Hello everyone,
I am just interested in seeing pictures of protocols broken and accidents happening, like…
You obviously know more than i do, but yeah.
Let’s see some pictures guys!
Mad
This thread will save lives.
We were running some new biomass that was a much finer grind than we used previously. Lots of powdered plant material and such made it through our filter baskets and into the recovery column. It plugged up our pour valve with what looked like a big wad of chewing tobacco 
When we pressured up the recovery column and passed the gunk, a nice spray of crude hit the back of our bucket and immediately shot all over the column and the floor.
I no longer work there, but a little bird tells me that since I’ve left they’ve caught their rotovap and vac oven on fire trying to recover pentane without properly rated equipment 
Not sure if this was closed loop, but I think this is the video where they used a heat gun to evaporate solvent on a flat pan on the floor.
Edit: Please don’t heart this post, it should just be here then just pass. We only want to see this once.
OH MY GOD!
Not good man. This is exactly the kind of a thing I wanted to see.
Thanks @SpookyDistillation
Take back your heart lol!
We need to start a stop:drop:roll lesson for what to never do. “Don’t put that vapor pan on that gas stove” doesn’t have the same ring to it to stay with you throughout your career…
I remember that one. What an idiot.
Oh my god this is pretty much the exact fucking thing that happened with that dickhead I knew. oh. my. god. Now i know what Vietnam flashbacks are like
When using a solvent tank that is equipped with a coil but not using the coil to chill the solvent be sure to vac and plug the coil. Otherwise condensate will build up in the coil due to temperature cycles resulting in a burst coil. Solvent will spray out of the port for the coil.
Thank you!!
How do we pin that gem?!?
Agree with @cyclopath
This is gold
I would not have thought of this…
Just added a link to tricks of trade, hope that is the appropriate place. More eyes that see this the better I figure…
I had never considered not using the coil, for me this is an excellent excuse to not consider it again
If I want cold, I prefer vac jacket + coil rather than cold jacket no coil. Ideally vac jacket, cold jacket, coil. All insulated around the outside including hoses to and from the machine room.
I’m sure @TheGratefulPhil can correct me if my biologists grasp on the problem doesn’t actually reflect the math.
Ideally yes. But for those that cannot afford a chiller or dont have the power, I would recommend swapping out the lid before putting the vessel in service. Or vac and plug it. Does get the blood flowing tho.
I agree, If I had a coil I would definitely utilize it!
ALWAYS vac down your collection pot and release the pressure before opening your CRC column…. I knew this, I read about it, I had been doing it before, but I was in a rush, opened it without releasing the pressure and POOF. Covered in media. So ya, just a reminder, never open the crc without releasing pressure. I hope my stupidity can save others from a face full of powders and a day of cleaning the powders off of everything. And if anyone has any tips on the best way to cleanup powders off of surfaces, that’d be sweet. And maybe how to clean media out of your oil. Cause it managed to make it into my dish that was reducing, and it all just fell on top of it. Plan is to rerun it thru coffee filters on a 1um sintered disk to try to remove the powders that fell into it, but if anyone has a better suggestion, I’m all ears.
Lightly seasoned
Felt like an everything bagel 
If your system starts leaking mid run and you want to “tighten” your brass nuts but they were already properly torqued, use another brass nut behind it as a backer before you tighten. I had a tech back in the trap days panic when the collection pot started leaking. He started cranking the nut tighter and the system was -60 and the nut gave out. Shot the collection pot through the roof of a house, material column sticking out the roof, the 12" clamp popped off and broke his collar bone. Only 18 psi in the system but on 12" that is alot of pressure. The backer nut in these situations will hold the clamp on if one nut breaks. the trick is to have no gap between nuts and tighten both at the same time.
