I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Thanks
Rob

On 03/03/2012 09:22, robgraham wrote:
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

You want to apply the thermal shock in the opposite direction. Get them
as cold as possible and then submerge the outer one into near boiling
water and pray that as it warms up it will free itself.

The bad news is that Pyrex hardly expands at all which is why it is
preferred for telescope mirrors etc. I suspect the things were
mechanically jammed together and may be less keen about coming apart.


--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Sat, 3 Mar 2012 01:22:35 -0800 (PST), robgraham wrote:

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

You need differential temperatures between the two bowls, heating or
cooling both won't work. Try filling the inner stuck bowl with an
crushed ice/salt freezing mixture. If that doesn't work place the
stuck bowls in a larger container filled with hot (aka near boiling)
water to just below the brim of the outer stuck bowl. Give things a
few minutes to contract/expand.

--
Cheers
Dave.

WD 40, I don't think an Angle grinder is appropriate here..
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"robgraham" wrote in message
...
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Thanks
Rob

Do you have access to a decompression chamber, maybe you could make the air
trapped between them push them apart by reducing the pressure on the
outside?

Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
On 03/03/2012 09:22, robgraham wrote:
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

You want to apply the thermal shock in the opposite direction. Get them as
cold as possible and then submerge the outer one into near boiling water
and pray that as it warms up it will free itself.

The bad news is that Pyrex hardly expands at all which is why it is
preferred for telescope mirrors etc. I suspect the things were
mechanically jammed together and may be less keen about coming apart.


--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Sat, 3 Mar 2012 10:17:05 -0000
"Brian Gaff" wrote:

WD 40, I don't think an Angle grinder is appropriate here..
Brian


Nor Duct Tape...
--
Davey.

In article ,
robgraham writes:
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

I had no success using thermal techniques with a pair of pirex glasses.
Eventually, decided I might as well force it. Put on a pair of leather
gloves to avoid cutting myself, and then pulled them apart. They came
apart, leaving a thin sliver of the rim of the outer one suck to the
outside of the inner one, which had to be flicked off. Chucked away
the one which lost a bit of the rim.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 03/03/2012 09:22, robgraham wrote:
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

--
Adrian C

Adrian C wrote:
On 03/03/2012 09:22, robgraham wrote:
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal,
from the side, can be used to compress it enough to break the seal..

--
To people who know nothing, anything is possible.
To people who know too much, it is a sad fact
that they know how little is really possible -
and how hard it is to achieve it.

On 03/03/12 10:06, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sat, 3 Mar 2012 01:22:35 -0800 (PST), robgraham wrote:

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

You need differential temperatures between the two bowls, heating or
cooling both won't work. Try filling the inner stuck bowl with an
crushed ice/salt freezing mixture. If that doesn't work place the
stuck bowls in a larger container filled with hot (aka near boiling)
water to just below the brim of the outer stuck bowl. Give things a
few minutes to contract/expand.

How about a combination? Stand the outer one in a pan of boiling water,
pour cold into the inner one?

On 03/03/2012 11:45, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Adrian C wrote:
On 03/03/2012 09:22, robgraham wrote:
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal,
from the side, can be used to compress it enough to break the seal..


And if all else fails its nothing to lose time. Piece of wood on one
edge large hammer, hefty blow. This is when I find I should have taken
drastic measures in the first place as it usually solves the problem, I
think I am too careful and gentle up to that point. :-)

On 03/03/2012 11:45, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Adrian C wrote:
On 03/03/2012 09:22, robgraham wrote:
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal,
from the side, can be used to compress it enough to break the seal..

The problem with the blunt knife is that it often damages the rubber
band. I know that one is supposed to replace them every time, but that
makes bottling more expensive than necessary.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

On 03/03/2012 10:20, Davey wrote:
On Sat, 3 Mar 2012 10:17:05 -0000
"Brian wrote:

WD 40, I don't think an Angle grinder is appropriate here..
Brian


Nor Duct Tape...

Actually you can potentially apply more force by wrapping with duct tape
and perhaps creating a couple of "handles" which you could then grip in,
say, a workmate.

Heat having failed, I would certainly be trying lubricant too.

Brian Gaff wrote
Martin Brown wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out
of the dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly
won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

You want to apply the thermal shock in the opposite direction. Get them as cold as possible and then submerge the
outer one into near boiling water and pray that as it warms up it will free itself.

