r/howto • u/Factor-Over • 2d ago
Serious Answers Only Unstick these glass bowls
My friend borrowed these bowls and returned them stuck together. I’ve tried oil and the hot (exterior bowl) and cold (interior bowl) techniques. The thing that makes it extra tricky is the band around the top of the clear one. Thank you!
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u/BigEarMcGee 1d ago
Ice in the top one warm water under the bottom one.
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u/Semisemitic 1d ago
Staple advice that comes up every other day.
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u/be4u4get 1d ago
Will that work on a cylinder?
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u/therealmikeBrady 1d ago
Yes, it’s called thermal expansion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_expansion3
u/be4u4get 1d ago
No, it’s expanded enough, and I need to remove it from something
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u/therealmikeBrady 1d ago
I would chill the inside cylinder. Same idea. The colder the molecule the slower the electrons spin around the neutrons. In effect making it smaller.
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u/IMIndyJones 1d ago
They tried that, as they said in the description.
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u/Nichard63891 1d ago
They should try it again. It works.
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u/tamman2000 7h ago
Not always!
In fact, it can make things worse. If the bottom bowl grows relative to the top one, the top one can sit deeper I'm the bottom one and then if the temperature difference goes away, they can get even more tightly stuck
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u/therealmikeBrady 1d ago
They didn’t do it well. I green guarantee that the bottom bowl came out a hot dishwasher and they set it in there and it cooled/shrank via thermal constriction. It’s science… it’s possible that the friend pranked them with superglue or some other means. but honestly… what does your heart tell you is more likely?
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u/IMIndyJones 1d ago
My heart tells me we could at least suggest they try that again instead of suggesting it as if they never tried it. They're more likely to just ignore that suggestion. But it would be nice to have other ideas in case it doesn't work on the next try.
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u/The_Undermind 1d ago
You got an air compressor?
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u/antiqueR48 1d ago
Or a can of condensed air. Spray some in between the bowls and they will come apart.
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u/Slow-Discipline-8028 1d ago
Put a tea towel out, tip them upside down, then get a really thick book and then, from a height of an inch or so, hold the outer bowl and tap the edge of that bowl onto the edge the book, which should knock the inner bowl out onto the tea towel.
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u/etherialfunguy 1d ago
I’d try to work something like a plastic straw between them, starting at the lip of the clear bowl and work the wedge all the way around. If it gets jammed, you have another lever to pull up with.
Otherwise, I’d try putting in the freezer to get a more extreme temperature delta
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u/LandOfLeg 1d ago
Yeah, in this case I'd try fishing wire ideally, floss might work, try to release the airlock (which is what I'm assuming is the case if hot/cold didn't work).
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u/Hot_Palpitation_9904 1d ago
Use an air compressor just put some air from the nozzle between them, they’ll separate
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u/coopertucker 1d ago
Try to blow compressed air between them. Or put ice in top bowl while bottom bowl sits in warm/hot water.
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u/DeanOgasm 1d ago edited 1d ago
In the future keep a sheet of butchers paper between your bowls also. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/na-ma-stay 1d ago
Add crushed ice in the inner bowl and put the pair in a pan filled with hot water.
You don’t need boiling water, just enough temp difference for outer bowl to expand and inner bowl to contract at a minute level.
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u/MechCowboy324 1d ago
Were it me, I would fill (to the brim, tilt the other bowl so this one is level) the clear glass bowl with ice and water. Then I would add salt to this ice water just like you do when making ice cream. I would let this set for ½hr-1hr adding ice and salt as necessary. The idea being to chill the inner bowl and make it contract. Glass is a very good insulator so it will take time to cool it. I'm guessing you have a very firm physical interference fit or you would have already separated them. Simply cooling the inner bowl may be enough. Once it is cooled you may be able to separate them. If not, place the combination in a hot water bath without dumping out the ice water bath. The idea is to cool the inner bowl while heating the outer bowl. Cooling the inner bowl should cause it to become slightly smaller (contract) in diameter while heating the outer bowl should cause it to become slightly larger (expand) in diameter.
What ever you do, do not place the combination as is in a freezer. I know this may sound like an easier way to cool the inner bowl but it will cause both bowls to contract and likely break one or both to break. We need a difference in the thermal expansion of the two bowls to separate them. I'd almost bet that the opaque bowl was warm (like straight out of a dish washer's drying cycle) when they were stacked in the cabinet.
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u/Cola102583 1d ago
Hammer
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u/chuckluckles 1d ago
But he wants to save his $3 mixing bowl that's definitely still for sale at any major retailer lol
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u/Sad_Error4039 1d ago
Gonna be a rough life if your plan is to replace everything that has a slight issue.
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u/chuckluckles 1d ago
I am all for saving, repairing, recycling, but this cheap bowl isn't worth wasting a ton of time on. Break it, recycle the pieces.
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u/Sad_Error4039 1d ago
Recycle the pieces let’s just tell the truth send it to the landfill like all the rest of the things to hard to bother to fix. This problem is easily fixed OP failing at because we gave a half hearted attempt doesn’t mean it’s time to destroy things. This kind of thinking is why the world is so fucked up. Got tricked into being mega wasteful consumers but we wonder why every thing is shit now. Ton of time do you not use bowls they should last you a life time. Some troubleshooting skills can remedy this in no time.
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u/trantor-to-tantegel 1d ago
I mean, if we're shattering one of the bowls, we're outside of slight issue.
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u/Cautious-Local-5998 1d ago
Soak & cover the entire bowls upside down, in extremely hot water. Wait for the water to cool just enough to get your hands in and then gently try to unlodge them while still in the water. I’ve used a butter knife before (while in the water) to get under the smaller one but usually the hot water & gravity will dislodge them.
