Hello! Odd thing for a first post, but I was thinking of doing some esters for fun, and acetate esters are pretty popular as a fun ester project!
My worry is mostly in outright buying the acetic anhydride [and possibly sulfuric acid because I have no idea where a good hardware store is local]
because they're both List II in the US and while the minimum required report quantities are more than enough to get some for my project, I have no
idea if it'd get me listed somewhere if I just bought less than a liter of each from like, lab alley, if anyone would have a suggestion?
[Edited on 2-15-2022 by Texium]Texium - 15-2-2022 at 11:22
I edited the title because there’s a bajillion threads about acetic anhydride on this forum. Make sure to give your threads clear titles. No, there
are no legal repercussions for buying List II chemicals. Sellers are supposed to keep transaction records for 2 years, but the DEA would typically
have no reason to request those, and if they did they’d probably be looking for a specific person or group who they were already investigating.
Ace Hardware typically sells decent quality Rooto sulfuric acid and they have locations in every state.NitroCat - 15-2-2022 at 12:19
Thank you for the title edit!
Also apparently there *are* aces around here, they just have a weird name in this town/state. I miss AZ a loot of the time.
DEA inquiries
MadHatter - 15-2-2022 at 18:32
Quote:
Ace Hardware typically sells decent quality Rooto sulfuric acid and they have locations in every state.
Texium, I 2nd that on both Ace Hardware and Rooto. The very
best in OTC H2SO4 I've ever encountered. The
weight on a half gallon of this acid feels like a gallon of milk. This brand is 92-93% IIRC. Easy to spot in the store too.
Like some other substances the bottle is wrapped in a plastic bag. $12.97+tax for the half gallon at my local Ace.
NitroCat, DEA list II is generally for very large quantities of compounds on that list.
[Edited on 2022/2/16 by MadHatter]Deathunter88 - 16-2-2022 at 09:56
To add on to that, might be a 'controversial' opinion but it seems that the war on drugs is winding down, at least in the US.
For instance, Lowes now proudly advertises their drain cleaner as being sulfuric acid, something you would not have seen a couple years ago.
Similarly, Toluene and pure lye is also now widely available in hardware stores.
[Edited on 16-2-2022 by Deathunter88]Texium - 16-2-2022 at 10:13
I’ve seen Roebic “100% LYE!” drain cleaner for sale at Lowe’s since I started out in 2014, but I’ve only ever seen sulfuric acid at Ace.
Same for toluene. I haven’t been looking too closely though. It appears that product you linked is available near me, and I’ve never seen it
before. Not sure if it just wasn’t available in Texas (I haven’t been hunting for OTC chemicals since I moved to Utah) or if it’s actually a new
product that has become available everywhere. I’ll have to pay more attention next time I’m at either the Big Orange Box or the Big Blue Box and
see if their chemical selection has noticeably improved.Rainwater - 16-2-2022 at 13:33
Here in the south, the orange box is not where you want to go for quality. Most of the drain cleaners are hydroxide based around 40% koh and %40 naoh.
Their is a good selection of bisulfate's, but most are not pure. No nitrates at all. Even their fertilizer is less than 5%. Good source for smb and
nacl.
The blue box tho.... (evil grin) i love that place. Even their pvc & nylon fitting are a lot cheaper. But nothing beats the mom and pop hardware
stores. Especially farm suppliers.ManyInterests - 27-2-2022 at 18:18
Westlab (Canadian site but also ships to the US) sells acetic Anhydride here
Apparently the chemical is no longer restricted in Canada, which I find rather surprising. I originally thought I needed some for a Pentaerythritol
synthesis, but I actually realized I needed something else for that. Also I found a place that sells PE so I think it would be better just to buy it
than go through the painstaking process of making it.
