Old ether. risky?

[FriendlyFinger]

I have a 3 year old bottle of diethyl ether that's never been opened or seen the light of day. Would you open it?

Regards,
FF.

[SPISSHAK]

There is no danger in opening an old bottle of ether, Me has done it before the only ether you need to fear is the ether that has been sitting in open air for 24 hours or more, you should wash that ether with ferrous sulfates to rid it of peroxides, dry and distill.

[Lilienthal]

UTFSE on ether peroxide

[MTM]

Yes I would open it. Use a peroxide test (e.g. from Merck). Cheap and easy to use.

[FriendlyFinger]

How do school lab technicans manage the stuff at the end of a lab session. Do they fill it with N₂ before putting away. How often do they test?

Regards,
FF.

[moo]

You don't need a peroxide test from Merck, just put a little of the ether to a test tube with a bit of aqueous iodide salt (KI, NaI), mix the layers and when you see the purple color of iodine in the ether layer you know your ether contains peroxides. Also, starch makes an intensely blue complex with iodine, so adding starch to the mix makes the test sensitive as well. This could be applied so that you could make a tester strip yourself. Haven't made a tester strip this way, so I won't give a method because I haven't tested if it would work or not.

[wareami]

FriendlyFinger:
Here are two links to reference.
The second has suggested shelf life storage.

Post 253696 (missing)

(wareami: "More NewBee Nuggets", Newbee Forum)

Post 332595 (missing)

(wareami: "General Lab Safety Tips", General Discourse)
Ethers should be stored in the dark and under nitrogen if possible.

Peace of the _reaction

Have FUN-Bee SAFE