Hey guys,
We knocked up a quick boiling flask cleaner that works well.
We paid $10k for an ultrasonic cleaner that failed to impress and solved the problem with a bucket & sump pump.
We run Elma Lab Clean A20SF first, as long as it takes (+40min but who cares If it is longer because you Don’t have to scrub)
Then we run Alchinox for a streak free clean.
We are going to take this to a more professional solution (Only for ourselves) but it is a CHEAP idea for any lab struggling to clean flasks well.
FYI: the pressure that the pump runs at actually keeps the water hot (around 60c) so no heater.
Bill of materials:
1off Sump pump: Wayne 1/3hp 4600gph ($170)
1off 25L bucket: FREE with every $2700 of Mag Sil purchased from Summit Research - hahaha
NOTE: 25L bucket because it fits the 50L RotoVap flask too
1off M 1-1/2” to F 1/2” NPT Stainless adaptor
2off 1/2” MNPT to 1/2” Tube Swagelok
1/2” stainless tube (I bent mine with a 45deg kink to center it) I wouldn’t suggest using 90deg fittings if you can’t bend to do this as the tube will likely block)
3/8” rotary spray ball (Amazon $16.19)
I TIG welded my ROTATY BALL to the SWAGELOK fitting because I was supplied the wrong thread, but in hindsight it kept the assembly narrow and means
We can clean anything with >22mm
Get on it guys and build your own.
Your team will thank me
22 Likes
Nice little dishwasher you got there!
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that is awesome.
linking a couple of other threads, so this is accessible from there.
Cleaning Glassware
Hello! / Cleaning Oversized Glassware
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Wow. Thats pretty ingenious 
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Excellent idea thanks for sharing!
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Here are some photos of flipping the micro switch so it works on press rather than in the standard float orientation
I just knocked out the 2 brass puns holding the switch & flipped the bracket (then re-peened the pins back over)
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Here it is In action with the 50L RotoVap flask.
We also use it for beakers, 1L glass bottles, the 20L vacuum receiver from our hochstrom & with a bit of modification it will soon clean our bottle brushes too!
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@Corey_Small, nice job! You have a link or something for what you used for the spray head?
Raghanded got it right below.
If you type “rotary tank spray stainless” into Amazon then your choices are endless.
FYI: we made 1 more for First Pass flasks with a ton of organic crap build up (ours is like a hard candy) with a fixed head (no spinning, looks like a disco ball) and it never gets clogged when doing the initial cleans.
1 Like
its a “CIP spray ball”. (Clean In Place)
in this case the place happens to be a 5 gal bucket 
edit: not that your query doesn’t yield. just that knowing the correct name helps (Shorter query AND fewer off target hits…).
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