Stuck dessicator lid

[megan28]

I am trying to get into our dessicator to retrieve a sample but the lid is stuck badly. I don't think its been open for years! Any hints for how to get it open?

[canalon]

Force, patience and anger... I sympathize. Probably heating the sides where the 2 parts meet might help make the grease a bit more fluid and help sliding the thing apart, but I am not sure if it will work.
Having had a fight a few years ago with a nasty dessicator (two people were needed for convincing, and we were thinking of using a hammer at that point) I would be interested if anyone had a foolproof way to deal with those... Good luck

[harr0028]

I have used a heat gun and a lot of patience. After 10-15 minutes, the lid slides right off.

[jonmoulton]

You might try dripping a bit of machine oil into the seam so it can penetrate the grease. Having some shorter hydrocarbons diffused into the grease should loosen its grip. Let it penetrate for a few hours, the diffusion likely won't be fast though the grease. Hexane would be a reasonable alternative to machine oil.

[DocWillow]

You might try dripping a bit of machine oil into the seam so it can penetrate the grease. Having some shorter hydrocarbons diffused into the grease should loosen its grip. Let it penetrate for a few hours, the diffusion likely won't be fast though the grease. Hexane would be a reasonable alternative to machine oil.

this is such a great advice ! thank you so much for sharing....