Update on the Bic pen. <br><br>Barrel and endcaps are made of polypropylene ( I checked with Bic) . I don't know the chemistry of pp well enough to know for sure that there is no reaction taking place but for two months the iodine has bee stored in this way and not yet weakened the tube.<br><br>Air Tightness. Well after chewing on them I wouldn't expect them to remain tight. Also I haven't subjected them to changes in air pressure such as would occur when sucking on them. I do know that in an earlier attempt to package these tablets I failed to get air-tight containment and everything in my kit turned yellow. I replace yellowed items and the container and haven't seen any yellowing from the tablets stored in the bic tube. I could probably gasket the caps with ptfe plumbers tape for a tighter seal but that doesn't seem necessary yet. I may find a different result if I took these to altitude thereby causing a significant pressure gradient. I could probably also get away with a dab of Krazy glue on the caps but that would certainly make it more difficult to get into the tablets when they are needed. <br><br>I will investigate further with organic chemists that I know. If there are any here qualified to inform on the interactions between free iodine and polyporpylene then please step forward. This form factor is the best that I have been able to find/devise and in this application volume is everything.<br><br>My wife suggested using the sample tubes that are provided for perfume. I haven't found one of the right diameter yet. These are glass and the cap could certainly be protedted by ptfe tape. If anyone sees one of these of the right diameter please post the brand name of perfume so I can try them out. As with the Bic pen the cap on these is a friction fit and may be subject to leakage at altitude. YMMV.

A little bit of info I found about Iodine containers ( I love Google!)<br><br>Make only as much iodophor sanitizing solution as you need for each use. Iodine is volatile and will outgas from the solution with time, losing its sanitizing ability. You may have noticed that an iodine solution left in an open glass jar will lose its brown color. If you do have leftover solution, store it in a tightly sealed glass jar or a PET plastic soda bottle. Solution stored this way is stable for about a week. Do not store the solution in other types of plastics because they will either absorb the iodine fairly quickly or allow it to volatize because of their gas permeability, again causing a loss of sanitizing ability.<br><br>http://realbeer.com/jjpalmer/cleaning.html<br><br>Because handwashing in all settings is so poorly practiced, gloves are ordered in patient<br>care and food preparation areas by regulators. As a comment to this rule change, a study<br>was submitted to the US FDA concerning a polypropylene wiper coated with PVP-I to<br>deliver 750-1250 ppm of free iodine.8 Test subjects were repeatedly contaminated with<br>cultures of S. marcesans over a two hour period, and instructed to clean-up using only a<br>water rinse, and 15 second wipe with the wiper. Their hands were swabbed and culture<br>test results recorded.<br><br>http://www.biolargo.com/hunter-killer.pdf <br><br><br>The references follow the excerpts.<br><br>Seems from the first excerpt that PET is a better storage material than "other plastics"<br><br>Seems from the second post that they are using polypropylene as an applicator wipe soaked in sterilizing concentrations of free iodine solution. Leads me to believe that polypropylene will not degrade in this application. Still may be too gas-permeable as mentioned in the first excerpt. <br><br>Still looking for a definitive result. Does anyone know of a chemical test for presence of iodine that I could run on the outside of my test container?<br><br>Brad

It also burns pretty well. Not as well as plasitc model glue, but close. Just drip a small puddle of it onto a piece of tinder, add a match (it doesn't do so well on sparks), and it will dry slightly damp tinder and last long enough to light it. <br><br>If you have a little scrap of polystyrene on hand (insulation, padding, whatever), it's a backwood form of napalm, and will make a good (if slightly enviromentally unfreindly) tinder.<br><br>

The caps leak even before I chew on them. *scowls* <br><br>Just take a fresh one and blow through it. Unless the ones they sell in your area are diffrent than the ones around here....

I've wrapped the PTFE plumber's tape over the cork a few times. I hope it holds. So far, the cork seems to be OK, with little signs of erosion (fingers crossed). Thanks for the great tip.

Sorry about the chew-toy implication. My experience is different than yours. Though I have chewed on a few of these in my time also. <br><br>Bic makes a couple of stick pens. The ones I am referring to are the Bic Round Stick pens. These have a somewhat larger diameter barrel, blue plugs in the end and a blue collar on the business end holding the ink. The pens which have a larger white cap on the end which stands up off the end of the pen are a different make and indeed do leak - they are also too small in internal diameter to hold PA tablets.<br><br>Also, I get mine fresher if that makes a difference. They are manufactured in CT and I live in NH so they don't travel far before I get them. Dont know if the \handling in travel would affect them though I doubt it would.

OK, I was thinking the buck-a-dozen, white ones. I may have to look for ones like what you descirbe.<br><br>And your's couldn't be that much differnt than the ones we find in Vermont.

These are the ones I use:<br><br><br><br>papermate makes a pen they call the stick pen which looks like this:<br><br><br><br>I couldn't find a picture of the end with the plug in it but the difference is obvious when you look at it. The papermate has a 1/2" tall decorative end on the plug whereas the Bic has a flat plug which adds no length to the pen.

Oh, I think I see the difficulty. You've been saying "cap", but you are using the plug from another pen, rather than the cap with the clip.<br><br>Nevermind, I'm just advertising my recessive blond genes

you say plug I say cap we don't speak the same language ... oops.<br><br>BTW There's nothing wrong with blonds - some of my best friends are blonds!<br><br>The "Bic Round Stic" has a flat-topped plug. I use the barrell and the plug from one of these pens, cut the barrel down to length, harvest the plug from another pen and plug the open end of the cut-down barrel. Then, remembering that I am creating a container for iodine tablets, I swear profusely, remove one of the plugs, put iodine tablets in and then re-plug the open end. So - far it works for me. <br><br>Of course I am still looking for conclusive evidence that this is usable. I only know that nothing else in my kit is picking up the iodine stain and this leads me to believe that I have a decent seal around the plugs. The inside contents may be turning into a gelatenous gue as the iodine reacts with the interior of the pen barrel for all I know.