Has anyone heard any additional information regarding Blueline Outfitters, since Doug's post in late September? Also, I found some of the same type of glass viles as those discussed throughout the forum, but I'm not sure if they have Teflon liners inside the cap. Does anyone know, how to find out? I found these viles at an Army Surplus store and none of the salespeople knew the answer. Thanks in advance. <br>Dora

Niether Doug or I have any new word from Barry :O( I can only suggest putting a few tablets in a vial and see what ( or hopefully does not) happens ;O)

Dora, My previous post was lost during the program upgrade. Niether Doug or I have any new news from Barry@ Blueline <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />I can only hope he will surface again once his problems are resolved. With the vials, I can only suggest tossing a few tablets in and see what happens. Doug had a second source for these listed.

Dora,

Most small vials have a screwcap with a rubber liner or a polycone liner. If the liner looks flat (not cone shaped) and is white or light tan it may be a teflon faced rubber liner. If it is cone shaped or translucent it is most likely a polyethylene liner.

Carefully remove the liner from the cap with a small flat screwdriver blade. A teflon lined cap will have 2 layers, a smooth shiny teflon layer that is thin and a thicker rubber backing. Some teflon lined caps have red teflon and white rubber. If you place a very small drop of water on the "teflon" side it should bead up and not spread out. The water should also smoothly sheet off the liner when tipped. If the water does not bead up or sheet off cleanly it is probably a rubber liner.

Most teflon lined caps are two layer because the teflon does not compress adequately by itself to fully seal a vial. The rubber backing allows a thin teflon liner to conform to the glass lip of the vial.

Teflon faced liners for small vials are common in labs but I think it is not as likely to find them at a surplus store....but this really depends. Your best bet is to go ahead and follow Chris's advice and try them. A rubber liner will discolor and probably crumble from the iodine.

Hi Chris: Thanks for the info. I'll try your idea and all other suggestions to see what happenes. If any of these ideas work, I'll be willing to buy some of these viles for anyone who is interested. It would be great, if this turns out to be another source for these viles.
Dora

How about putting some teflon tape over the mouth of an otherwise normal, small, glass bottle? It's not convenient for frequent opening and closing, but maybe workable for a PSK application.

What Army Surplus store did you buy these from?? I need some vials but I can't find any stores to buy them from does anyone know of any websites.

Frank <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I got the viles at the Army/Navy surplus store near my home here in Sacramento.
Dora

Hi: Thanks for the info. I'm glad there is a way to tell the difference with the vile caps. I'll try this idea also and I'll post my results. Thanks!
Dora

Since the teflon tape I'm going to use is so thin, maybe a few layers will help make a good enough seal between the cap and the vile.
Dora