<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Justin,<br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Compressible gaskets always fail, sooner or later. <br><br>The Le Parfait gaskets are usually made of a natural rubber-based compound (the composition seems to have varied over the years). Depending on the composition of the gasket, the temperature at which the container is stored, and what contact with the preservative solution the gasket experiences, it will either harden and crack, or melt with time. <br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">The only solution is to clean the remains of the gasket off of the jar and replace it with either another Le Parfait gasket, or to have replacement gaskets made from another compressible material (no gaskets for these jars are permanent, but some materials last longer than others).<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">My experience with Le Parfait jars over many decades has been that you cannot predict how long the gaskets will last, nor in what way they will fail. I have had some gaskets last a very long time (five years or more), others fail shortly after being put into use, and I have seen both hardened and cracked gaskets, and melting gaskets.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">--John<br><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">John E. Simmons<br>Museologica<br>128 E. Burnside Street<br>Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010<br><a href="mailto:simmons.johne@gmail.com" target="_blank">simmons.johne@gmail.com</a><br>303-681-5708<br><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.museologica.com&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=0--BPB0OB8cGNPg0FZx8StV4cTo69pu8n0IX1tHNfbc&s=KDwNEybRrumJKk62EV3aOFHZFklmtWscBq9IRpY6uqg&e=" target="_blank">www.museologica.com</a><br>and<br>Adjunct Curator of Collections<br>Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery<br>Penn State University<br>University Park, Pennsylvania<br>and<br>Instructor, Museum Studies<br>School of Library and Information Science<br>Kent State University<br>and<br>Lecturer in Art<br>Juniata College<br>Huntingdon, Pennsylvania<br></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Mar 19, 2015 at 2:08 PM, Mann, Justin G <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jmann@tulane.edu" target="_blank">jmann@tulane.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hello everyone,<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We have several fluid preserved specimens in French “Le Parfait Jars”, and we have found that over time the gaskets (from Le Parfait) tend to turn soft and “melt.”
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<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Has anyone else found this issue with these or any other gaskets? Does anyone have a solution?
<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you,<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<div style="border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border:none;padding:0in">Justin Mann<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Justin G. Mann<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Manager of Collections <u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tulane University Biodiversity <u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Research Institute<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Belle Chasse, LA 70037<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Email: <a href="mailto:jmann@tulane.edu" target="_blank">jmann@tulane.edu</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Phone: <a href="tel:504-394-1711" value="+15043941711" target="_blank">504-394-1711</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Cell: <a href="tel:504-957-4074" value="+15049574074" target="_blank">504-957-4074</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
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