wouldn't a filter plug (aka charmin) work a bit better still? I assume you are talking about what I am familiar with calling a 'percolator' - the principle would be to put the cruddy dissolved material in the bottom chamber and have the liquid pump itself up to the top via the vapour pressure of the heated solvent.
good idea though. it should be fairly safe (on a sealed electric cooktop) to filter just about anything (ie alcohol, toluene etc). Highly volatile solvents would be particularly rapid at doing this, eg DCM/ether.
interesting alternative to vacuum I must say.
I've seen these really groovy ones that are like 2L capacity (1L in each chamber) made of pyrex before. They'd probably be even better.
the only thing to be aware of is that the outlet probably would have to be modified if one uses high heat, otherwise it will splatter.
actually knowing what the average solvent expands like (in comparison to water per watt of heat applied), it would only take gentle heat, maybe even just sitting the thing in hot water.
It would be rather nice to get a custom made large device made from pyrex so one can work with larger quantities of material.
also, rather than use the standard outlet in the middle of the receiving dish, put a braided hose on it and point it into the inside of a jar or flask.
which reminds me of something - those little filter basket things in percolators would make neat buchner funnels.
