evilgecko Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 What are commen household containers which are completely airtight? They need to be suitable for holding hydroscopic or volatile chemicals. I ask this because I can't seem to find a small container to hold a nitrocellulose solution. I come back in a month and find all the acetone has evaporated. I have tried film containers, small makeup bottles and the bottles vanilla essence come in.
Draco_Aster Posted February 7, 2006 Posted February 7, 2006 Once for a solution of NC/acetone I used a jam jar, but it had no lid. So I cut 3/4 of a baloon off and pulled the large end over the mouth of the jar. Its funny because on hot days it blows the baloon up a little, and on cold days it gets sucked in.
Frozentech Posted February 8, 2006 Posted February 8, 2006 What are commen household containers which are completely airtight? They need to be suitable for holding hydroscopic or volatile chemicals. I ask this because I can't seem to find a small container to hold a nitrocellulose solution. I come back in a month and find all the acetone has evaporated. I have tried film containers, small makeup bottles and the bottles vanilla essence come in. The best ones I have found are the empty 1 pint cans sold at large hardware stores in the paint section. Same cans they sell acetone in, but plain tin, no label... Similiar to the cans the chem suppliers use also.
evilgecko Posted February 8, 2006 Author Posted February 8, 2006 I think the problem is that some of the NCBP gets onto the thread at the top of the containaner and after a while this builds up and creates a air gap. Maybe I should wipe the thread and lid everytime I use it. I'll check the paint store when I'm next in town
Mumbles Posted February 8, 2006 Posted February 8, 2006 I use a special glue for gluing plastic shells. I keep it in a pickle jar. I would look for canning jars(mason jars), or food containers with a rubber coating on the top. They will create a very tight, if not airtight seal.
Frozentech Posted February 8, 2006 Posted February 8, 2006 I use a special glue for gluing plastic shells. I keep it in a pickle jar. I would look for canning jars(mason jars), or food containers with a rubber coating on the top. They will create a very tight, if not airtight seal. What is your special glue Mumbles ? I've just been using Xylene, I have read that dissolving shards of stryrene ( cracked up plastic hemi's ) in the xylene makes a stronger easier to use glue.
Mumbles Posted February 8, 2006 Posted February 8, 2006 Yeah, it's polystyrene dissolved in toluene. I use toluene because #1 I have it, and #2 it's more volatile. It doesn't run as much, and I feel it makes a stronger seal.
FrankRizzo Posted February 9, 2006 Posted February 9, 2006 I just use the container that the acetone came in. They're rarely filled all the way to the top, and I usually lose a few ounces when drying it anyway, so there's plenty of room in there for a 10% soln. Another little tip for making your "special glue" better. For the dissolved styrene, use pieces of fluorescent orange fishing bobbers. It'll color your lacquer and make it easier to see how much glue made it into the joint
Frozentech Posted February 9, 2006 Posted February 9, 2006 I just use the container that the acetone came in. They're rarely filled all the way to the top, and I usually lose a few ounces when drying it anyway, so there's plenty of room in there for a 10% soln. Another little tip for making your "special glue" better. For the dissolved styrene, use pieces of fluorescent orange fishing bobbers. It'll color your lacquer and make it easier to see how much glue made it into the joint Hey that is a cool idea Frank ! I like the idea of pigmenting the glue like that.
Star_Roller Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 I use mason jars there not that exspensive and well you can make them air tight and there glass so nothing will stick to the sides. I also use Ziplock containers but I don't think they are completely air tight and if you have airfloat chemicals in them it comes out from the jerk of the container when opening them.
TheSidewinder Posted February 10, 2006 Posted February 10, 2006 Good point. I hadn't even thought about using the container the acetone came in. I have a quart of the Skylighter high percentage NC laquer, when that's gone I'm going to reuse the can. And if I ever need to make a bigger batch, I can use one of the gallon acetone cans I have. That'd be a hell of a lot of laquer, though... M
evilgecko Posted February 11, 2006 Author Posted February 11, 2006 I can only buy acetone in 100mL bottles with very small necks. This is unconvienient when trying to dip things into it and reach the last bits when the liquid level gets low. How big are mason jars?
FrankRizzo Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 I've seen the following sizes at my local grocery store: 1/2 pint1 pint1quart For dipping things, I usually pour a bit of my lacquer into an old film canister (HDPE) and use that for dipping into. Dipping fuse and other things into the whole container can contaminate it.
kwstag Posted February 12, 2006 Posted February 12, 2006 I have around 50 very nice airtight plastic containers I bought from the Science supply store by my house, where I get all my lab glass and everything for real cheap... Their site is www.sciplus.com I think.
Kilo_G Posted February 13, 2006 Posted February 13, 2006 I'm about 90% sure that HDPE is resistant to acetone. You can use HDPE plastic squeeze bottles for easier application. They're usually on eBay for preitty cheap.
Rooster Posted February 13, 2006 Posted February 13, 2006 HDPE is resistant to acetone. There are some thing that HDPE does not like though, like: Carbon DisulfideCyclohexaneDiethyl etherNitric acidPerchloric acidPropane gas (believe it or not, this will destroy your mortars) I only mentioned those that you MAY have in your lab. If you have a sicker lab than that(like me), search for yourself.
Mumbles Posted February 14, 2006 Posted February 14, 2006 There is a more common chemical that HDPE doesn't like, Toluene. You CAN'T substitute xylene. Also hot propylene glycol and gasoline will dissolve it. If it isn't affected by acetone chances are it is a polyethylene. I have a 32 page table on HDPE resistance. If there is anything you want to know about, just ask. It has some weird stuff like ketchup, cranberry juice, and peanut butter. Funny story, but HDPE doesn't like perfume or peppermint oil.
