(Lava Chat)

Francelargespiral01a

Very long handboiler with coil and green liquid. I can't read the sticker. This was how it was shipped to a collector and, needless to say, it broke.

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Comment by Simon Bernard Smith. on December 29, 2010 at 3:36pm: Also, there is a partial vacum in there, so as soon as the thing is broken....it's effectively dead :((

Comment by Jonas Clark-Elliott on December 12, 2010 at 9:56am: Problem with repairing these is, assuming you go to a normal glassblower (torch- or lamp-worker) they won't touch it because the contents are rather nasty, either ethyl alcohol or methylene chloride. Assuming you go to a neon sign shop, as they have a slight vacuum inside, they won't do it either, since the vapor inside will screw up the liquid (silicone oil) in the diffusion pump.

I've seen only one more complex handboiler; it's a pair of large spheres connected by a series of three U-shaped inversions with a cluster of four spheres. It's on my list, and stands on a glass foot.

Comment by Simon Bernard Smith. on December 11, 2010 at 4:30pm: As hand-boilers go, that has to be about the most EXTREME I've seen to date!! (such a shame it broke, but you can see why!)