"Dave Plowman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Revd. Norle Enturbulata wrote:
As I said, even at the Rx (prescription) counter - it's where I used to
get it in the US.

Ah. Doesn't mean much in the UK.



Over the regular counter the stuff is only 70% with
water. I don't want no steenking water residue on my heads! So I
always went to the pharmacist counter to get the 90% alcohol.

The stuff I got was branded Isopropanol BP (Propan-2-OL). I can't see why
a chemist would stock a diluted version.

Because people who use it in the application of insulin don't need 90%. 70%
is just fine on the level of decontamination. Not so however for tape
heads, as the water residue becomes a problem over time.

It wasn't
until I saw the supply I brought with me starting to dwindle that I
started checking around, only to be told it was a "controlled
substance".

Many poisons are controlled substances if you try and buy them in their
'neat' forms.

So then Boots the Chemist is a dead loss on this one eh? Would you suggest
a smaller one might be more cooperative? I'm told that Maplin's carries the
stuff though. I'll find out fer sure over the next week...!

And given the bizarre nature of some regulations in the
UK/EU - like the one prohibiting a wall light switch inside a bathroom!

Given the appalling standards - or lack of them - for US wiring, I'd keep
quiet about that. ;-)

Having worked on the renovation of the 1851 house we now live in I'd have to
take issue with that one. There are too many regulations in the UK and
nobody to enforce them; and the cowboys pick up the slack, usually trying it
on for cash. Why would anyone need the kind of odd hookup they call a
"shaving point"? What company making electric shavers has the plug for it
anyway? The resultant non-regulation is worse because of the overabundance
of them, and these conditions help to make the UK on a par with the third
world when it comes to home wiring. Did you know that Buckingham Palace
still has that ol' two-wiring stuff?

Priceless! - I'd come to think I was going to have to either smuggle
some in, or use a lot of those awful "cleaning tapes".

When tape machines were common in broadcasting, we didn't use IP anyway
for any of the tape path or head cleaning - there are dozens of
alternatives. Usually in an aerosol, but also available in bulk - say 5
litre containers. AF or similar. Check out RS Components, etc.

Aerosol would be a bit over the top if all you're wanting to do is clean
your heads with a Q-tip. Ah, excuse me, "cotton swab".


--
Steve Goodman
* EarthLight Productions
* http://www.earthlight.net