How could I incorporate a cryogenic oxygen tank into a closed loop?

That is the other version of the tanks that I have. I actually have 3-4 different versions…this “carboy” style and the other one with the bolted on manifold are the two main stainless designs. A few of the other tanks have different configurations on top of them but the stainless is pretty similar to these two styles. I would like to figure out a way to maybe find a ball bearing or something to get one tank to spin inside of the other while heating to form a form of Roto Vape. I will be dissecting and working on some of them.

That style looks neat, probably still kind of a pain in the ass to separate the inside vessel from the outside or get the foil out.

@DaKine just posted a rotovap flask type deal that looked like it was made with a pressure cooker and it blew my mind, totally bad ass. Only issue I have with using these vessels for something like that is that the major advantage in my eyes is being able to open a stainless boiling flask to eliminate transfer loss, but making a flange or joint that would allow it would dictate the cost of the whole thing.

On another note, I actually just got approval to modify another one as a receiving vessel for our new rotovap. I’m planning on hooking the dip tube directly to our 55gal solvent drums and attaching one of the other larger fittings to the bottom of the receiving flask using a tri clamp adapter. Then add a 1/4" flare fitting and hook it up to the vacuum just before the cold trap so that it can stay under vac 60 liters at a time. When it gets full all I’ll have to do is valve it off from the rotovap (which will keep running and collecting into the flask), break vacuum at the 1/4" fitting, hook some N2 up to it and push the solvent out into the drum. After it’s empty, pull vacuum on the Dewar again and reopen the receiving flask valve. Bing bang boom 24/7 rotovap operation, all for a $20 Dewar and about 15 minutes of welding.

I know a couple guys who have bought these in bulk from surplus with all kinds of intentions that just ended up sitting in storage. I’m definitely interested to see what can be done with them

1 Like

I’ve always found these projects end up happening because of necessity (like I NEED to stop eating time breaking vacuum on our rotovap). I have like 31 ideas about what I could do with them, but I know I probably won’t get to half of them. Probably because I’ll be busy hacking together some kludge for something else that I desperately need done and don’t have budget for real equipment lol.

1 Like

Necessity is the mother of invention. I’ve seen them used as ethanol reservoirs before, but don’t have experience with them myself outside of looking at a whole lot of them stacked on pallets in a warehouse.

1 Like

I have purchased over 100 of them and I am about to start creating something if I can find a welder who is willing to help me out. I am practicing with my tag and I also have a mag for stainless in the meantime doing some practice stuff and I made a solo stove knock off

which works amazing but looks like shit:)

2 Likes

!

2 Likes

Woah…

1 Like

might be worth modding them just enough to sell them to the folks buying kegs from Delta Separations…

1 Like

Yeah I am working on a few that I am removing the vaccum from and making into a jacketed tank. Hopefully they will work out nice for using for a recovery tank. A few will also be cold traps as well. I will update when I get one done.

2 Likes

And for my next trick, I will do something to make LLE with drums worth of material a little less miserable. It even spins like a regular seperatory funnel. My god do I need mixer settler.

5 Likes

That is awesome! Nancy would be proud:) i’d like to see more pics of where it spins out if you have them? Or does it just spin as a whole do you mean?

Also is that domed top from the same tank or did you add that from something else?

That’s just the interior vessel from one of the Dewar’s. I cut the flex part off and dropped the dip tube flange down tight to the top. That pushes the dip tube down into the reducer so when I suck the light layer in it’s forced to mix with the heavy layer a bit. As far as spinning it, I just welded a 1" bolt to the back of it and bolted that through the strut. Unfortunately I can’t really get a picture of it without catching something else I’m not allowed to photograph (cropping photos is a pain in this lab lol).

I did also learn that if you cut the flange off the top of the Dewar, it is sized PERFECTLY to take a 4" tri clamp ferrule. So if you wanted a sweet 80-90L carboy with a tri clamp lid, you can just cut the top flange off, cut the bottom off, drop out the inner vessel, and weld the bottom back on. Add a ferrule to the top and seal the R.D. (if you so desire) and you’re in business for something BVV sells for like $800.

1 Like

Here’s what I did with the outer vessel of the Dewar I used for the funnel. About $80 in parts makes a pretty nice feed tank for the rotovap

3 Likes

Very nice! I am hopefully going to start fabricating some of my tanks very soon but I’m still in the process of getting our processing center set up. Hopefully I’ll be able to start modifying my tanks soon and making some very cool creations:) keep them coming Sid:)

1 Like

Hey bud have you had any further developments on the cascade skid design? We just got our new lab building and we’re starting to build out and I am going to try to build a few things needed for the lab.

Here’s a few pics of the tanks I’ve cut up.

4 Likes