Hey everyone, Ive been making DMT for a couple of years and have a TEK that works well for me EXCEPT removing the Naphtha layer from the dark Lye layer has always been a pain in the ass. Turkey basters were not designed for such percise work in my opinion, and as Im venturing into a similar process with extracting mescaline I have been wanting to upgrade my lab with a separation funnel and I wanted to ask has anyone on here used one for DMT and or Mescaline extractions and did it work well?

Thanks,
Anthony

I have a set of separatory funnels and I love them. They are not the only things I use, though. Chief among my other options are glass pipettes of various sizes to which I attach syringes instead of the traditional rubber bulbs. Syringes make them a precision instrument and I could live without my precious separatory funnel collection as long as I had a turkey baster and glass pipettes with syringes.
If you get a separatory funnel do yourself a favor and never even try to put sludge or any liquid containing powdered bark in one, I've seen quite a few woe begotten nexers with clogged sep funnels due to putting solids in the funnels

Thats quite a syringe collection haha, I like the sound of that method a lot, I tried using a syringe once to get the last of the Naphtha up but I shake to much to get as close to the dark layer as Id like. Im hoping the separation funnel I want to get will be really easy to control. Ill probably start with a 1000ml and maybe just make a stand myself cause Im cheap like that. But if Im not able to get every little last bit of Naphtha off, I think ill try letting it set again in narrow glass tubes and use a better syringe. Thanks for the advice!

I can relate to the unsteady hand issue, once a week I take a strong dose of caffeine and then try to work in the lab
A few basic separatory funnel tips:
• Turning the stopcock the wrong direction can slowly loosen the nut that tightens it. For the most part, unless trying to get that last tiny drop, its best to turn it clockwise so any drag on the nut isnt loosening the nut.
• The glass stoppers, you'll notice, are designed just right to hold between the index and middle fingers while you work. This lets you avoid setting it down. If you would rather set it down, have a designated clean spot just for that. I use a petri dish or a watch glass.
• When your ready to isolate the top layer, drain the bottom layer and then pour the top layer out of the top of the funnel. This helps greatly in not contaminating it with droplets from the bottom layer.
• When your salting out alkaloid in a sep funnel, after adding the aliquot of acid and mixing, partially lift the stopper and turn the stopcock 180° quickly 3 or 4 times to wash old droplets out of the stem [catch the washings in a little beaker or shotglass] then you can use a tiny slice of a pH paper held with tweezers and just barely tap it against the last fraction of a drop hanging on the tip of the stem. This is a very convenient and cheap way to get readings on pH after each addition of acid.
• If your stopper or stopcock is the ground glass type remember that strong lye, or prolonged lye contact can fuse the glass pieces together.
• When you get your funnel fill it with water, fit the stopper into it, turn it upside down, place it in a small box on top of a piece of paper so the stem is pointed up and its own weight is holding the stopper in place, open the stopcock and watch for leaks around the stopper, if nothing leaks come back after 15 minutes and look again. When I found a set of 500 and 1000 ml sep funnels from china for less than the usual price of the 500 alone I got them not convinced they would be high quality. They were much better than I expected except the ground joint on the 1000 is off by just enough to eventually let a drop or two leak out. This could be an unpleasant surprise when working with acids or bases so its best to find out how prone your funnel is to leaking, and then never assume it cant leak. Lye and eye may rhyme, but thats where the connection should end.
• Dont leave the funnel drying on the counter when relatives or children are there, I just lost a 70 year old 500 ml volumetric flask that way

Thanks for your tips, coming from a a non qualified, non professional, junkyard amateur lab technician like me!