Crock pot method with hot plate?

[lazersteve]

With a small (1/8" inner diameter : 1/8" id ) hoses the syringe works good since it's hard to fill a small diameter hose with water.

For larger hose diameters it's much easier to place one end of the hose under a running faucet with the opposite end raised above the faucet level. Once the bubbles all exit the hose and it's filled with water, place your thumb over one end and do as Goldsilverpro directed above.

I have a 3 foot length of 3/8" id hose for larger buckets with a graphite weight attached to one end (the end that goes in the solution bucket) to keep it submerged while everything siphons over.

Steve

 

[dtectr]

graphite weight attached to one end (the end that goes in the solution bucket) to keep it submerged while everything siphons over.

Steve

are those the donut-type ones they put around some cables inside electronics?

 

[lazersteve]

Those are ferrite beads (iron oxides) not graphite (carbon). I use scrap blocks left over from making molds and cathodes.

Steve

 

[lasereyes]

I have another somewhat unrelated question: Can the vacuum pumps that are used with a buchner funnel and filter paper be used as a pump to siphon liquids? if so, how? I can't seem to get it to work.

Not without difficulty and perhaps damage. Do you want to pump the solution or do you want to siphon it? Big difference. You don't need a pump to start a siphon hose. You just put the ends together and fill the hose with water until there are no bubbles in the hose. Put your thumb over one end and lower it to the catch bucket (don't release it yet). Then plunge the upper end into the solution you're siphoning and release the bottom end at the same time.

This sounds like a good idea, I will probably try it, but isn't this a little unsafe to do when working with acids?

 

[dtectr]

I have another somewhat unrelated question: Can the vacuum pumps that are used with a buchner funnel and filter paper be used as a pump to siphon liquids? if so, how? I can't seem to get it to work.

Not without difficulty and perhaps damage. Do you want to pump the solution or do you want to siphon it? Big difference. You don't need a pump to start a siphon hose. You just put the ends together and fill the hose with water until there are no bubbles in the hose. Put your thumb over one end and lower it to the catch bucket (don't release it yet). Then plunge the upper end into the solution you're siphoning and release the bottom end at the same time.

This sounds like a good idea, I will probably try it, but isn't this a little unsafe to do when working with acids?

not if you're wearing gloves & face protection.

 

[goldsilverpro]

I have siphoned several times a day for most of my life with few problems. I have had the bottom of the hose pop out of the bottom bucket a couple of times. This won't happen if you make sure the bottom end of the hose is completely in the catch bucket. If the hose is too long, put all the excess in the bucket, so the hose hangs straight to the bucket. Make sure the coils are all in the bucket.

To practice, put some dirt and water in the top bucket, put a short piece of 2x4 under the back of the bucket to tilt it towards you, stir it, let the dirt settle, and siphon off as much water as possible without disturbing the dirt. Tilting the bucket allows the dirt to settle at the front edge of the bucket and this makes it easier to remove more solution.

In a dark solution, it's hard to see how deep the tip of the hose is. To solve this, I plunge the tip in about 2" and then place the tip against the front of the bucket at about a 45 deg angle. As the solution level decreases, I slide the tip down the inside of the bucket, keeping it an inch or two deep in the solution. When I get close to the dirt (solids), I slide the tip up a bit. I use a 3/8" clear hose for buckets. The top bucket sits near the edge of the bench in my fume hood at tilts towards me from the 2x4. The bench is 36" off the floor. I put the bottom catch bucket in a plastic tray and put it on the floor right below the top bucket. Being right-handed, I stand to the right of the bottom bucket and hold the top tip with my right hand. It helps to have a light directly above the top bucket.