Sciencemadness Discussion Board

buying a kit

BenZeen - 16-1-2010 at 02:40

Hi, what is the best way to purchase a 19/22 glass chemistry kit?
would the big companies like SigmaAaldrich deal with an amateur chemist like me? Or would i be better of trying to buy a kit off ebay or collecting the pieces individually? Does anybody here care to share their experience in procuring glassware?
Thanks, BenZ

Picric-A - 16-1-2010 at 06:59

It would probably be cheaper to buy it all seperatly form somewhere like ebay but buying a kit would be easy.
Ebay is good for quickfit, must you have 19/22 or will any joint size do?

Eliteforum - 16-1-2010 at 09:02

http://www.unitedglasstech.com

[Edited on 16-1-2010 by Eliteforum]

BenZeen - 16-1-2010 at 19:17

Hi, thanks for the replies
Picric-A - I am leaning towards a 19/22 over a 24/40 just because I am very paranoid and dont want to be in possesion of labware capable of producing largeish amounts of anything should the blue and white swine come knocking. Also, Mainly because a 19/22 will be perfectly capable of fulfilling my needs without going the next size up.
Eliteforum - Thanks mate, I sent them an email and they replied with a very positive answer (nice people!) so I will probly give them a go. Cheers everyone!;)

crazyboy - 16-1-2010 at 20:07

Quote: Originally posted by BenZeen  
Hi, thanks for the replies
Picric-A - I am leaning towards a 19/22 over a 24/40 just because I am very paranoid and dont want to be in possesion of labware capable of producing largeish amounts of anything should the blue and white swine come knocking. Also, Mainly because a 19/22 will be perfectly capable of fulfilling my needs without going the next size up.
Eliteforum - Thanks mate, I sent them an email and they replied with a very positive answer (nice people!) so I will probly give them a go. Cheers everyone!;)


24/40 glass is much easier to find parts for. The police are unlikely to come to your house unless you buy 10L+ glassware and even then except in Texas they have no legal precedent to search your house. If the police were for some reason to come to your house they wouldn't check the joint size and say "oh never mind there must have been a mistake this man couldn't have been involved in illegal activities, these joints are 19/22!." Hell no, if they see glassware they may suspicious regardless of its size but if you don't own or make any illegal chemicals there is nothing they can really do.

I'm tired of people acting so paranoid if you haven't done anything wrong you have nothing to hide! America may be becoming more and more regulated but we aren't at the point where every purchase is scrutinized and analyzed. For the most part the government doesn't care about this kind of thing, stop looking over your shoulder so much; Big Brother isn't there.

[Edited on 17-1-2010 by crazyboy]

Picric-A - 17-1-2010 at 01:56

I have a 14/23 set and i find it perfect, if i need larger qtys i just use a expansion adapter. crazyboy- i disagree B19 and B14 are the easiest to find parts for on ebay.

BenZeen has a point crazyboy, its when the police find I2 stained 20l flasks they get really worried, not so much a small 14/23 set.

BenZeen - 17-1-2010 at 05:31

Now I am a bit confused, because it is hard to find graham and allhin condensers (amongst other things) in the 19/22 st size, but this doesnt appear to be much a problem for 22/40 st kits.
If i could find everything i wanted in 19/22 i would have no problem, but there does appear to be limitations of inventory for the smaller size kits like Crazyboy said. The only reason i chose 19/22 is because it seemed like a reasonable size for my purposes.
I seriously had no idea there were so many different sized chemistry sets on the market...I guess it would be wise to go with the most commonly used sizes (whatever they may be)

Eliteforum - 17-1-2010 at 06:09

UnitedGlassTech should sort you out. I've bought a few bits from them. Always arrived this side of the pond as it was sent; (ie: not broken).

They can also have bits and bobs made up if you can't find/source it anywhere else.

bbartlog - 17-1-2010 at 06:18

I've also had good experiences with United Glass Tech. Mind you, the last thing I ordered from them *did* arrive broken (a distillation adapter) - not because it was packaged badly but seemingly someone ignored the big 'FRAGILE' sticker and dropped a 100kg crate on it or something. But United Glass sent me another adapter without even requesting the pictures of the damage that I had taken.
There is cheaper glass out there (Kantu, Samduk... but I'd sooner boil reagents in my German-made coffeepot) and probably also better glass, but the balance of price and quality from UG suits me pretty well.

bbartlog - 17-1-2010 at 06:28

As regards 24/40 versus 19/22, currently on EBay (restricting search results to just Healthcare, Lab & Life Science) the listing counts run 995 for 24/40 versus 181 for 19/22, a more than 5:1 difference in terms of item count in favor of 24/40. However, 19/22 still seems to be pretty common and I wouldn't reject it on that basis if it otherwise meets your needs.

BenZeen - 17-1-2010 at 06:34

Thanks for all the responses people!
I agree that UGT seem to be the best option for buying glassware, and they say its borosilicate Pyrex glass so the quality cant be too bad either.
I am going to order some as soon as i have sufficiant funds, and I will be sure to let you know if I have any visits from Porky.
Eliteforum - how are the laws over in there in the U.K, concerning glassware?

BenZeen - 17-1-2010 at 06:36

bbartlog - im pretty sure most of these people dont ship to Oz.
Check ebay.com.au - there are basically no kits for sale

itchyfruit - 17-1-2010 at 07:52

Ebay number 150405950881. this is a 24 / 19 set but the seller has other sizes.

Eliteforum - 17-1-2010 at 13:17

Quote: Originally posted by BenZeen  

Eliteforum - how are the laws over in there in the U.K, concerning glassware?


As far as I'm aware there are no restrictions any labware. Only chemicals, but that's to be expected.

I've had a few orders of glassware opened by customs, and it's been repacked and sent on it's way. Only knew it had been opened as it had "INSPECTED BY CUSTOMS" tape all over it.