[Nhcoll-l] Fluid collections

Fri May 25 11:30:11 EDT 2012

Dear Dave,
I strongly recommend you talk to your local and state (if you are a state institution) fire inspector before you purchase anything.  Our fire inspector has insisted that we now store our fluid collection in the yellow fire proof cabinets meant for large amounts of alcohol and other industrial flammable fluids.  These cabinets have no front bars to prevent jars from falling and it is difficult to get extra shelves for cabinets other than the very narrow (12 inch deep) ones.   And then there is the price! Our previous cabinets designed specifically for fluid storage were approved 20 years ago, but when we moved the collection we were hit with these new rules. And fire suppression systems are another worry. Patti

From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Dyer, Dave
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 11:30 AM
To: NHCOLL-L at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Fluid collections

Hi Everyone,

I have a couple questions regarding fluid storage. We are in the process of working on a grant to, among other things, rescue our 3,000-jar fluid collection from an awful, inaccessible storage situation to a new workable facility. Can someone recommend a supplier for good quality jars and closures? Is Kols Containers/O'Berk still in business? We purchased supplies from them years ago but their web site seems to be shut down.

Also, how have museums reconciled storage of large amounts of ethyl alcohol with local fire codes? Apparently we can only store 120 gallons of 70% ETOH per ROOM, but our collection is approximately 2,000 gallons!  Thanks in advance for your advice and information.
Sincerely,

Dave

David Dyer, Curator
Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum
Div. of Biological Sciences
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812
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