The bad news is that Pyrex hardly expands at all which is why it is preferred for telescope mirrors etc. I suspect
the things were
mechanically jammed together and may be less keen about coming apart.

Do you have access to a decompression chamber, maybe you could make the air trapped between them push them apart by
reducing the pressure on the outside?

I doubt there is air trapped between them myself.

They would have to be too perfectly round for that to happen.

I'd try another trip thru the dishwasher first myself.

The Natural Philosopher wrote
Adrian C wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out
of the dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly
won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

Nope, the most practical is to try another cycle thru the dishwasher first.

It remains to be seen if the gap can actually be filled with water.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal, from the side, can be used to compress it
enough to break the seal..

I have a different problem. I reuse commercial marmalade jars for my
own marmalade, basically because they stopped making the lemon and
lime marmalade that I prefer. I put the marmalade in the jars when its
very hot indeed, after its been boiling to make it set. The lids are metal,
but have a plastic liner where the inside the lid meets the rim of the
glass jar. Can be a real bugger to get those off.

The only thing that works very well is those strap wrench things that are
designed for getting lids off but even those can be a real gut busting exercise.

The other lid 'wrenches' that are metal that go across the lid diameter rather
than around the circumference do work but ruin the lid, it cant be reused.

Guess I could change over to the sort of jars you use, but I get the box
of limes from the packing shed thats the only one in the area that does
limes, for peanuts and need 100 600g jars. I do have 150 of those and
your type of jar is much too big for marmalade with the jars that you
can get at times in garage/yard sales, so I would have to buy some
of the smaller ones you dont see in garage/yard sales at all, so that
approach isnt very practical in my case.

On 03/03/2012 15:07, Rod Speed wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote
Adrian C wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out
of the dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly
won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

Nope, the most practical is to try another cycle thru the dishwasher first.

It remains to be seen if the gap can actually be filled with water.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal, from the side, can be used to compress it
enough to break the seal..

I have a different problem. I reuse commercial marmalade jars for my
own marmalade, basically because they stopped making the lemon and
lime marmalade that I prefer. I put the marmalade in the jars when its
very hot indeed, after its been boiling to make it set. The lids are metal,
but have a plastic liner where the inside the lid meets the rim of the
glass jar. Can be a real bugger to get those off.

The only thing that works very well is those strap wrench things that are
designed for getting lids off but even those can be a real gut busting exercise.

The other lid 'wrenches' that are metal that go across the lid diameter rather
than around the circumference do work but ruin the lid, it cant be reused.

Guess I could change over to the sort of jars you use, but I get the box
of limes from the packing shed thats the only one in the area that does
limes, for peanuts and need 100 600g jars. I do have 150 of those and
your type of jar is much too big for marmalade with the jars that you
can get at times in garage/yard sales, so I would have to buy some
of the smaller ones you dont see in garage/yard sales at all, so that
approach isnt very practical in my case.


I also use commercial marmalade jars, I find if I cut a piece of
Greaseproof paper to slightly larger than the lid then fix the lid on
top the vacuum cause by the hot marmalade cooling seals the jars fine. I
have kept my marmalade for well over a year this way, and it is fine
when I come to use it. Of course if you are feeling flush you can buy
jam jars and lids from Lakeland, not cheap though.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

Apply the tape before the wd 40 though..
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Newshound" wrote in message
...
On 03/03/2012 10:20, Davey wrote:
On Sat, 3 Mar 2012 10:17:05 -0000
"Brian wrote:

WD 40, I don't think an Angle grinder is appropriate here..
Brian


Nor Duct Tape...

Actually you can potentially apply more force by wrapping with duct tape
and perhaps creating a couple of "handles" which you could then grip in,
say, a workmate.

Heat having failed, I would certainly be trying lubricant too.

Is one of the bowls made by Excalibur?

Hides behind sofa.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"robgraham" wrote in message
...
I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly
at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the dishwasher hot by
one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk'
together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without
success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Thanks
Rob

On Mar 3, 3:16*pm, Moonraker wrote:
On 03/03/2012 15:07, Rod Speed wrote:







The Natural Philosopher wrote
Adrian C wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together slightly at an angle. *I wonder if they been taken out
of the dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly
won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

Nope, the most practical is to try another cycle thru the dishwasher first.

It remains to be seen if the gap can actually be filled with water.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal, from the side, can be used to compress it
enough to break the seal..

