6875D Freezer/Mill
1300-87052-1A, REV 1
SPEX SamplePrep LLC
Page 25 of 36
6.5 Opening, Emptying, and Cleaning Freezer/Mill Vials
(Cont’d)
polycarbonate center section. The best way to prevent the Extractor from jamming is to make
sure both the Extractor and the threaded end plugs are dry and clean before you use them.
If the Extractor/Vial Opener jams when being threaded into a cold end plug, it is probably due
to water condensing and freezing on the extractor screw. The water freezes when it contacts a
cold end plug. Wipe off the screw with a paper towel before each use. Note that the end of
the screw is tooled with an “X” cut to help remove any ice that forms on the end plug.
Chilled
vials can also be opened easily and quickly with the optional accessory 6808 Extractor for Large
Freezer/Mill Vials.
On rare occasions an end plug will stick in the vial when cold, even if the Extractor screw and
end plug threads are dry and clean. If this happens do not force the end plug out, as the vial
and/or the Extractor may become damaged. Allow the vial to warm up. The end plug can be
extracted easier by allowing the vial to warm up gradually, or by wrapping vial in several layers
of cloth or paper towels.
CAUTION:
Pressure can develop inside a Freezer/Mill vial as it is warming. As pressure builds,
an end plug can pop out with force and the sample can be lost. For this reason
handle vials with care. It is best to open chilled vials immediately after removing
them from the Freezer/Mill.
6.5.2 Emptying a Vial
As soon as an end plug is removed from a cold vial, empty the contents of the vial into a
suitable container, the quicker the better as condensation on a cold sample occurs rapidly.
Often it is helpful to tap the closed end of the vial to release the ground sample. Remember
that the impactor may slide out ahead of the contents or with them, and that the longer the
sample is exposed to air, the more moisture it will acquire. Note, samples which were tacky,
spongy, etc., at room temperature will return to that state as they warm up, and may
agglomerate.
The impactor will have to be separated from the sample and can be handled with gloved
fingers, a strong magnet, or tongs. Tools without a good gripping surface are likely to slip off
the impactor. The 6870L and 6870S Accessory Packs include a Magnetic Extractor (6791). This
is a rod with a magnetic tip that can be used to remove the impactor from a vial before
emptying the contents.
If some condensation on a cold sample is unacceptable, either wait for the sample vial to warm
up before opening and emptying it, or open and empty a chilled vial in a glove box filled with
dry nitrogen gas.
Small amounts of sample usually adhere to
the vial’s impactor, end plugs, and plastic cylinder.
Brushing or scraping these surfaces of the vial can often recover this fraction of the sample.
Again, speed is important to minimize condensation and other effects of warming.
