Piecing together a small SPD - what do you think?

I got the mag 700 but the sticker said not to use with water above 35c. Then again, the panda said not to put flammable material in and I haven’t burned anything down yet. Good to know I can probably use it in a pinch.

2 Likes

Try using these pumps.

http://www.ecoplususa.com/shop/product/ecoplus-eco-fixed-flow-rate-submersible-pumps

Depending on the flow rate you need. They are magnetic impeller driven. Temp shouldn’t bother it too much, I have been known to use them to flow -80 etho. They probably don’t mind some warm water or maybe oil.

2 Likes

Pretty sure that’s the same style pump I got. “Magdrive” would imply magnetic drive I assume? Now I’m wondering if that $150 I spent on a warm bath circulator was necessary…

2 Likes

Only one way to find out

3 Likes

I got scared with mine and didnt go over 72c it didnt melt :rofl:

2 Likes

I ran 70c chiller/heater lines to 82c. They got a little more malleable that i was comfortable with.

3 Likes

The new boiling flask fixed the angle issue and everything looks ready to rock (once I get the 2 extra k25 clamps anyway). One thing I’m curious about is my packing job for separation. Apparently the 4mm propack slips through, but the Raschig rings seem to block them pretty well.

3 Likes

Its all about glass on ptfe!

2 Likes

Went to check the system for my run tomorrow and the gauge I got from lab society doesn’t work. I sent them photos 2 weeks ago as soon as I got the gauge in and their sales rep gave me the run around with manufacture warranty and said he’s not sure the part is even needed for the device to function. Well, I guess it is. I should have been more firm about getting a replacement for something that was broken out of the box, but now that’s going to cost me likely another week. I emailed him about it just now, so hopefully I can get that in ASAP. Here’s a photo of the gauge when I took it out of the box.

3 Likes

I did the same thing with my bullseye.

Tech support said it will work fine. The tip just clocks the thermocoupler to the gauge.

If you look closley, you can see a small point where the break is. That should be the alignment marker since you broke the tab.

2 Likes

I sat there for about 20 minutes and I kept trying to do just that, because that’s what the Lab Society support guy said to do. All I kept getting is “Tube?” No matter what way I plugged it in. Plus, I paid for a brand new product and received a broken one, so that’s kind of bugging me.

3 Likes

“Tube”…
I swear im in the twilight zone. I have about a bunch of pm/dm with @Killa12345 about this same exact issue.

“Tube” is a vac leac or something stupid. Wait for killa to stop in. Hes gonna lol.

1 Like

only time i get “tube” is when my pump is off. From the manual “The numeric display shows when the vacuum sensor tube is disconnected, failed or when an
over-range condition exists (pressure above 1000 Torr).”

here is the user manual guys…come on with the hand feeding

https://www.digivac.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Bullseye-Precision-Gauge-Operation-Manual.pdf

5 Likes

I read that and thought atmosphere is 760 at sea level. Certainly not above 1000. I’ll go back and troubleshoot some more though while it’s connected to the pump, as making this work is going to end up costing me less than having to put off this run until next week waiting for a replacement.

3 Likes

Hey everyone,

So I’ve outgrown the 1 liter setup and I’m trying to figure out my next move.

  1. Is my current lab society v1.0 distillation head sufficient for a 5L system? I feel like that would be a simple upgrade - just get a new mantle, RBF, and receiving flasks. The 2021i pump should work for 5L. I haven’t found much information regarding sizing distillation heads for flasks, if anyone has a resource for that I’d love to check it out!

  2. I’m not at a level where a wiped film makes sense yet, so I’m considering avoiding the 5L upgrade and going straight to a 12L (or just setting up a 12L and doing the 5L upgrade vs. going to 20L, which I’ve read is not the best for SPD). For a 12L system, would I need to upgrade to an Edwards 28 pump (or equivalent)?

  3. How about running a single vs. dual head setup? Most 12L RBF I’m finding are in 3 neck configurations which leads me to believe that 2 heads is common for larger distillation setups. I intend to go full bore for anything over a 5L setup.

  4. If anyone else has experience scaling up an SPD, is there anything you wish you had done differently? What mistakes did you make in your scale up?

Thanks for your help guys, I’m consistently making awesome distillate and isolate now because of this community and I look forward to going bigger!

4 Likes

Hi i have a usalabs 5l thats 95% complete would really appreciate some help on getting her complete! Thanks!

Do you know what’s missing, or looking to fill in the blanks?

So to give some detail, my chiller/heater has 1/2 barb fittings. My vacuum pump has a kf40 inlet. I have a bit of misc tubing one that came with usalab chiller that says 5/8 id x 3/8 tk. I have some gl connections and hosing that fits but its too small to work with chiller. I need to connect everything basically.

Post up pics of what you have. This may help us better to figure out your dilemma.

4 Likes