I have a different problem. I reuse commercial marmalade jars for my
own marmalade, basically because they stopped making the lemon and
lime marmalade that I prefer. I put the marmalade in the jars when its
very hot indeed, after its been boiling to make it set. The lids are metal,
but have a plastic liner where the inside the lid meets the rim of the
glass jar. Can be a real bugger to get those off.

The only thing that works very well is those strap wrench things that are
designed for getting lids off but even those can be a real gut busting exercise.

The other lid 'wrenches' that are metal that go across the lid diameter rather
than around the circumference do work but ruin the lid, it cant be reused.

Guess I could change over to the sort of jars you use, but I get the box
of limes from the packing shed thats the only one in the area that does
limes, for peanuts and need 100 600g jars. I do have 150 of those and
your type of jar is much too big for marmalade with the jars that you
can get at times in garage/yard sales, so I would have to buy some
of the smaller ones you dont see in garage/yard sales at all, so that
approach isnt very practical in my case.

I also use commercial marmalade jars, I find if I cut a piece of
Greaseproof paper to slightly larger than the lid then fix the lid on
top the vacuum cause by the hot marmalade cooling seals the jars fine. I
have kept my marmalade for well over a year this way, and it is fine
when I come to use it. Of course if you are feeling flush you can buy
jam jars and lids from Lakeland, not cheap though.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

I've enjoyed the deviations form the true path of this topic in to
marmalade making, etc. We'll try the dishwasher approach followed by
the outside/inside cold idea. Angle grinders, WD40 and duct tape are
not kitchen items !! :)

Back to the marmalade, we're fortunate enough to have gathered over
the years a number of the 7 lb porcelain jars (for those that at are
imperially challenged that's around 3kg) - I now normally make the
marmalade and I just seal the top with cling film while still hot.
The vacuum of the cooling pulls that down tight and a cover with brown
grease proof paper then protects that.

Thanks everyone

Rob

Moonraker wrote
Rod Speed wrote
The Natural Philosopher wrote
Adrian C wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together
slightly at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the
dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have
effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze without success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

Nope, the most practical is to try another cycle thru the dishwasher first.

It remains to be seen if the gap can actually be filled with water.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal, from the side, can be used to compress it
enough to break the seal..

I have a different problem. I reuse commercial marmalade jars for my
own marmalade, basically because they stopped making the lemon and
lime marmalade that I prefer. I put the marmalade in the jars when its very hot indeed, after its been boiling to
make it set. The lids are metal, but have a plastic liner where the inside the lid meets the rim of the glass jar.
Can be a real bugger to get those off.

The only thing that works very well is those strap wrench things
that are designed for getting lids off but even those can be a real
gut busting exercise.

The other lid 'wrenches' that are metal that go across the lid diameter rather than around the circumference do work
but ruin the lid, it cant be reused.

Guess I could change over to the sort of jars you use, but I get the box of limes from the packing shed thats the
only one in the area that does limes, for peanuts and need 100 600g jars. I do have 150 of those and
your type of jar is much too big for marmalade with the jars that you
can get at times in garage/yard sales, so I would have to buy some
of the smaller ones you dont see in garage/yard sales at all, so that
approach isnt very practical in my case.

I also use commercial marmalade jars, I find if I cut a piece of
Greaseproof paper to slightly larger than the lid then fix the lid on
top the vacuum cause by the hot marmalade cooling seals the jars fine.

I dont have a problem with the seal, thats the problem, they seal
so well that they are very difficult to get off. The very ocassional
one that hasnt sealed for some reason comes off easily.

Maybe you mean that the paper allows the lid to slide over
the glass rim easier. I'll try that the relish that I'll have to make
soon that goes in the same jars and has the same problem.

On further thought, that isnt a problem with the original commercial
marmalade, those arent too hard for non arthritics to open.

Presumably they just apply the lid when its cooled down a bit,
but when its still warm enough to still give a good vacuum seal.

The relish that I also used to buy before they stopped making the
best I could find did have that problem with getting the lids off, so
presumably its just the temperature at the time the lid is applied.

Should try a post in one of the food groups or fora etc I spose.

I have kept my marmalade for well over a year this way, and it is fine when I come to use it.

I need mine to last 3 years, because I start with a box of limes
and get them dirt cheap beause I do. The price of those in the
supermarket and vary by 10:1 here, mostly seasonally.

Of course if you are feeling flush you can buy jam jars and lids from Lakeland, not cheap though.

Yeah, thats what I meant with my previous comment.

