Does anyone know how to remove a ground glass stopper from a round glass bottle?
Question:I tried putting it in the refrigerator thinking that may loosen it, but didn't. I tried DW40 and that
didn't work. It just wont budge. I would be
interested if anyone has any another ideas on how to get them apart.
Answers:
Freeze the bottle. get it very cold. Leave it in the freezer over night. Then hold the bottle by the neck in your hand. The object is to warm up the bottle faster than the stopper. Warm glass expands. At some point the neck will be warmer than the stopper and you will be able to remove the stopper.
apply a little oil inbetween the stopper and the bottle then hold underwater in hot water - the heat should make the air expand inside the bottle, forcing the stopper out
If not, put it in the oven on low temp. When using the oven, if you do, wear protective goggles and heat-proof oven mittens just in case it blows.
You need to heat the neck of the bottle to make it expand. It should expand faster than the stopper, which will allow you to pull it out. Try running the neck under hot water for a few seconds.
How about hot water? That may make the bottel neck expand. Then, WD or oil or some lubricant.
rlbendele 1 has the right idea. It has worked for me in the past! In the future, you need to use a piece of plastic wrap over your stopper BEFORE you put it in the bottle & have to deal with this problem again! Wax paper works well also!
When you put it in the fridge, both the bottle and the stopper shrunk, so that wouldn't help. You need to get the bottle warm and the stopper cold. Try putting ice on the stopper to contract it, and hot water on the bottle so it will expand. It will take some creative balancing on your part. Warming the bottle might also expand the air in it and help push the stopper out, especially if there is liquid in it too. Then wrap something rubber, like one of those things you use to grab lids on jars, around the stopper and try pulling or turning.
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