Grrrrr.

So during the separation processes, I normally choose to use syringe type tools ( like turkey flavor injectors ). They tend to normally work great but i find that after a day or two they get really tough to pull apart and ultimately lead to me making a few uh ohs and oh no's.

My assumption is that there is a residue of dmt from the leftover naptha that is still inside of the separating device causing the inner workings of the syringe to stick.

I am making this post because I just slapped myself in the face as the plunger part of the syringe disconnected and the solvent ( with spice present ) spilled all over.

So my question is, does anyone know of any higher grade syringes that would potentially prevent this? I'm also aware of the degrading properties of some of the solvents used ( especially heptane ) that seem to damage the syringes or basters.

My current future plans: Distillation set and a Separatory Funnel. But until then money is tight! Help!

Peace and Love

What is the syringe made of? Does it have rubber in it? Probably the solvent is dissolving the rubber parts making it harder to pull. You should never use these kind of tools for separation. Look up "glass syringe" or pippette, they cant be hard to find, both online or also in lab/medical/chemical shops

Good luck!

Yup I'm betting the solvent is degrading the rubber like endlessness said.

I just use a glass turkey baster I got from amazon.com

Ah, I was hoping that wasn't the case but that is the most logical.

Would the sodium carb wash clear out any potential contaminants from the degradation?

Also, when using the Turkey Baster, do you find difficulty in moving from one container to the next? I always ran into the issue of my solvent pouring out of the baster ( mostly right back into the main jar ) before I can get over to the next jar. The opening just seems too big!

Thanks for the speedy responses!

Considering the rubber dissolved in a non polar solvent, I would guess a polar wash would not get rid of those products. The safest way would of course be to discard everything and take it as hard learning...Thats the recommended... Next time use glass or hdpe only! If you anyways decide to use it, then better salt out, rebasify, re-extract and then freeze precip and recrystallize the final product, even more than once. Better safe than sorry

A glass syringe can be perfect for this IMO, you can fast and acuratelly pull large quantities of solvent if you have a, say, 50 or 100ml syringe. Its all made of glass and its just two parts that separate and are very easily cleaned.

Also it can be a good trick to first crudely separate the top layer with maybe a bit of the black stuff to a thinner container and then accurately transfer/syringe/pipette out to the final container.

Been having an issue with getting the gunk in the baster as Im trying to get just the solvent Endlessness once again to the rescue -- such an obvious trick too! love it