Defective Millipore Stericup?

[SJ2469]

This is my first homebrew experience... I was trying to run 400ml Test E through my Millipore Stericup into a 400ml glass media bottle... I used the hand vacuum pump you can buy on GPZ. It doesn't have a guage on it, so I don't know what the psi was. But I only pumped on it several times and walked away. I came back about 30 minutes later and there was literally only 4 or 5 drops of oil in the media bottle, but there were several little dribbles of oil oozing out around the bottom of the clear cup where it connects to the blue rim of the unit... I pumped a few more times to see if maybe I hadn't pumped enough to start the vacuum process and walked away again for 15 minutes or so. When I came back this time there was maybe 1.5ml in the media bottle and quite a bit of oil leaking out around the cup. So I just pulled the bottle off and poured everything that was in the cup into the bottle and threw the filter away. I was only smart enough to order 2 filter units for this first brew and I used the other one on 100ml of Tren A that worked just fine and filtered through in 15 mins or less. So I now have all of my unfiltered solution sitting in a media bottle with the cap screwed on and I have ordered 6 more Millipore Stericups from GPZ that I hope will be here before Xmas. I will reheat my solution and attempt to filter it when the new filters arrive...

My questions are:
Was the filter unit defective or did I break it by pumping too much?
Since my pump doesn't have any sort of guage on it, how am I supposed to know how many times to squeeze the pump?
I have read that some of the Test E out there takes a LONG time to filter, but is only a few drops in almost an hour normal or was that a result of the unit losing vacuum?

Thanks in advance for anyone who reads this and chimes in. This board is such an amazing resource.

[SJ2469]

Got my new filters yesterday... Set everything up and let it sit overnight. Only filtered about 20ml in a 6 hr period and there was leakage around the cup again.

Any advice?

[Anzel]

You guys are amazing, patients and learning! I dont have that ability I just order everything made and premixed LOL!

[SJ2469]

You guys are amazing, patients and learning! I dont have that ability I just order everything made and premixed LOL!

Haha. I don't know about amazing... I think patience and learning just comes with the territory in powerlifting and bodybuilding. But I am starting to get a little frustrated with this home brew stuff... Sure it'll save me a bunch of money in the long run, but if every batch of Test Enanthate I try to brew is this much of a hassle, I may toss all he supplies and go back to buying finished products from labs... Seeing what goes into it lets me know it's well worth the extra cost. Hahaha

[enrod]

My questions are:
Was the filter unit defective or did I break it by pumping too much?
Since my pump doesn't have any sort of guage on it, how am I supposed to know how many times to squeeze the pump?
I have read that some of the Test E out there takes a LONG time to filter, but is only a few drops in almost an hour normal or was that a result of the unit losing vacuum?

Thanks in advance for anyone who reads this and chimes in. This board is such an amazing resource.

Hey brother, it sounds like you lost vacuum in the filtering process. Keep in mind these plastic filters are very temperamental, and the simplest actions can cause leaks in the lines. I've had good luck with the Autofil series, so I'd recommend them for your future filters. It has never taken me hours to filter, even with Test E. The plastic units can generally hold up to about 12-15psi tops. I highly recommend getting a brake bleeder kit, they come with a regulator that shows the PSI. If you are losing vacuum, you will see your PSI drop. When you come back to check your process, its often you'll see a PSI drop from a slow leak (common with the plastic setups), simply pump it back up again and let it go back to work.

[SJ2469]

Hey brother, it sounds like you lost vacuum in the filtering process. Keep in mind these plastic filters are very temperamental, and the simplest actions can cause leaks in the lines. I've had good luck with the Autofil series, so I'd recommend them for your future filters. It has never taken me hours to filter, even with Test E. The plastic units can generally hold up to about 12-15psi tops. I highly recommend getting a brake bleeder kit, they come with a regulator that shows the PSI. If you are losing vacuum, you will see your PSI drop. When you come back to check your process, its often you'll see a PSI drop from a slow leak (common with the plastic setups), simply pump it back up again and let it go back to work.

Thanks so much for the input! I will swing by an auto parts store this evening and see if I can get a brake bleeder kit. I also saw someone suggested on another board to put duct tape or Teflon tape on the little nipple that comes off the unit that you connect your hose to, to make a tighter fit and prevent any vacuum leaks there... But I still don't have an answer for why the unit is leaking between the clear cup and the blue skirt/rim around the bottom. Do you have any ideas on that?