I kept saving the commercial marmalade jars, and when
I was getting up around 200, did wonder if there was any
point in keeping so many. Then they stopped making the
marmalade I liked best and I couldnt find any that I like
much and was very happy that I had saved so many.

Both the marmalade and relish are much better than
any of the commercial stuff, I'm sorry I didnt do it earlier.

Martin wrote
Rod Speed wrote
The Natural Philosopher wrote
Adrian C wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together
slightly at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the
dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have
effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze
without success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

Nope, the most practical is to try another cycle thru the dishwasher first.

It remains to be seen if the gap can actually be filled with water.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal,
from the side, can be used to compress it enough to break the seal..

I have a different problem. I reuse commercial marmalade jars for my
own marmalade, basically because they stopped making the lemon and
lime marmalade that I prefer. I put the marmalade in the jars when its
very hot indeed, after its been boiling to make it set. The lids are metal,
but have a plastic liner where the inside the lid meets the rim of the
glass jar. Can be a real bugger to get those off.

The only thing that works very well is those strap wrench things
that are designed for getting lids off but even those can be a real
gut busting exercise.

The other lid 'wrenches' that are metal that go across
the lid diameter rather than around the circumference
do work but ruin the lid, it cant be reused.

Guess I could change over to the sort of jars you use, but I get the box
of limes from the packing shed thats the only one in the area that does
limes, for peanuts and need 100 600g jars. I do have 150 of those and
your type of jar is much too big for marmalade with the jars that you
can get at times in garage/yard sales, so I would have to buy some
of the smaller ones you dont see in garage/yard sales at all, so that
approach isnt very practical in my case.

Putting the jar under a hot tap usually makes getting the lid off easily.

Bugger, those wounds on my legs are from me kicking myself.

That and letting it cool down a bit before applying the lid should fix the problem completely.

Thanks for that.

robgraham wrote
Moonraker wrote
Rod Speed wrote
The Natural Philosopher wrote
Adrian C wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together
slightly at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the
dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have
effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze
without success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

Nope, the most practical is to try another cycle thru the dishwasher first.

It remains to be seen if the gap can actually be filled with water.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal,
from the side, can be used to compress it enough to break the seal..

I have a different problem. I reuse commercial marmalade jars for my
own marmalade, basically because they stopped making the lemon and
lime marmalade that I prefer. I put the marmalade in the jars when its
very hot indeed, after its been boiling to make it set. The lids are metal,
but have a plastic liner where the inside the lid meets the rim of the
glass jar. Can be a real bugger to get those off.

The only thing that works very well is those strap wrench things
that are designed for getting lids off but even those can be a real
gut busting exercise.

The other lid 'wrenches' that are metal that go across the lid
diameter rather than around the circumference do work but ruin the
lid, it cant be reused.

Guess I could change over to the sort of jars you use, but I get the box
of limes from the packing shed thats the only one in the area that does
limes, for peanuts and need 100 600g jars. I do have 150 of those and
your type of jar is much too big for marmalade with the jars that you
can get at times in garage/yard sales, so I would have to buy some
of the smaller ones you dont see in garage/yard sales at all, so
that approach isnt very practical in my case.

I also use commercial marmalade jars, I find if I cut a piece of
Greaseproof paper to slightly larger than the lid then fix the lid on
top the vacuum cause by the hot marmalade cooling seals the jars
fine. I have kept my marmalade for well over a year this way, and it
is fine when I come to use it. Of course if you are feeling flush
you can buy jam jars and lids from Lakeland, not cheap though.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

I've enjoyed the deviations form the true path of this topic
in to marmalade making, etc. We'll try the dishwasher
approach followed by the outside/inside cold idea. Angle
grinders, WD40 and duct tape are not kitchen items !! :)

They are here |-)

Back to the marmalade, we're fortunate enough to have gathered
over the years a number of the 7 lb porcelain jars (for those that
at are imperially challenged that's around 3kg) - I now normally
make the marmalade and I just seal the top with cling film while
still hot. The vacuum of the cooling pulls that down tight and a
cover with brown grease proof paper then protects that.

Yeah, I am aware of that approach, and using wax
too, but prefer the lids because its much easier.

