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As John points out, ground-glass jars can seal perfectly as they are. However, one problem is that each lid was originally ground to fit a specific jar - they came in pairs. Over the years, we have found that they can get mixed up, especially when they move
across departments and collections. You can sometimes reunite them by feel, but often you will have a lid that is a very slight mismatch to the jar (it usually rides slightly low or high relative to the rim of the opening). In such cases, as long as the taper
angle matches you can complete the seal with grease. We use Dow vacuum grease, which shows no signs of change or leakage after 25 years.</div>
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<p><span style="font-family: "Tahoma", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: black;"><b>Paul Callomon</b><br>
<i>Collection Manager, Malacology and General Invertebrates</i></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: "Verdana", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: black;"><b>Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia</b></span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma", sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; color: black;"><br>
<i><a href="mailto:callomon@ansp.org" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">callomon@ansp.org</a> Tel 215-405-5096 - Fax 215-299-1170</i></span></p>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of John E Simmons <simmons.johne@gmail.com><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Sunday, May 5, 2024 12:39 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Kathy Omura <komura@nhm.org><br>
<b>Cc:</b> nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Nhcoll-l] glass jar with ground glass stopper</font>
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Chances are that you do not need any grease at all on the seal. Before you add anything, you should check to see if the seal is good. To do this, first wash the jar and the lid with soap to remove any residue. Then fill the jar with 70% (no specimens) and insert
the lid. Either mark the fluid level, weigh the jar + lid + contents, or both. After 24 hr (to give the lid time to settle) put the jar into a tub or sink that you can fill with water, starting at tap temperature, then gradually increasing until you reach
the average temperature of your collection storage area (do NOT use very hot water, keep the temperature at what the jar will be subjected to in storage). You should know within a few days if it leaks or not.</div>
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When I was at the California Academy of Sciences we had thousands of similar jars in use. Most of the older ones had lids that were ground to fit the opening of the jar, which mean that if you got the right jar and lid combination, they did not leak, but if
lids were switched around between jars, they often did.</div>
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If the jar does leak, follow Simon's advice and use Alsirol.<br>
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To remove these sorts of lids when they are stuck, try rocking the lid back and forth or tapping the handle part of the lid
<u>gently</u> with a piece of wood, or <u>gently</u> tapping around the mouth of the jar (use a piece of wood and tap gently to avoid breaking the glass). If neither of those techniques works, you can put the jar in a sink, add warm water, and gradually increase
the temperature until the internal jar pressure pushed the lid open--the drawback to this is that you will heat up the alcohol inside the jar which will speed up deterioration reactions in your specimens.</div>
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The other means to get the lids off is to purchase the Universal Stopper/Opener sold by Alcomon. The device is expensive, but works well:
<a href="https://alcomon.com/about/" originalsrc="https://alcomon.com/about/" shash="md7tq3dRG25uxPeBuZk3NQo3XrczlLqDjUFQG70/mIR+vOsAT0CcbeRa3534pQqNYleYFq3juuPtqZPGYQeGzKVEtRq26Dn0HtjZq13ANlmlMRAyOlfJahloUT2hafABRUi7kZMAnr6baaEXbsNSqsVMfp5P3kQyPLo2B9NhgB0=">
https://alcomon.com/about/</a></div>
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--John</div>
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<div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">John E. Simmons<br>
Writer and Museum Consultant</span></font></div>
<div dir="ltr"><font size="2"><span style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif">Museologica<br>
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Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia<br>
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima</span></font><br>
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<div dir="ltr" class="x_gmail_attr">On Fri, May 3, 2024 at 4:09 PM Kathy Omura <<a href="mailto:komura@nhm.org">komura@nhm.org</a>> wrote:<br>
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<div>I have not worked with these types of jars and was wondering what to use on the lids so they can be reopened. The jar will be holding a wet preserved (70% EtOH) specimen.</div>
<div>I heard vaseline on the ground glass part of the lid and jar makes it easier to reopen.</div>
<div>To make a tight seal, after the vaseline application, seal the lid with wax along the edge.</div>
<div>What other options do I have? I appreciate any help you can provide.</div>
<div>Kathy</div>
<span class="x_gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br>
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<div dir="ltr">Kathy Omura, Collection Manager<br>
Marine Biodiversity Center<br>
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County<br>
(213) 763-3386<br>
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