I'll try it, I found some in the garage minutes ago. I hate when that happens.. out at the store lookin for shit I already have.

Heres more info on it. It's not soluble in water at all.

http://www.perlite.net/

Try what, perlite or celite? Just because the names sound similar and they perhaps even look similar does not mean that they are similar! Perlite is not a substitute for celite!

You tell the clerk at the hardware store that you need "the white powder that you add to a swimming pool filter after the filter has been cleaned".

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Baseline Does Not Exist.

We are using fossils to make drugs? I wonder if my own remains will one day be used in a clandestine lab...  

Maybe you could put a clause in your will about having your body cremated, then the ashes could be used as a celite substitute.  Then someone could cook a batch of MDMA, and use your ashes for filtering a post-Al/Hg, then they could distribute the finished product out to bees who wanted a little taste of Rhodium.  But that would be kinda creepy.....

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It is seductive, way too seductive.             -Eleusis

Terb, I found a bag of perlite in the garage, not celite. I will go get some celite though, now that I know what it's used for. Thank you :p

Perlite is used for holding and releasing moister over time. Best hive related use are humidifying mushrooms or hydrophonics. Get celite do not even consider using perlite.

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Not a chemist I just follow directions on the box mix

Perlite is exploded volcanic rock, where as celite is made by little microrganisms, there should be a huge difference in their properties... my question of the day is, how is vermiculite different from perlite?

Is simular to perlite.  It does not humidify things like perlite does.  The grain size is way too big and both tend to float. It does provide a looser structure and drainage. Main uses for bees would be hydrophonics and or growing mushrooms using rice cake methods.

Use a dust mask and goggles if handling dry vermiculite or perlite. The dust is awful on your lungs. I would compare it to fiberglass dust.

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Not a chemist I just follow directions on the box mix

Can glass fiber filter also break emulsions as celite?

Yes, but there is a greater risk of the filter paper clogging up if you have particulates dispersed in your emulsion.

Sorry to drag up this old post but I seem to bee having trouble finding this stuff. I will assume that "Celite" is a brand name. In the pool suppliers I have been to they only stock a product known as "******* Filter Sand 16/30 size grain". The stores I have been to have never heard of "Diamotaceous Earth" either. Would this product suffice for our purposes???  Thanks

Hmm have a 50lb bag of this from the pool store.. is it necessary to run H2SO4 or HNO3 through it (or NaOH for that matter) to clean it up?  Or can it be used straight from the bag?

Set out for a planned voyage to find this stuff recently, thinking it would be a bitch to find. Went to 3 pool/spa stores and 2 carried the same brand Dia-sumthing. $8 for 10 lbs. Now if I could figure out how to use it correctly. The guy corrected my pronounciation when "diatamaceous earth" was requested. So, some do know what it is. Its really fine grain, floats in the air.

It's pretty easy. Wet the filter paper, suck celite mixed with solvent thru the filter paper, then pour whatever it is you want to filter (e.g. yeast in water, MnO2, etc)

Sparkolloid - found at better Beer & Winemaking stores in the "Finings" section.

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Sparkolloid
Other names: Celite. Calcined diatomaceous earth. Kieselguhr. Siliceous rock.

Crystalline Silica, quartz aluminasilicate, cristobalite.

I am wondering about the merits of adding Celite directly to an Al/Hg and then filtering the whole shebang.

Celite when put in the buchner first tends to get disturbed, and sometimes clogs, thereby lowering filtering efficiency.

Has anyone had experience with adding Celite directly to an Al/Hg.

If so what are the best Celite/Al sludge ratios? 1:1, 2:1

Any tips appreciated.

Celite when put in the buchner first tends to get disturbed, and sometimes clogs, thereby lowering filtering efficiency.

I usually do the following:

Prepare the Buechner setup and put a sheet of filter paper in place. Take the amount of celite you need and suspend it in the solvent of your reaction mixture. Add a magnetic stirbar and mix the suspension for about 20 seconds. Immediately pour all of the suspension on the buechner filter, while you keep the filter paper in place with a (glass) rod. Turn on the vacuum pump and at the same time, retract the rod. You will get a nice equal distribution of your celite. I have never ever had problems when preparing my Buechner setup this way and always obtained nice results with it   .

Doo as GCMS!. Iff you wet the filterpaper, turn the vacum on and then add the celitsuspention, you don't need the glasrodtrick