In article ,
robgraham wrote:

I've enjoyed the deviations form the true path of this topic in to
marmalade making, etc. We'll try the dishwasher approach followed by
the outside/inside cold idea. Angle grinders, WD40 and duct tape are
not kitchen items !! :)


That's not a very good D-I-Y Kitchen then. I've got WD40 and duct tape in
our kitchen - although I'll admit the angle grinder is in the conservatory
at the moment

Next you'll be saying you don't have a stanley knife in the cutlery drawer
(brilliant for scoring pork skin for crackling :-))

Darren

On Sat, 3 Mar 2012 08:16:39 -0800 (PST), robgraham
wrote:



I've enjoyed the deviations form the true path of this topic in to
marmalade making, etc. We'll try the dishwasher approach followed by
the outside/inside cold idea. Angle grinders, WD40 and duct tape are
not kitchen items !! :)

Perhaps not in _your_ kitchen... :-)

--
Frank Erskine

D.M.Chapman wrote
robgraham wrote

I've enjoyed the deviations form the true path of this topic
in to marmalade making, etc. We'll try the dishwasher
approach followed by the outside/inside cold idea. Angle
grinders, WD40 and duct tape are not kitchen items !! :)

That's not a very good D-I-Y Kitchen then.

Yep.

I've got WD40 and duct tape in our kitchen

Me too.

- although I'll admit the angle grinder is in the conservatory at the moment

Mine can be in the kitchen, I'm still building it and prefer
steel to wood when I can like for the bench frames etc.

The 20' bench down one side is catalevered off the concrete block
wall on a 38mm RHS frame so the stuff like the dishwasher and
small vertical freezers the size of bar fridges and cupboards etc
can just slide in under that for great flexibility as things change etc.

Next you'll be saying you don't have a stanley knife in the
cutlery drawer (brilliant for scoring pork skin for crackling :-))

And for getting the paper labels off the cans of beer brew before
putting them in the sink filled with hot water so if flows out better.

Rod Speed wrote:
robgraham wrote
wrote
Rod Speed wrote
The Natural Philosopher wrote
Adrian C wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together
slightly at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the
dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have
effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze
without success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

Nope, the most practical is to try another cycle thru the dishwasher first.

It remains to be seen if the gap can actually be filled with water.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal,
from the side, can be used to compress it enough to break the seal..

I have a different problem. I reuse commercial marmalade jars for my
own marmalade, basically because they stopped making the lemon and
lime marmalade that I prefer. I put the marmalade in the jars when its
very hot indeed, after its been boiling to make it set. The lids are metal,
but have a plastic liner where the inside the lid meets the rim of the
glass jar. Can be a real bugger to get those off.

The only thing that works very well is those strap wrench things
that are designed for getting lids off but even those can be a real
gut busting exercise.

The other lid 'wrenches' that are metal that go across the lid
diameter rather than around the circumference do work but ruin the
lid, it cant be reused.

Guess I could change over to the sort of jars you use, but I get the box
of limes from the packing shed thats the only one in the area that does
limes, for peanuts and need 100 600g jars. I do have 150 of those and
your type of jar is much too big for marmalade with the jars that you
can get at times in garage/yard sales, so I would have to buy some
of the smaller ones you dont see in garage/yard sales at all, so
that approach isnt very practical in my case.

I also use commercial marmalade jars, I find if I cut a piece of
Greaseproof paper to slightly larger than the lid then fix the lid on
top the vacuum cause by the hot marmalade cooling seals the jars
fine. I have kept my marmalade for well over a year this way, and it
is fine when I come to use it. Of course if you are feeling flush
you can buy jam jars and lids from Lakeland, not cheap though.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

I've enjoyed the deviations form the true path of this topic
in to marmalade making, etc. We'll try the dishwasher
approach followed by the outside/inside cold idea. Angle
grinders, WD40 and duct tape are not kitchen items !! :)

They are here |-)

Back to the marmalade, we're fortunate enough to have gathered
over the years a number of the 7 lb porcelain jars (for those that
at are imperially challenged that's around 3kg) - I now normally
make the marmalade and I just seal the top with cling film while
still hot. The vacuum of the cooling pulls that down tight and a
cover with brown grease proof paper then protects that.

Yeah, I am aware of that approach, and using wax
too, but prefer the lids because its much easier.


If you can find real celophane (not the laminate that says it is
celophane) dip it in vinegar and while it is wet cover jar while jam is
still hot and put a rubber band around it,it then forms a part vacuum as
it cools and will seal for a year or two.

F Murtz wrote
Rod Speed wrote
robgraham wrote
wrote
Rod Speed wrote
The Natural Philosopher wrote
Adrian C wrote
robgraham wrote

I know it's not strictly DIY, but I'm tasked with getting them apart !