[enrod]

Thanks so much for the input! I will swing by an auto parts store this evening and see if I can get a brake bleeder kit. I also saw someone suggested on another board to put duct tape or Teflon tape on the little nipple that comes off the unit that you connect your hose to, to make a tighter fit and prevent any vacuum leaks there... But I still don't have an answer for why the unit is leaking between the clear cup and the blue skirt/rim around the bottom. Do you have any ideas on that?

Of course bro. The tape could help with little air escapes for sure so I can see that being helpful. When you say the blue skirt/rim, I'm not too familiar with the milipores, is this where the filter connects to the media bottle? Perhaps its not the right fit with the media bottle? If this is the case, the tape could likely help here too, cause again if the vacuum is lose it won't flow properly.

[SJ2469]

Of course bro. The tape could help with little air escapes for sure so I can see that being helpful. When you say the blue skirt/rim, I'm not too familiar with the milipores, is this where the filter connects to the media bottle? Perhaps its not the right fit with the media bottle? If this is the case, the tape could likely help here too, cause again if the vacuum is lose it won't flow properly.

https://beta-static.fishersci.com/images/F15345-01~wl.jpg

That's what they look like. The oil is oozing out where the blue and clear meet. Almost as if it does have sufficient vacuum and its trying so hard to get through that filter that it eventually gives up and goes out the sides. Haha. Pretty frustrating. I'm on my third filter now. All 3 have been good for anywhere from 10-20 ml (one drop at a time over the course of several hours) then they would just start leaking out the side. Probably lost 10-12 ml for the 40 or so I have filtered so far :(

[enrod]

https://beta-static.fishersci.com/images/F15345-01~wl.jpg

That's what they look like. The oil is oozing out where the blue and clear meet. Almost as if it does have sufficient vacuum and its trying so hard to get through that filter that it eventually gives up and goes out the sides. Haha. Pretty frustrating. I'm on my third filter now. All 3 have been good for anywhere from 10-20 ml (one drop at a time over the course of several hours) then they would just start leaking out the side. Probably lost 10-12 ml for the 40 or so I have filtered so far :(

I've seen these but never worked with them myself. My assumption would be some kind of an issue with the vacuum or an issue with how the filter is connecting to the media bottle. I use a full unit from autofil that comes with a plastic receiver thats attached to it. That when it's threaded to fit the receiver properly. Knock on wood, haven't had any issues yet.

[SJ2469]

I've seen these but never worked with them myself. My assumption would be some kind of an issue with the vacuum or an issue with how the filter is connecting to the media bottle. I use a full unit from autofil that comes with a plastic receiver thats attached to it. That when it's threaded to fit the receiver properly. Knock on wood, haven't had any issues yet.

Right on. You've never cracked the plastic receiver from the vacuum pressure? GPZ has the autofil units... .45 pore and .22 pore... Which do you use? I'm assuming that if I had both I could run it through the .45 faster, then further filter it with the .22... Maybe that would speed up the process a little in case the issue is this stuff I have is so dirty it's clogging the .22 millipore up too quickly.

[SJ2469]

Once again... Thanks so much for all the input. This is an fun yet frustrating process. I have a lot to learn and I'm eager to do so.

[enrod]

Right on. You've never cracked the plastic receiver from the vacuum pressure? GPZ has the autofil units... .45 pore and .22 pore... Which do you use? I'm assuming that if I had both I could run it through the .45 faster, then further filter it with the .22... Maybe that would speed up the process a little in case the issue is this stuff I have is so dirty it's clogging the .22 millipore up too quickly.

I use the .45, haven't had any issues. Nope no cracks, knock on wood, in the plastic receiver. Just keep the psi under 15, with the .45 it goes fast enough you can filter you whole solution within a half hour. Mines been crystal clear as well.


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[SJ2469]

I use the .45, haven't had any issues. Nope no cracks, knock on wood, in the plastic receiver. Just keep the psi under 15, with the .45 it goes fast enough you can filter you whole solution within a half hour. Mines been crystal clear as well.


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Ok. I'll try the AutoFill next time for sure and see I that makes a difference. Thanks again!

