100PercentChemistry
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Methylene chloride evaporation rate
About a year and a half ago I purchased a quart of DCM. I used about a quarter of it and screwed on the lid. I haven't used it since. Today I did an
experiment and was almost done until I felt the DCM container was empty. Nothing was inside! I know it evaporates very fast but it was in a metal
container and the basment is cold. I screwed on the lid tight. Is there anyway to stop this from happening?
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Volanschemia
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As a stab in the dark, I would say that you would improve your chances by wrapping the thread of the lid in PTFE tape.
What kind of bottle is/was it in?
"The chemists are a strange class of mortals, impelled by an almost insane impulse to seek their pleasures amid smoke and
vapor, soot and flame, poisons and poverty; yet among all these evils I seem to live so sweetly that may I die if I were to change places with the
Persian king" - Johann Joachim Becher, 1635 to 1682.
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Daffodile
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If it was a hardware store steel can, it leaks. I have the same problem with Toluene, Xylene, and Acetone I got from the hardware supercenter
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macckone
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Only methylene chloride is more volatile than acetone.
In fact at my altitude the bp is barely above room temp.
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Sulaiman
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I have kept DCM in its original 5l black plastic container and in chilli sauce bottles (glass bottle, PE cap, no liner/tape etc.
![Untitled.jpg - 29kB Untitled.jpg - 29kB](http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/files.php?pid=444722&aid=49744)
with no noticeable loss.
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AJKOER
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Never tried this, but inverting your metal can would remove a gas interface with the lip.
Also, try placing the inverted can in a dish with some water covered in a touch of oil.
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If this works well, I will have to take an online course on upside down reading (assuming I can read the label rightside up).
The next time I am in a spaceship, this should come in handy.
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Loptr
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Quote: Originally posted by AJKOER ![](images/xpblue/lastpost.gif) | Never tried this, but inverting your metal can would remove a gas interface with the lip.
Also, try placing the inverted can in a dish with some water covered in a touch of oil.
-----------------
If this works well, I will have to take an online course on upside down reading (assuming I can read the label rightside up).
The next time I am in a spaceship, this should come in handy.
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I am not positive about this, but it might make its way through the orifice because of its density. Make sure it is very tight, and some teflon tape
might not hurt here.
Experimentation is King.
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100PercentChemistry
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Thanks. It was a hardware store metal can.
I will try your suggestions.
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