i have a crystal wine decanter which i just cant seem to get open.
i've tried soap and water but that didnt work.Any ideas how i could
get it open.Im not sure why it stuck to begin with.

Cool it off in the fridge and then carefully poor hot water round the
outside of neck.
With luck it will come free and the glass will not crack.

"bofromtherock" > wrote in message
om...
> i have a crystal wine decanter which i just cant seem to get open.
> i've tried soap and water but that didnt work.Any ideas how i could
> get it open.Im not sure why it stuck to begin with.

"Bill Davy" > wrote in news:c8foan$epi$1
@sparta.btinternet.com:

> Cool it off in the fridge and then carefully poor hot water round the
> outside of neck.
> With luck it will come free and the glass will not crack.
>
> "bofromtherock" > wrote in message
> om...
>> i have a crystal wine decanter which i just cant seem to get open.
>> i've tried soap and water but that didnt work.Any ideas how i could
>> get it open.Im not sure why it stuck to begin with.
>
>
>

Another version of that is to ice the stopper while keeping the bottle as
warm as possible.

On Wed, 19 May 2004 09:15:06 -0500, jcoulter
> wrote:

>"Bill Davy" > wrote in news:c8foan$epi$1
:
>
>> Cool it off in the fridge and then carefully poor hot water round the
>> outside of neck.
>> With luck it will come free and the glass will not crack.
>>
>> "bofromtherock" > wrote in message
>> om...
>>> i have a crystal wine decanter which i just cant seem to get open.
>>> i've tried soap and water but that didnt work.Any ideas how i could
>>> get it open.Im not sure why it stuck to begin with.
>>
>>
>>
>
>Another version of that is to ice the stopper while keeping the bottle as
>warm as possible.

You guys scare me. Cooling in the fridge and then hot water on the
neck sounds like a sure recipe for cracked crystal.

Here's my solution. The stopper is stuck because the decanter was
rinsed in warm water, then stoppered and has now cooled. The cooling
has created a slight vacuum in the decanter. Simply rinse the decanter
in warm water (hold it under the tap) long enough to raise the
temperature of the air inside. Increased pressure from expanded air
should aid in pushing the stopper out.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8

Ed Rasimus wrote:

> On Wed, 19 May 2004 09:15:06 -0500, jcoulter
> > wrote:
>
> >"Bill Davy" > wrote in news:c8foan$epi$1
> :
> >
> >> Cool it off in the fridge and then carefully poor hot water round the
> >> outside of neck.
> >> With luck it will come free and the glass will not crack.
> >>
> >> "bofromtherock" > wrote in message
> >> om...
> >>> i have a crystal wine decanter which i just cant seem to get open.
> >>> i've tried soap and water but that didnt work.Any ideas how i could
> >>> get it open.Im not sure why it stuck to begin with.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >Another version of that is to ice the stopper while keeping the bottle as
> >warm as possible.
>
> You guys scare me. Cooling in the fridge and then hot water on the
> neck sounds like a sure recipe for cracked crystal.
>
> Here's my solution. The stopper is stuck because the decanter was
> rinsed in warm water, then stoppered and has now cooled. The cooling
> has created a slight vacuum in the decanter. Simply rinse the decanter
> in warm water (hold it under the tap) long enough to raise the
> temperature of the air inside. Increased pressure from expanded air
> should aid in pushing the stopper out.

Ed,
It's not a partial vacuum that's responsible for the problem. Rather, the
hot crystal expands and the opening of the decanter expands to a greater
extent than the stopper. When the stopper is placed into the top of a hot
decanter, it fits in at a lower level and, when cooled, fits so snugly that
it can't be removed. In fact, some "frozen" ground glass joints have been
shown to chemically bond together. The best approach is to use a blow dryer
to heat the OUTSIDE of the decanter sufficiently to remove the stopper. The
odds are at best 50% for such a venture, though. Breakage is the other
likely outcome.

Mark Lipton
(veteran of oh too many frozen ground glass joints)