Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Diethyl Ether Storage

JJay - 22-12-2017 at 14:34

I've made ether a few times but never more than 100 mL at a time, and I usually used it up immediately, not storing it for more than a few days (definitely not more than two weeks).

I've been looking at an increasing number of procedures that call for larger quantities of diethyl ether (e.g. various organometallics, preparing analytical grade sulfamic acid). It's not hard to buy, but I'll probably just make some since that's cheap and easy.

What is the best way to store a liter of ether? Does it really attack all plastics except for PTFE? I've read that some fire codes prohibit storing it in glass bottles larger than 500 mL, and when I handled it in school I think it always came in metal containers. Some YouTube videos show it being stored in ground glass bottles, but wouldn't it escape or be contaminated by the joint grease?

Storing it over sodium will keep it dry and prevent peroxides from forming, right? Does ether need to be stored in the dark?



[Edited on 23-12-2017 by JJay]

diddi - 22-12-2017 at 15:15

i keep mine in the freezer. no nasty peroxides and no loss. been 2 years at least
also keep gallium, DCM and iodine (double bottled) with success

[Edited on 22-12-2017 by diddi]

JJay - 22-12-2017 at 15:42

I like that idea, but I don't have a dedicated lab freezer. I will definitely consider getting one. It's kind of an expensive and bulky item, but I do want to keep my reagents fresh....

I wonder if it would escape through a ground glass joint in the freezer.

diddi - 22-12-2017 at 15:53

hahah nor do i.



IMG_0206.JPG - 442kB

any one for dichloro Chicken?
i have not died yet. no smells. note double storage of I2 and tape on ether

the plastic container has 1kg of Ga crystals :)


[Edited on 22-12-2017 by diddi]

JJay - 22-12-2017 at 16:24

Haha... I've used my freezer for experiments before but I try not to because I have handled some pretty toxic stuff in my equipment, and I probably already have enough chromium, barium, and mercury in my diet :D

Those don't look like PTFE caps. I've actually stored ether under an HDPE cap for a week or so without noticing any problems, but supposedly it can even attack PVC....

[Edited on 23-12-2017 by JJay]

Loptr - 22-12-2017 at 16:44

My wife would kill me! lol

Magpie - 22-12-2017 at 17:32

I tried storing my ether in the family food freezer: big mistake. The fat in the meat took up the ether and we had to throw out all the meat. My wife was not pleased. I now store it in 100mL Qorpak bottles with ptfe lined caps in my garage where temperatures range from -10° F to 100°F. It doesn't evaporate.

The only thing I store in the freezer is 33% H2O2.

[Edited on 23-12-2017 by Magpie]

XeonTheMGPony - 22-12-2017 at 17:39

I just give my wife a bit of sausage and she's happy, mind you collies don't use the fridge or freezer much! but the fur it gets every where, in the lab in the lab chems in the food!

I've stored most my solvents in normal lab glass in the freezer with no real loss for several months if not longer had methyl nitrate in a test tube sealed only with plastic wrap and some tape! No loss till the fridge sodded up and self defrosted!

NEMO-Chemistry - 22-12-2017 at 18:02

I found one of these in a charity shop (thrift shop??) for £2.
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6695251?rec=PDP[4837839]:bottomSlider:P1:OHAT:alternative:6695251:kwpcnXw7FTcGZCDILqgE

They use peltier cell to keep cool and run from 12V. Mine is on a deep cycle battery which is partly charged by boat type solar panel, when needed i also top up the battery with a charger.

You can mess with the heat sink and fan (i replaced with a server fan), Mine runs around -1/ +2C depending on outside temp etc. They do bigger ones but so far i have found two smaller ones in charity shops and they do me fine.

The link seems funny, its Argos in the UK 12V electric cool box

[Edited on 23-12-2017 by NEMO-Chemistry]

JJay - 22-12-2017 at 20:17

Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
I tried storing my ether in the family food freezer: big mistake. The fat in the meat took up the ether and we had to throw out all the meat. My wife was not pleased. I now store it in 100mL Qorpak bottles with ptfe lined caps in my garage where temperatures range from -10° F to 100°F. It doesn't evaporate.

The only thing I store in the freezer is 33% H2O2.

[Edited on 23-12-2017 by Magpie]


Interesting. If it were me, I'd probably try grilling some of it to see if I could detect any ether in it afterwards. :) I have several of those bottles (amber 100 mL Boston round bottles with the green Qorpak PTFE-lined caps), but at the moment, most of them are in use. They do seem like the ideal container for ether. eBay has a lot of good deals on clear Qorpak bottles right now, but I'm not seeing many on the amber bottles with the green caps....

SWIM - 22-12-2017 at 21:17

Quote: Originally posted by XeonTheMGPony  
I just give my wife a bit of sausage and she's happy, mind you collies don't use the fridge or freezer much! but the fur it gets every where, in the lab in the lab chems in the food!

I've stored most my solvents in normal lab glass in the freezer with no real loss for several months if not longer had methyl nitrate in a test tube sealed only with plastic wrap and some tape! No loss till the fridge sodded up and self defrosted!


Thought I knew what you meant by giving the wife a 'bit of sausage' until you called her a collie.

Now I'm not sure I want to know...

The cans PVC cement comes in should hold ether pretty well. All steel and designed to hold THF vapors in.

JJay - 22-12-2017 at 23:55

I just noticed that Qorpak actually has pretty decent prices on their website. They have a disclaimer saying that they only sell chemicals to "qualified" companies, but I don't think they'd begrudge anyone a few bottles. I'm going to order a few of their caps and see if they'll fit on the Boston round bottles available locally.

XeonTheMGPony - 23-12-2017 at 05:49

Inside joke, my dog gets very possessive even of other people so friends just started calling her "the wife" so what the hell run with it. and I'm very literal sausage is just that, bit over don and these ones where rather bland so to my misery was her joy, but she's getting fat! but I all ways bring them treats when I eat out too, shrimp tails from the buffe, the shells are loaded with good building blocks for cartilage

Back on topic: I wouldn't recommend thermo electric units mainly just due to the hideous conversion efficiency, that and they can be prone to wide temp swings based on ambient temps, for chem storage colder the better, I kept mine at a stable -20 using the standard carnot cycle gas compression units ie a normal fridge.

you can get bar/apartment freezers that are pretty low space consuming devices

JJay - 23-12-2017 at 07:40

I should probably ask Dr. Bob if he has any 500 mL amber media bottles....

Magpie - 23-12-2017 at 09:16

Quote: Originally posted by JJay  
I just noticed that Qorpak actually has pretty decent prices on their website. They have a disclaimer saying that they only sell chemicals to "qualified" companies, but I don't think they'd begrudge anyone a few bottles. I'm going to order a few of their caps and see if they'll fit on the Boston round bottles available locally.


I don't think "they only sell chemicals..." applies to bottles. I have bought cases of the 100mL amber w/ptfe cap liners, both narrow mouth for liquids and wide-mouth for solids.