[Nhcoll-l] old glass containers

Mon Mar 23 09:32:54 EDT 2015

... in this case, cracking should be restricted to the neck. Such 
problems can also occur without clamps, if the glass stopper (during 
higher temperatures) slips a bit deeper into the neck, and then, when 
the specimens containers is cooled down again (and shrinks this tiny 
little bit after the neck expanded under higher temperatures), the 
stopper causes the neck to break.

But in this case, cracks are restricted to the upper portion of the neck 
only.

If it is glass corrosion, the microcracks (which are hardly visible 
against the light unless major fissures and cracks form) are all over 
the specimens container.

Third option: because of increased pressure/underpressure mediated 
through temperature fluctuations (could be up to 2 bar!), either the 
bottom  blasts off, or the stopper might crack (depending on how well it 
is designed - quite common though in specimen jars with flange and 
greased glass plane as cover).

All the best
Dirk

Am 23.03.2015 um 14:00 schrieb Andrew Cabrinovic:
>
> I am wondering if the metal clamp itself might have been a factor with 
> the breaking jar? – relative thermal properties of metal and glass.
>
> When we moved collections into a temperature-controlled facility, a 
> number of cylinder-shaped jars (albeit not Whitall Tatum) whose lids 
> were secured with such clamps suffered cracking. In this case the jars 
> appeared to be fine with the clamps removed so long as sealant was 
> properly applied.
>
> *Andrew Cabrinovic***/ Curator, Invertebrates Division/ Dept of Life 
> Sciences / DC(1) rm505
>
> Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K.
>
> *From:*nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu 
> [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] *On Behalf Of *Callomon,Paul
> *Sent:* 20 March 2015 19:44
> *To:* Nancy Glover McCartney; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [Nhcoll-l] old glass containers
>
> Those are Whittall Tatum jars, made here in Philadelphia and at least 
> 80 years old. The bigger the size, the more fragile they are; I have a 
> ten-gallon one that we handle very carefully indeed.
>
> The smaller ones are pretty tough, though, and I’ve used the 
> half-gallon size for years. They are made of soda glass and will 
> crizzle in time, but are thick enough that it won’t weaken them 
> significantly.
>
> You can cut new gaskets from neoprene sheet, but we make do with 
> archival plastic foam sheet with a thin film of vacuum grease on both 
> sides. You hand-tighten the clamp until you see the seal form all 
> round the lid, then check up on them periodically.
>
> Finally, NEVER carry them by the clamp bow; always support them 
> underneath.
>
> *Paul Callomon*
> /Collection Manager, Malacology, Invertebrate Paleontology and General 
> Invertebrates/
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia*
>
> 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia PA 19103-1195, USA
> /callomon at ansp.org <mailto:callomon at ansp.org> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 
> 215-299-1170/
>
> *From:*nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu 
> <mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> 
> [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] *On Behalf Of *Nancy Glover 
> McCartney
> *Sent:* Friday, March 20, 2015 2:55 PM
> *To:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <mailto:nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
> *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] old glass containers
>
> I have several old glass containers housing fish, herps, inverts, etc. 
> that are getting very low on fluid. I expect the containers are pretty 
> brittle, as a gar with a giant lobster broke with almost no 
> provocation and spewed formalin all over: not a process I want to 
> repeat.  I don't have any idea what these specimens are stored in.
>
> I have attached a few pix of fish and the screw down tops that appear 
> to have parafilm  or an ancient rubber around the lid; some of the 
> smaller containers have what may be beeswax holding in a stopper.
>
> Should I attempt to open and replace fluid?  If so, how? What 
> precautions?
>
> An earlier query 10 years or so ago said just to leave them alone, but 
> maybe there is different advice now.
>
> I'd appreciate some doable suggestion.
>
> My thanks in advance, as always.
>
> Nancy Glover McCartney, PhD
> Curator of Zoology
> UA Collections Facility
> 120 BIOMASS
> University of Arkansas
> 2435 Hatch
> Fayetteville AR 72701
>
> Phone: 479-575-4370
> Fax: 479-575-7464
>
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Dirk Neumann

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