, which has the additional benefit of being a base, as such anti-acidic), so you will immediately know, by the aromatic smell, that your CO is good to use. Taking a sniff is not a problem. Test this with a tiny setup, nothing will happen to you and it will make you feel safer with your ability of handling it for the big one.
A bit of routine never hurts. As someone said - dying is as natural as breathing - no reason to get excited ;)
