Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Concerning the transportation of a home lab

Concerning the transportation of a home lab

cAMP - 6-7-2011 at 06:45

Hi all, long time lurker, new registrant here.
I'm just finishing up my doctorate, and moving across the country, and that's going to involve moving my home lab. I have my chems meticulously labelled and organized by storage color, and obviously when I move I'm planning to keep them separated thusly. What I'm not sure about is the best way to transport them, in terms of packaging. A lot of my stuff, I synthesized myself, due to inability to receive hazmat shipping where I live.

I only have small quantities of most things, but I guess I'm looking for any advice on the packaging of chems for transport. Most of my chems are held in glass bottles, and while storing certain things together when they're sitting in a cabinet is one thing, but when they can potentially be knocked around, it's another matter entirely. (In particular, I'm concerned about the 200mL or so of RFNA that I made and don't want to throw away)

Anyone had to deal with this before? How did you organize and transport your equipment?

Thanks

#maverick# - 6-7-2011 at 06:51

For acids I would teflon tape the threads then put a layer of Teflon tape over the cap then tape the cap with electrical tape. Also I wouldn't trust movers with glassware they have a tendency to drop things. So transport your glass and and chems that would be dangerous if spilled with you. If u want something done right you gotta do it yourself lol

#maverick# - 6-7-2011 at 06:52

O and bubble wrap and packing peanuts are your friend I use both even for storing glass in my lab so it doesn't break

Magpie - 6-7-2011 at 07:06

Quote: Originally posted by cAMP

(In particular, I'm concerned about the 200mL or so of RFNA that I made and don't want to throw away)

I just learned not to put this tiger in anything but glass. I had my small amount stored in a glass bottle with a Teflon lined phenolic cap. The vapor eventually seeped in behind the liner and ruptured the phenolic cap. Even the Teflon liner itself was warped.

I would set the RFNA in its own padded box in a pail of kitty litter. I would probably do the same for other strong acids.

Are you transporting the chemicals or are you hiring movers to do this?

Lambda-Eyde - 6-7-2011 at 07:14

Bubble wrap (newspapers will do as a cheap alternative, although it's flammable) between all the bottles will keep them from grinding/smashing into eachother. For particularly vicious chemicals it's a good idea to pack the bottles in separate cardboard boxes filled with enough absorbent (vermiculite/cat litter) to neutralize a spill. RFNA and bromine are examples. Also, sulfuric acid. Very dangerous in itself, but it also has a tendency to react with nearly everything to produce heat/volatile gases and acids/toxic gases etc. Also, transport the dangerous goods yourself if you can.

Safe packaging of glassware is probably self-explanatory. Though, if you have a reflux coil condenser (or several, for that matter), this neat little trick might save you some money (and grief).

Welcome to the board. Hope to see you around (and pictures of your new home lab when that time comes)!

cAMP - 6-7-2011 at 08:40

I'm moving everything myself.

The RFNA is in a 250mL volumetric flask with a good ground glass stopper, and has the stopper held in place with melted wax. The wax is discolored slightly, but isn't really being eaten to any extent.

I'm not storing halogens. I keep them in halide form until I need them. I'm thinking that it would be better to just throw away the (at this point, small) quantities of liquid acids (sulfuric, hydrochloric) that I've still got, and buy them again when I get set up again.

I am however storing lithium and sodium metal under mineral oil. If taped closed and well protected from shock, these shouldn't be a problem, right?

And thanks for the welcome, I hope to continue to learn a lot from you!

[Edited on 6-7-2011 by cAMP]

peach - 16-7-2011 at 15:01

Vermiculite and kitty litter are good when dealing with bottles of liquid as they will tend to soak up the liquid if the bottle bursts. Vermiculite is also soft and fluffy, for impact absorption, and easy to get well packed because it can be poured in.

If going all high tech on it, you could include something in the mixture to neutralise the things in the bottles.

Bottles I've had from genuine lab suppliers come in tall boxes, which are quite close to the actual size of the bottle. There is a disc of card at the bottom and one at the top, these have holes cut in them to hold the bottle still in the centre of the box, so it can't shift to one of the sides as it vibrates in the truck. The rest of the cavity is filled with vermiculite.

smuv - 16-7-2011 at 15:14

I moved recently, I had the movers move everything but the oxidizers. I seperated things in bags, acids with acids, bases with bases. My RFNA, CrO3, TCCA and 10lbs of sodium nitrate I moved in my car. RFNA was in a nalgene reagent bottle. I moved some solvents too (burnt/gave away rest) in my car in a big plastic storage container w. lid. No issues.

cAMP - 7-3-2012 at 14:42

Sorry to dig this thread up, but I thought it a good place to post some pics of my new lab space.

I'm pretty happy with it. Soon, we'll be building a fumehood against the far right wall. Once that's done, two of my friends (a high school chem teacher and a PhD chemistry student) and myself will be putting together a new YouTube series.

I'm very excited.

Endimion17 - 7-3-2012 at 15:34

Very cool photos. I expect lots of nice videos.

Any legal issues regarding the transportation?

cAMP - 7-3-2012 at 20:19

Honestly, I'm not sure about legal issues. I just packaged all the chems in separate boxes by storage code, and used plenty of bubble wrap. I teflon taped and electrical taped the bottles of acids shut, and just electrical taped everything else closed. I had no breakages, nor spills of any kind, and everything came through pristine.

jamit - 7-3-2012 at 23:09

Quote: Originally posted by cAMP

Sorry to dig this thread up, but I thought it a good place to post some pics of my new lab space.

I'm pretty happy with it. Soon, we'll be building a fumehood against the far right wall. Once that's done, two of my friends (a high school chem teacher and a PhD chemistry student) and myself will be putting together a new YouTube series.

I'm very excited.

What is your youtube channel going to be called? Looking forward to it. BTW, nice lab!

[Edited on 8-3-2012 by jamit]

cAMP - 8-3-2012 at 05:15

That detail hasn't been worked out yet. We're going to be meeting sometime this weekend to hash out more specific plans.

I'll report back when I have more concrete information.

I'm going to be pushing for something like "YouSci".

phlogiston - 8-3-2012 at 13:16

What is the coffee maker used for?

cAMP - 8-3-2012 at 17:29

At the moment, collecting dust.
It needs to leave the lab.