Hand pump filters.. What ones do u prefer

I just bought a nalgene 36cc hand vacuum pump due to syring filters being a huge pain in the ass for me and I keep seeming to break them
What's everyone's preference on filtration.
Complete unit?
Or bootle top?

And what brand

Pretty new to this so any help is great

Bottle top with a glass bottom. Buy extras as u will probably crack a few before u get the hang of it. Any brand will work, I assume some are better than others...

Definitely bottle top! I use a 250ml Wheaton Glass media bottle with Nalgene Bottle top filter (33mm).
If i'm making 30-60ml, I use a syringe filter, 60ml syringe and a caulking gun.

Dude I have broke both syringe filters with a 60cc and a calking gun and only filling 20cc at a time to keep it warm. The zapcaps came in today ill be giving them a shot

Four1Thr33 said:

Dude I have broke both syringe filters with a 60cc and a calking gun and only filling 20cc at a time to keep it warm. The zapcaps came in today ill be giving them a shot

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Zap caps are the way to go. Fuck the nalgene disposable units. If you are using ethyl oleate, the nalgene units will melt. The blue ones the filter material melts, the red ones the plastic where the filter is bonded melts.
I learned this the hard way. You made the right choice getting zap caps.

Been using Millipore complete units for a couple years now. Cracked a handful of receiver flasks but eventually found the sweet-spot for the psi and the right temp to filter at and works perfect everytime. I like the idea of glass receiver bottles, but I'm extremely anal with sterility, so I know the complete unit is as sterile as it will get. Just my .02

I have not received my glass yet so I'm not sure if its pre sterilized but for 9$ each I might just toss after use.. Haven't really thought about it yet

What psi have u been useing and temp?
What I have been gathering is 15psi without EO brew. Just test C

Four1Thr33 said:

I have not received my glass yet so I'm not sure if its pre sterilized but for 9$ each I might just toss after use.. Haven't really thought about it yet

What psi have u been useing and temp?
What I have been gathering is 15psi without EO brew. Just test C

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That's a good point; I'm not sure if the glass is pre-sterilized either but I have always thought they weren't.

This is the vacuum that I've used -- http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/brakes/brake-bleeder-and-vacuum-pump-kit-69328.html

On the gauge I use the mmHg measurement and will keep it at the 200 mark. Keep an eye on it the entire time while filtering and if you maintain that vacuum it should go smoothly.

Also, the Maximum Operating Temperature for the complete unit is 45 °C (113 °F). Wait until the oil reaches 112°F and slowly pour into the filter. Then SLOWLY begin pumping the vacuum, I've found that pumping too fast right off the bat will crack the filter (you don't have to be scared of it and barely pump it, all I'm saying is don't go 100 mph with pumping the thing).

I don't recommend EO with the millipore, but I have heard the Whatman zip-cap has no issues with EO. Everytime I used EO with the Millipore the clear plastic on the filter top would become cloudy and look like it left a film on it. I also had the same issue filtering oil too hot (over 113°F). With my experiments EVERYTIME I used EO the plastic would have the film left on it, and EVERYTIME filtering too hot (witout EO) would leave the film as well. BUT without using EO and allowing the oil to cool before filtering NEVER left the film on the filter. I still have no conclusion as to what the film is but I can tell you that everytime it was like that I got serious PIP. With no film left behind I got no PIP, even with prop. I would hope this is not true, but I have a feeling that too hot of oil OR using EO will break down or possibly melt the plastic and leave a film. Does this mean I was injecting the aftermath of a breakdown of plastic or melted plastic, I hate to conclude that's what the pain and redness was from but it could possibly be.

So with all my testing and experimenting (experiencing some pretty painful and swollen glutes on occasion) I can conclude that filtering too hot and with EO in the Millipore units will cause painful injections. There are also other variables such as BA and BB % but those vary from person to person - some can tolerate higher % of those preservatives and solvents than others.

I think I got alittle off topic there but figured I would give some explanations and experiences with my findings with hopes to answer some questions.

Not a bad looking kit for 22$. My pump cost me 28. For a nalgene unit. Not sure how it measures pressure yet though

And ya if u are injecting plastic that could suck

Whatman zap caps are the way to go if using a hand pump hands down, they shouldn't even make any other brands. They are not cheap hard plastic that will crack and N and M filters will begin to leak from the area housing the filter at some point, so the filter is either dissolving, even without EO, or they are just cheap in design.

You need glass media bottles, 44mm neck, the 33 make it more difficult to remove the product. But you should be using a bottle top dispenser anyway.

The ZapCaps are only rated for filtering at 50C so wait for it to cool to 50 before filtering. Then get a pre filter, size77mm disc for the 500ml zaps, these will collect any larger particulates and bacteria, allowing the actual filter to do its job more efficiently, without clogging the filter, but if you have good raw, that are true in purity, there won't be much if any dust on the filters.

These have a couple benefits, first is ease of use, a .22 with a pre filter laid on top of the filter will filter steadily at a pretty rapid pace, you can easily get 50l thru it, then immediately run another 500ml thru it using a new pre filter each time, and removing the old one. These only cost about $1 each for pre filters.

They also can withstand a lot of pressure. I can typically filter 1000ml I'm a relatively short amount of time just utilizing the added pre filters and keeping the pressure set at around 10-12, then the second 500ml I may need to go up to 15 +|- 5.

It's best to filter in halves anyway. If doing a standard 400ml, get temp to 50C, add 200ml and filter, keep your solution in your beaker warm while that's filtering, then when the first half is done, you can add the second 200ml at 50C, and no need to change the pre filter at this point.

Keep in mind the pre filter will hold onto oil/hormone so the zap caps are perfect, once your filtering is basically complete, crank the pressure up to around 20, it won't break the filter or housing, and this will generate enough pressure to remove the excess held in the pre filter.

I refuse to use anything else, no matter what it was, 400ml was a pain to get thru the other brands even using the recommended temp and pressure ratings from the manufacturer. Those would definitely benefit from the use of a pre filter and never buy the complete kits, that plastic is junk and will end floating in your solution.

Whatman Kariflex are my number two choice and used with an actual vacuum pump. And as far as hand pumps go, the general one you see for sale on many sites, and places like autozone, the gray plastic, are decent but eventually the handle that you pump with will break, that's pretty sad considering they don't have an extreme amount of pressure applied when pumping them.

If you look around online, or I've seen them at Meijer's grocery store or if you have a Harbor Freight store, go with the bronze and metal hand pump. They are inexpensive, have a pressure gauge, and are set up the same exact way, but you don't have to worry about parts breaking. They actually look a little cheap but work great. They also don't have the same pump width so each pump is a smaller range of motion, yet it applies the same amount of pressure if not more, so they are easy to set, I'm sure guys have have filters not seal 100% and have to keep pumping to get a correct seal, which can damage the filter due to expanding and compressing, but these work well and the zap caps are durable and can withstand alot.

Sigma Aldrich glass setup....doesn't get any sweeter.
My autoclave was down for a min and had to go back to the zapcaps till it was repaired wasn't bad but not the same.

where can i get the 77mm pre filter for the zap cap filter?

Flyingdragon said:

Bottle top with a glass bottom. Buy extras as u will probably crack a few before u get the hang of it. Any brand will work, I assume some are better than others...

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This. The plastic bottoms are very crack prone under vacumes so glass bottom is much better

Mad old post brother lol.. I have done quite a few cooks sense then.. But thanks

moparmuscle said:

This. The plastic bottoms are very crack prone under vacumes so glass bottom is much better

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