r/howto • u/aubenoire • 1d ago
Suck silicone
Kid got his silicone pipette stuck in his measuring cylinder. Any ideas how to get it out? Sticking a knife or chopstick down can get past the silicone but not enough traction to pull it out
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u/AVdev 1d ago
So what you’re saying, is that you have a cylinder stuck inside a tube.
Can the cylinder be damaged?
If so, try using a drill, with a bit extender, drive a screw Into the cylinder, and use pliers/hemostat/grabber to remove it.
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u/thexvillain 1d ago
IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE CYLINDER NOT BE DAMAGED
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u/Eastern-Move549 1d ago
So this is it. We have finally seen the precious soft thing that is stuck in the hard plastic cylinder.
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u/The_AntiVillain 1d ago edited 1d ago
Air compressor and some sort of needle attachment to slide in-between the side
Spending on how firm the silicone is, a long screw and some pliers
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u/Glade_Runner 1d ago
Some tools that might help would be long needle-nose pliers, hemostats, screw grabbers, surgical tweezers, or cotter pin pullers.
You could snip and bend a wire clothes hanger to make a good hook, and this might give you enough grab to puil it loose.
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u/AreThree 22h ago
cotter pin pullers.
Hey thanks for that! I had no idea what those were called but was looking for something just like those the other day which made searching for it a bit tricky!
Looking for a "bent pick" wasn't showing me the right sorts of things... (very important to spell 'pick' correctly! I got an unpleasent surprise when an errant 'r' made its way into that search term...🫢)
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14h ago
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u/Noneerror 1d ago
Place the bottom in hot water. Use it to demonstrate air pressure and how things expand when heated. Teach how this is very similar to how the bulb in a thermometer works.
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u/paynekiller666 1d ago
I once knew a girl that could suck a golf ball through a garden hose, I could get you her number if you'd like
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u/Flint_Westwood 1d ago
Take a metal coat hanger and bend a small 90º on the end of it. Work the whole thing past the silicone part and then rotate the hanger so that the little part catches the piece and pull it out.
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u/pinkdaisyy 1d ago
99% alcohol and an air hose. Wear eye protection. Alcohol burns.
Or spray silicone dry lubricant.
~I work making silicone medical equipment. It’s what I was trained to do when things got stuck.
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u/websterpuddlesmd 19h ago
Heat the bottom of the cylinder. Like in a pot of boiling water. Expanding air volume should push the cylinder up like a plunger.
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u/ACcbe1986 23h ago
If there's a little moisture(h2o) in under the plug, toss it in the microwave till the steam pops it out.
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u/werm_on_a_string 21h ago
Some of the pull suggestions are good, hanger for example. If you could get a straw down past it you could blow air behind it, increase the pressure on that side, and maybe move it out/closer where you can reach.
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u/dont_disturb_the_cat 20h ago
Can you sneak a plastic straw in past the silicone, and then blow in it to change the pressure behind it?
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u/TryBananna4Scale 1d ago
Soap water to lubricant. Coat hanger to push against rubber a little bit of baking soda to fall to the bottom. Some vinegars. Pull out coat hanger. And it might pop out because of baking soda and vinegar at the bottom expanding.
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