[Atlas Labs]

Get some .22 zapcaps bro

[SJ2469]

Get some .22 zapcaps bro

Ok. Thanks. I've never heard of those... I just did a Google search. They don't look much different than the Millipore... Is it just better quality and less likely to leak?

[Atlas Labs]

Absolutely. No leaking at all

[SJ2469]

Absolutely. No leaking at all

Sweet. I'll give them a go next time. I bought two Autofills this morning as per Enrod's advice... So I'm now up to $135 just in filters for this one 400ml batch of Test. Haha.

[Atlas Labs]

That's unfortunate sir lol. Good luck

[Cajun897]

I just went through two millipore duracup pvdf bottletop filters they would not hold vacuum

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[SJ2469]

That's unfortunate sir lol. Good luck

Yeah... I have more in filters than I do the powder. Haha. But thanks for the input. I will NOT be buying millipore again.

[SJ2469]

I just went through two millipore duracup pvdf bottletop filters they would not hold vacuum

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Ive been through 4... These things suck. I'll be trying autofill and the zap caps next.

[Cajun897]

Ive been through 4... These things suck. I'll be trying autofill and the zap caps next.
Im just going to get a glass vacuum filter all you have to do is buy filter membranes

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[SJ2469]

Im just going to get a glass vacuum filter all you have to do is buy filter membranes

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That's a good idea! Where did you find such things? I'll look into it in case I'm not satisfied with the autofill or zap caps.

[Cajun897]

That's a good idea! Where did you find such things? I'll look into it in case I'm not satisfied with the autofill or zap caps.
They have them on ebay they are quite a bit more expensive but all you have to do is buy the filter unit and some 47mm disk filters you just change the filter every time you brew

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[Cajun897]

Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles, Coupons and More | eBay (http://m.ebay.com/itm/1000ml-Lab-Glass-Vacuum)

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[SJ2469]

Perfect! Thanks for the idea... Let me know how it works out for you when you get them.

[ILIFT2LIVE]

This is my first homebrew experience... I was trying to run 400ml Test E through my Millipore Stericup into a 400ml glass media bottle... I used the hand vacuum pump you can buy on GPZ. It doesn't have a guage on it, so I don't know what the psi was. But I only pumped on it several times and walked away. I came back about 30 minutes later and there was literally only 4 or 5 drops of oil in the media bottle, but there were several little dribbles of oil oozing out around the bottom of the clear cup where it connects to the blue rim of the unit... I pumped a few more times to see if maybe I hadn't pumped enough to start the vacuum process and walked away again for 15 minutes or so. When I came back this time there was maybe 1.5ml in the media bottle and quite a bit of oil leaking out around the cup. So I just pulled the bottle off and poured everything that was in the cup into the bottle and threw the filter away. I was only smart enough to order 2 filter units for this first brew and I used the other one on 100ml of Tren A that worked just fine and filtered through in 15 mins or less. So I now have all of my unfiltered solution sitting in a media bottle with the cap screwed on and I have ordered 6 more Millipore Stericups from GPZ that I hope will be here before Xmas. I will reheat my solution and attempt to filter it when the new filters arrive...

My questions are:
Was the filter unit defective or did I break it by pumping too much?
Since my pump doesn't have any sort of guage on it, how am I supposed to know how many times to squeeze the pump?
I have read that some of the Test E out there takes a LONG time to filter, but is only a few drops in almost an hour normal or was that a result of the unit losing vacuum?

Thanks in advance for anyone who reads this and chimes in. This board is such an amazing resource.

One if ur using a hand pump u cant walk away as u need to pump it 1-3 times to keep the flow steady. As far as the leaking probly faulty or cracked from too much psi


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[Gymthug26]

https://beta-static.fishersci.com/images/F15345-01~wl.jpg

That's what they look like. The oil is oozing out where the blue and clear meet. Almost as if it does have sufficient vacuum and its trying so hard to get through that filter that it eventually gives up and goes out the sides. Haha. Pretty frustrating. I'm on my third filter now. All 3 have been good for anywhere from 10-20 ml (one drop at a time over the course of several hours) then they would just start leaking out the side. Probably lost 10-12 ml for the 40 or so I have filtered so far :(
Yeah those are shit something's wrong if their leaking their

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