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TheIdeanator
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[*] posted on 13-11-2015 at 22:28
Equipment questions


Quick questions, I've got a line on some small Aspirator Bottles, a ton of Gooch Crucibles (the frittered sort), and some Kjjedahl Bulbs, Would any of these be useful to a beginner hobbiest?

I gather that means essentially nothing, so to be more specific my current interests are organic extractions, element extraction from minerals, graphene stuff, and figuring out what the hell I did to get copper to stick to aluminum without a strike. I'm primarily focused on materials science/engineering at school and may drift into chem eng so most of my hobby interests will be in that general direction.

Also, would I be better off buying all this guys stock of kimbal 500ml round bottoms for $5 each?
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Sulaiman
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[*] posted on 14-11-2015 at 01:47


when I started chemistry as a hobby last year I bought several lots of used glassware,
I now have a box of 250 ml and a box of 500 ml RBFs.
Hardly ever use even one as they fall over or roll around too easily.
Cork rings cost more than your RBFs.
For small distillations etc. I use ground glass joints, so RBFs no use there.
Nett result ... two boxes of RBFs waiting to find a use :(

So, unless you have a specific use in mind,
I recommend Erlenmeyer/conical flasks for general mixing and heating
A batch of borosilicate test tubes, a test tube rack and tongs for smaller or hotter
A small range of different size borosilicate beakers
Heatproof (e.g. gardening) gloves to grab hot things that you did not plan to grab :)
and a nice comfortable pair of goggles, or a face shield etc.
Start your shopping with eye protection,
you can do a lot of chemistry using household glassware etc.,
you can't do much if you can't see.
(I recently had lens replacement operations for cateracts,
only a temporary loss of sight but I now appreciate vision very much !)

and start collecting glass bottles, jars etc, surprising how many I use.

Fritted Gooch crucibles are useful.

I'd delay the Kjeldahl bulb until you decide on the rest of your distillation setup.

I'm still a noob so wait for other opinions :)

Edit: forgot the Aspirator bottles;
I can see a use for de-ionised/distilled water 'on tap' but not much else,
everything else of use is flammable, corrosive or toxic, not suitable for 'on tap'
(aga may have another use :)


[Edited on 14-11-2015 by Sulaiman]
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TheIdeanator
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[*] posted on 14-11-2015 at 14:56


Sorry I meant a Kjjedahl flask, not the splash head. The guy called it a bulb but the images clearly show a flask.
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chemrox
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[*] posted on 14-11-2015 at 16:39


Quote:

For small distillations etc. I use ground glass joints, so RBFs no use there.
Nett result ... two boxes of RBFs waiting to find a use :(

What do you mean by "RBF?" Most of us would translate that to, "round bottom flask." Standard taper joints would be assumed. If you have extra 500 ml rbf with 24/40 or 24/29 joints I'm interested in a couple of them. Is a "nett result similar to a net result?"



[Edited on 15-11-2015 by chemrox]




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Sulaiman
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[*] posted on 14-11-2015 at 23:38


"For small distillations etc. I use ground glass joints, so RBFs no use there."
should have been
"For small distillations etc. I use ground glass joints, so these RBFs are of no use there."
sorry for any confusion that I may have caused.

RBF, round bottom(ed) flask, no distinction between ground joint or not
the box of 250 ml rbf that I have are the older non-ground neck that require a bung.
(U2U me if anyone wants 250 ml rbfs for the cost of p&p)

(I just checked, the 500 ml actually have a small flat on the bottom so I may find uses for them :)

English; net is for catching stuff, nett is total after deductions



[Edited on 15-11-2015 by Sulaiman]
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aga
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[*] posted on 15-11-2015 at 01:09


Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  
Hardly ever use even one as they fall over or roll around too easily.

A large roll of tape works fine as a stand for RBFs.

Hang onto the cardboard middle part once the tape has all been used.

My own equipment is all 24/29 ground glass these days.

Wish i'd spent the extra $ and gotten ground glass Erlenmeyers as well, so everything could be plugged into everything else.

[Edited on 15-11-2015 by aga]




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TheIdeanator
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[*] posted on 15-11-2015 at 19:44


These things are ground 24/40 and I found a great diy heating mantle that I could build for $5-10 per unit and a simple heater driver for maybe $25 all prettied up. I'll be visiting the guy(again) on Wednesday in the hopes that he'll be available this time.

Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  
the box of 250 ml rbf that I have are the older non-ground neck that require a bung.
(U2U me if anyone wants 250 ml rbfs for the cost of p&p)[Edited on 15-11-2015 by Sulaiman]


My mom, the whimsical type, suggested that you could turn glassware into a fancy science themed lamp. Those things could actually sell if the effort was made to make them well. Maybe throw some copper salts or fluorescent stuff in there for visual appeal. Alternatively, I might take you up on that.

Quote: Originally posted by aga  
Wish i'd spent the extra $ and gotten ground glass Erlenmeyers as well, so everything could be plugged into everything else.[Edited on 15-11-2015 by aga]


They don't make ground glass to plain glass tube adapters that you can stick into a drilled rubber stopper? I would think that those would be popular for cheapskate chemists when the ground stuff started becoming popular and even now. Hell, I'd like some because I want to use those gallon pickle jars for stuff.

[Edited on 16-11-2015 by TheIdeanator]
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Oscilllator
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[*] posted on 16-11-2015 at 01:41


Quote: Originally posted by TheIdeanator  
They don't make ground glass to plain glass tube adapters that you can stick into a drilled rubber stopper? I would think that those would be popular for cheapskate chemists when the ground stuff started becoming popular and even now. Hell, I'd like some because I want to use those gallon pickle jars for stuff.

Methinks this is what you are looking for:
http://www.laboyglass.com/vacuum-adapter-straight-with-19-22...
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TheIdeanator
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[*] posted on 16-11-2015 at 10:36


Not exactly. I was thinking of one without barbs but that would likely suffice in all applications where rubber stoppers can be used.

Bonus points: you can attach the un-ground flask with hose to the system and manually agitate one without disturbing the other.
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[*] posted on 16-11-2015 at 23:46


Quote: Originally posted by TheIdeanator  
These things are ground 24/40 and I found a great diy heating mantle that I could build for $5-10 per unit and a simple heater driver for maybe $25 all prettied up. I'll be visiting the guy(again) on Wednesday in the hopes that he'll be available this time.

[Edited on 16-11-2015 by TheIdeanator]


You might wanna hold off on spending that $25 on making your own mantle. You can get yourself an actual heating mantle for $25 if you spend a few minutes searching, even one with magnetic stirring function if you are lucky.

[Edited on 17-11-2015 by Deathunter88]
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[*] posted on 17-11-2015 at 03:45


Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  

RBF, round bottom(ed) flask, no distinction between ground joint or not
the box of 250 ml rbf that I have are the older non-ground neck that require a bung.
[Edited on 15-11-2015 by Sulaiman]


I use almost no ground glass. My distillation setup is a Wurtz sidearm flask, a bung, a Liebig condenser with plain glass necks, and a drip tube, that does have a ground glass neck but I use PTFE tape to adapt it to the condenser. In case an all-glass apparatus is needed, I use a retort. Such old glassware came to me quite cheaply.




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