Yes it will certainly work, I've been doing it for years.
I use the waste tank for ETOH, and still use a transparent container
for waste.
(easy to see if it is about to overflow into the house vacuum line...)
Both tanks are online and pressurised, and I use a 3-way lauer-fit
valve to select 70% ETOH or saline.
NOTE:
Be very careful not to run the ETOH into the sheath tank, as the saline
will precipitate!
I also add an extra 1" 0.22u syringe filter into the line immediately
after running ETOH, which has several effects:
- Extra filtering of the saline, just in case.
- The small filter-full of air stops the saline & ETOH from mixing
in the line, so salt precipitation is not a problem.
- One minus, it changes the pressure balance so that the sample
differential must be reduced by about half with extra filter in.
I got this idea from Frank Battye of WEHI, with much appreciation!
Frank - you may have some comments; are you still using clear filter
holders as fluid reservoirs?
Cheers, Joseph.
-- Joseph Webster Flow Cytometry Facility Centenary Institute