Two bowls on the same diameter and are well wedged together
slightly at an angle. I wonder if they been taken out of the
dishwasher hot by one of the members of the family and have
effectively 'shrunk' together, but they certainly won't come apart.

Any ideas - I've tried hot water and then the deep freeze
without success - maybe significant oven heat ?

Fill water in the gap, then place in the deep freeze?

AAA+. TNP's award for the most creative and practical idea to date.

Nope, the most practical is to try another cycle thru the dishwasher first.

It remains to be seen if the gap can actually be filled with water.

As an aside my wife bottles loads of fruit - and can never open the lids!

I have discovered that a blunt knife inserted op top of the rubber seal, from the side, can be used to compress
it enough to break the seal..

I have a different problem. I reuse commercial marmalade jars for my own marmalade, basically because they stopped
making the lemon and
lime marmalade that I prefer. I put the marmalade in the jars
when its very hot indeed, after its been boiling to make it set.
The lids are metal, but have a plastic liner where the inside the
lid meets the rim of the glass jar. Can be a real bugger to get
those off.

The only thing that works very well is those strap wrench things
that are designed for getting lids off but even those can be a
real gut busting exercise.

The other lid 'wrenches' that are metal that go across the lid
diameter rather than around the circumference do work but ruin the
lid, it cant be reused.

Guess I could change over to the sort of jars you use, but I get
the box of limes from the packing shed thats the only one in the
area that does limes, for peanuts and need 100 600g jars. I do
have 150 of those and your type of jar is much too big for marmalade with the jars that you can get at times in
garage/yard sales, so I would have to buy some
of the smaller ones you dont see in garage/yard sales at all, so
that approach isnt very practical in my case.

I also use commercial marmalade jars, I find if I cut a piece of
Greaseproof paper to slightly larger than the lid then fix the lid
on top the vacuum cause by the hot marmalade cooling seals the jars
fine. I have kept my marmalade for well over a year this way, and
it is fine when I come to use it. Of course if you are feeling flush you can buy jam jars and lids from Lakeland,
not cheap though.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

I've enjoyed the deviations form the true path of this topic
in to marmalade making, etc. We'll try the dishwasher
approach followed by the outside/inside cold idea. Angle
grinders, WD40 and duct tape are not kitchen items !! :)

They are here |-)

Back to the marmalade, we're fortunate enough to have gathered
over the years a number of the 7 lb porcelain jars (for those that
at are imperially challenged that's around 3kg) - I now normally
make the marmalade and I just seal the top with cling film while
still hot. The vacuum of the cooling pulls that down tight and a
cover with brown grease proof paper then protects that.

Yeah, I am aware of that approach, and using wax
too, but prefer the lids because its much easier.

If you can find real celophane (not the laminate that says it is
celophane) dip it in vinegar and while it is wet cover jar while jam
is still hot and put a rubber band around it,it then forms a part
vacuum as it cools and will seal for a year or two.

The lids are a lot easier, particularly if its just a matter of letting
the marmalade cool a bit before putting the lids on to ensure that
you dont end up with a hernia when taking the lids off.

I completely automate the timing stuff so it would be completely
trivial to just get an alarm when its time to put the lids on.

I will likely be doing a batch when the new season's harvest of
limes happens, so there wouldnt even be a room temp variation
to bugger up the timing.

Its so easy to have the dishwasher do the jars and lids.

The only real nuisance is that you do have stir the marmalade
continuously when doing the final fast boil so that it sets properly.
If you dont, you get burnt marmalade on the bottom of the massive
stock pot with heavy base that I make it in and its a bugger to get
that off, quite apart from not being good for the marmalade. It comes
off pretty easily when you boil peroxide in it, but thats impossible to
find in decent volume cheap here, so its much better all round to just
stir it continuously in the last fast boil setting phase.

I try to minimise effort required and canned tomatoes to make the tomato
and chilli relish for the same reason. They're dirt cheap from the EU.
We do have large area tomato growers here, and that does end up
much cheaper again, because plenty of the locals make tomato sauce
in big volume at the end of the summer, but its a lot more work than
using canned tomatoes and I dont have jars for a full box of tomatoes
anyway, and relish doesnt last anything like as long as marmalade.
It would take me years to eat a box of tomatoes worth of relish.

The cheapest less than a box at a time fresh tomatoes are the same
price as the canned EU tomatoes.