An Inexpensive Splash Arrestor A nemesis which plagued our undergraduate organic chemistry laboratories for a number of years was the constant splashing which occurred when water aspirators were in use. Attempts t o control the uroblem usine a number of devices were fruitless. Such innovations included allowing the effl"ent water t i h i t a wire screen or a large beaker of water or even tying a rag or connecting an oversized rubber hose to the bottom of the outlet. Commercially available splash arrestors also were tried. The first two did little to alleviate the problem. Thelast three options, although fulfilling the original objective fairly well, presented an additional dilemmain that they had to be removed when the spigot was to be used as a water supply for eondensors. Their removal by students was cumbersome and invariably led to a disappearance of the large diameter hoses or a misplacement of the small commercial splash arrestors. We wish to report the construction of an efficient and inexpensive splash arrestor which has served our purposes well. The distance from 1%in. below the side arm of the aspirator pump to the bottom of the water trough was measured, and the circumference of a 1-gal. plastic jug of the type used to hold duplicating fluid, bleach, ete., was cut that distance from the mouth of the container. Holes were introduced using a paper punch along the lower rim which was to sit on rhe water trough. These holes permit water to flow in the trough withlittle restriction. The flexibility of the containers allows placement ar removal of the splash arrestors with ease. An interesting postscript is that in the year that these arrestors have been in use, not one has been lost or misplaced.
James M. Garrett Stephen F. Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX 75962
Volume 60
Number 5
May 1983
501