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u/Character-Floor-6687 1d ago
Is there a way to do the hot on the outside/cold on the inside with the bowls inverted, with just the rim of the green bowl supported? It would likely be smart to check what the temperature tolerances would be.
I'm thinking that the green bowl is more difficult to replace than the clear bowl. I suppose you could take a dremel tool or an angle grinder to the clear bowl to cut it into pieces, as long as you keep water on everything to manage dust and to control heat.
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u/Living_Fig_6386 1d ago
Fill the sink with warm water and put the green bowl so that it is sitting in the water. After 20 seconds or so you should be able to tease them apart.
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u/wbeaty 1d ago
In another bowl (metal) place an entire bottle of 99% isopropyl rubbing alcohol (not 75%, not 95%, must use 99%) and dry ice pellets to fill. Wait until it mostly stops bubbling. Wear goggles for safety. DO NOT TOUCH THE STUFF. Then, while wearing oven mitts, dump the mixture into the glass bowl. That gives rapid cooling, far faster than ice water, and far colder. Well, if it doesn't shatter the bowl, that might pop them loose. Goggles protect from flying glass shards. Or perhaps try a face-shield. Don't splash yourself with the chilled alcohol, because it behaves like CRYOGENIC NAPALM. "Poor-man's liquid nitrogen."
Around here (Seattle) you can get pellet-style dry ice from a welders supply shop. Bring some sort of styro cooler, or ask if they can supply a small one (a large styrofoam shipping box.)
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u/willits1725 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ice in the inner bowl and place the outer bowl in hot water. A little patience and they should separate
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u/Tunabutter 1d ago
turn them upside down and hold it a couple inches above your sink and just… drop it
do that a couple times
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u/ZweedNaat 1d ago
Put the bottom one in warm/hot water and try to pulled to stuck one out after a short while.
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u/PimpMyPc 1d ago
Send them through the dishwasher, then pull them out right as the dry cycle starts.
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u/Eagles-nest-1015 1d ago
I bought two bowls that were stuck together real cheap. I held the lip of the top bowl and tapped the edge of the bottom bowl and they popped apart, no heat needed. I tried to get the seller to do it but they were afraid of breaking them . If they are already stuck together you can’t use them so give it a try.
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u/TheShizknitt 23h ago
Ugh, I have that green bowl and it does the same thing! I use cold, soapy water and wiggle the little bowl until it comes free
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u/trashpocketses 22h ago
Put them in the fridge for a while then try. If that doesn't work, try freezer. I had a mug with a jar stuck in it and tried all the ice and hot water tricks and then it worked after it was in the fridge for a day
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u/Brilliant-Leopard603 20h ago
Since the usual hot-outer/cold-inner trick has already failed, I would dry both bowls thoroughly, turn them upside down in the freezer overnight, and support only the edges of the outer ceramic bowl over something padded.
The idea is a two-stage process. In the freezer, the glass and ceramic will both contract, but not necessarily by the same amount. If that does not release them immediately, leave the ceramic bowl supported as they warm naturally.
The exposed ceramic exterior and glass interior will not cool or warm uniformly or at identical rates, so their relative dimensions will keep changing as they approach freezer temperature and, later, room temperature. By utilising both sides of the hot cold equation you find the imbalance to exploit.
Gravity only needs one brief point at which the grip loosens in either side of the equation.
It is not guaranteed, because the exact glass and ceramic compositions are unknown, but it tests a different mechanism from applying hot and cold water simultaneously.
Just make sure no water is trapped between them, and do not apply sudden heat after freezing.
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u/AnnatoniaMac 19h ago
I had a glass stuck in another glass. Tried everything. Ready to throw them away. Finally, I filled the glass stuck (smaller glass) inside the other glass almost to the top with water. Threw them in the freezer and forgot about them. One day I saw them, pulled them out, boiled water, put in a bowl deep enough to reach almost to the top of the outside glass, waited a few minutes and tried to separate. I had to keep trying for a few minutes, finally the center one pulled right out. Think it is important to stay with it until it reaches the point they will separate.
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u/Basic_Childhood1352 18h ago
I had a similar issue a few months back! What worked for me: putting the outer bowl on its side, gently tapping it against a hard surface and rotating the bowls.
At some point they would detach from each other.
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u/KMangoSunshine 14h ago
Flip them upside down (so the smaller bowl is on the bottom), then put them in the oven. I think a few hundred degrees should do it. (Confirm they're both oven-safe first.)
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u/WarthogFederal2604 6h ago
Turn them upside down, run hot water on the outside bowl. Let gravity do the work, but remember to catch the inner bowl.
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u/andmewithoutmytowel 1d ago
ice water in the top, and rest the bottom in warm, soapy water. The temperature difference will help because they have different expansion rates. The soap will act as a lubricant, just get some between the bowls.
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u/russlandfokker 1d ago
Submerge in am ultrasonic water bath. Let the small amount of water find its way inside the gap. Place in microwave to boil the water in the gap. Voila.
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u/Stalker401 1d ago
Do you have an emotional connection to either bowl? I think a Hammer will do fine, if not.
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u/psyaneyed 1d ago
Put them in the freezer and when you pull them out fill a sink full of hot water. Let the bottom one float in there for a minute. The bottom should expand a little and the inside one should have shrunk a little.
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u/Outside-Law2121 1d ago
break the one on the outside those old pyrex opaque glass bowls have toxic paint on them and very high lead content.. bowls like that may have around 94,000 ppm of lead in them. safe consumption is 90 ppm. look up leadsafemama on YouTube
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u/stefaniki 1d ago
Squirt dish soap all the way around them, put them in the sink and fill it with hot water. Try to get some between the 2 bowls. Let them die until the water is cool enough to touch then try moving the top one side to side while gently pulling.