Kilo_G Posted February 14, 2006 Posted February 14, 2006 LDPE is resistant to gasoline though, right?
DragonNutz Posted April 14, 2010 Posted April 14, 2010 Hi everyone, I'm new to all of this and have been reading as much as I can. I saw a post about using mason jars, and the only problem I might have with those is that you have to boil the jars, fill the hot glass with your chemicals, and then put the lids on so they seal as the air inside the hot jar cools down, creating a vacuum. One thing I would suggest is a "lightning jar" type container. It won't create a vacuum that I know of, but it should keep an airtight seal. Just my 2 cents.
Bonny Posted April 14, 2010 Posted April 14, 2010 Hi everyone, I'm new to all of this and have been reading as much as I can. I saw a post about using mason jars, and the only problem I might have with those is that you have to boil the jars, fill the hot glass with your chemicals, and then put the lids on so they seal as the air inside the hot jar cools down, creating a vacuum. One thing I would suggest is a "lightning jar" type container. It won't create a vacuum that I know of, but it should keep an airtight seal. Just my 2 cents. For storing chems in mason jars, the lids should seal well enough by simply screwing the lid on tightly. You could also use the older style with glass cap and rubber ring for a good seal.
Cookieman Posted April 14, 2010 Posted April 14, 2010 I use mason jars as it has a seal on the lid which works well. I made a batch of N/C laquer 8 months ago and it didn't evaporate at all.
Swede Posted April 15, 2010 Posted April 15, 2010 Getting a vacuum in a mason jar holding acetone won't do much - the acetone will almost instantly fill that void with acetone vapors. That said, I can't think of any reason it wouldn't work fine. I do like metal paint cans (1 pint or 1 quart sized) for NC lacquer. For those in the US: A while back, I was in Lowe's looking for anything pyro related, and found some Watco clear gloss lacquer that I am 95% convinced is NC. Not a super-high nitrogen, but very usable for many pyro tasks. The best part is the price - it was $1.99 for a quart! http://ec1-images.acehardwareoutlet.com/225/products/11042_a.jpg
dagabu Posted April 15, 2010 Posted April 15, 2010 (edited) Watco Clear Lacquer by Rustoleum Chemical Name CAS NumberWeight % LessThan ACGIH TLV-TWA ACGIH TLV-STEL OSHA PEL-TWA OSHA PEL CEILING n-Butyl Acetate 123-86 -4 20.0 150 ppm 200 ppm 150 ppm N.E. Isopropyl Alcohol 67-63-0 15.0 200 ppm 400 ppm 400 ppm N.E. Xylene 1330-20-7 15.0 100 ppm 150 ppm 100 ppm N.E. Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether 111-76 -2 10.0 20 ppm N.E. 50 ppm N.E. n-Butanol 71-36-3 10.0 20 ppm N.E. 100 ppm N.E. Methyl Isobutyl Ketone 108-10 -1 10.0 50 ppm 75 ppm 100 ppm N.E. Nitrocellulose Resin Solution MIXTURE 10.0 N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E. Aromatic Petroleum Distillates 64742-95-6 5.0 N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E. Ethylbenzene 100-41 -4 5.0 100 ppm 125 ppm 100 ppm N.E. Nitrocellulose Resin Solution PROPRIETARY 5.0 N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E. 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene 95-63-6 5.0 25 ppm N.E. N.E. N.E. Which ones are going to evaporate? Edited April 15, 2010 by dagabu
Bonny Posted April 16, 2010 Posted April 16, 2010 Watco Clear Lacquer by Rustoleum Chemical Name CAS NumberWeight % LessThan ACGIH TLV-TWA ACGIH TLV-STEL OSHA PEL-TWA OSHA PEL CEILING n-Butyl Acetate 123-86 -4 20.0 150 ppm 200 ppm 150 ppm N.E. Isopropyl Alcohol 67-63-0 15.0 200 ppm 400 ppm 400 ppm N.E. Xylene 1330-20-7 15.0 100 ppm 150 ppm 100 ppm N.E. Ethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether 111-76 -2 10.0 20 ppm N.E. 50 ppm N.E. n-Butanol 71-36-3 10.0 20 ppm N.E. 100 ppm N.E. Methyl Isobutyl Ketone 108-10 -1 10.0 50 ppm 75 ppm 100 ppm N.E. Nitrocellulose Resin Solution MIXTURE 10.0 N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E. Aromatic Petroleum Distillates 64742-95-6 5.0 N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E. Ethylbenzene 100-41 -4 5.0 100 ppm 125 ppm 100 ppm N.E. Nitrocellulose Resin Solution PROPRIETARY 5.0 N.E. N.E. N.E. N.E. 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene 95-63-6 5.0 25 ppm N.E. N.E. N.E. Which ones are going to evaporate? I'm nota chemist, but am guessing almost all of them will evaporate, as they are mostly flammable solvents and hydrocarbons.
JMA375HH Posted April 20, 2010 Posted April 20, 2010 I was taught not to store NC or anything that can be potently vol ital in glass. What I do and recommend, is use the plastic bottle that you get with drug store alcohol. It's cheap to purchase and works very well with NC. I just discard the alcohol use a funnel and fill half way with acetone and using a funnel again slowly add my smokeless powder then recap and shake, keep repeating until measured smokeless is all gone. You will find when you pour the NC it pours nicely. JMA
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