Emptying Separation funnels with a stuck stopper

[Rhodium]

https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/hive/hiveboard/picproxie_docs/000436452-file_0jfy.gif" title="View this image">

Reference: Aldrichimica Acta 23(4), 86 (1990)

[Capt_Stubing]

Good tip!!! I never would have thought of that... I wish that common sense was a little more common.

[bones]

hehehe... clever... ive broken one by banging on it with a glass rod... someone recomended to me to pump air in... lets just say thats not a good idea and leave it at that....

[GC_MS]

As we are on the topic now... I'm pretty sure many bees have encountered problems with stuck stoppers. What I see most ppl doing is trying to turn around the stopper, so it might get loose. Wrong thing to do! It will only get stuck harder. The following picture should illustrate what you'd have to do:

https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/hive/hiveboard/picproxie_docs/000436452-file_comg.gif" title="View this image">

Do not turn around the stopper, just wiggle it a bit to the left and to the right. Don't use brute force. Think you're giving a nipple masage. Do it gentle and with care. Eventually, the stopper will give up its life as stucked-stopper and come out. It can take a while, so you are warned. Don't tell me this is bogus because you have been trying it for more than 5 minutes. It can take a while... My record is ca 20 minutes! A stoppered flask containing 10% KOH, unopened for over half a year... but the stopper gave up   .

[hbo2]

swih had similar experience...had lye locked sep funnel after adding salt.SLOWLY poked pipette into valve opening,but just once with a LIIIItle too much pressure,& "SNAP" goes the pipette.took him a while to fish that out!

[moo]

There is an error in the threads topic. This isn't about stuck stopcocks but stuck stoppers.

Edit: Good point, I have now fixed that /Rhodium

[Jackhammer]

Whe a stopper won´t move I always gently tap the edge of the table with the stopper(just like all other chemists ). This also gives the desired motion to get it out...After having broken a glass stopper with my own hand (resulting in a nice cut) I don´t even think about twisting them again...

[IceHomer]

http://www.ilpi.com/inorganic/glassware/glassblowing.html#stuck

Also:

http://www.ilpi.com/inorganic/glassware/stopcocks.html