After reading this entire thread, I thought I would chime in.
I bought a ST a couple of years ago. Works as advertised. Satisfied with the unit.
It is great for small batches of an oz or so. Any batches larger that yield well, can result in an ugly mess inside the ST. As the solvent evaporates and concentrate volume increases due to adding more wash/cycles, it can start bubbling violently as the solvent 'purges'. This results in splatter on the glass lid. Ultimately contaminating the recovered solvent and loss of product. This isnt 'bumping' as in a still or rotovap. It is the result of large bubbles bursting. So take care near end point. DONT USE TURBO MODE NEAR END POINT.
I also place two coins under each of the two rear foot pads to tilt the unit a bit so condensed solvent doesnt drip back into crucible. Ensure beveled glass lid is orientated proper.
The ST was great to start with. But my batch sizes of 2oz to 1/4lb are too large for it. The process takes too long and risk splattering. With that said, I have graduated to a 2L rotovap. Much more suitable for my batch size. Not to mention the fun factor of playing with some cool equipment.
Even though I use a rotovap, my ST is still a work horse. It is almost impossible to collect ALL the finished concentrate from the rotovap's boiling flask. Here is what I do:
1) I took a silicone spatula and trimmed it down with a razor knife to fit thru the neck of the flask. I collect all I can with the spatula.
2) I then add solvent back to the flask and mix allowing the residual concentrate to wash back into solution.
3) I then finish in the ST, usually resulting in 2g-3g more recovered. No wastage, no mess, no damage to product using heatgun to remove from boiling flask.
4) I large size round silicone oil container works great to recover your concentrate from the ST crucible. One with the diameter of a silver dollar works great. I usually just keep this recovered concentrate separate and use for casual dabs.
