Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Laboy glass: coiled condensers?

Funkerman23 - 1-5-2012 at 19:49

Before I attempt to buy one a coiled condenser from Laboy can anybody tell me if their coils hold up well? I understand that coiled condensers are known to be fragile but some makes seem to hold up better than others. I thank you for your time as always.




[Edited on 2-5-2012 by Funkerman23]

jamit - 1-5-2012 at 20:07

I've purchased a set of distillation kit from Laboy about 2 years ago. I think they're very good. I haven't had any problems with them and I've used all their condenser types (liebig, vigreaux, graham, and allihn).

However, not all stuff made from China is good. You need to ask around. Some are really bad, like their magnetic hotplates and stirrers.

Anyway, good luck.


mnick12 - 1-5-2012 at 20:32

I have 200mm graham condenser from Laboy, and so far it has held up very well. All of the products which I have purchased from Laboy, are in my opinion, top notch. They are cheap, good quality, and surprisingly quick shipping.

Good luck.

sargent1015 - 1-5-2012 at 21:07

My favorite coil condenser, and pretty much any glassware, has to be from Ace Glass, Inc. If you can get your hands on anything from these guys, I highly recommend it! American quality is by far the way to go if you can afford it.

http://www.aceglass.com/ (Search condenser and a huge list of good stuff pops up)

In the long run, maybe its worth it to buy one condenser from Ace and not have to worry about the Chinese one breaking...

Just a thought! Let us know what you decide!

Dragunov-21 - 2-5-2012 at 01:31

Laboy is quality, in my experience. China might have a (declining) reputation of primarily being made up of manufacturers with poor/cheap engineering and no QC processes, but Laboy is not one of these manufacturers.

Aperturescience27 - 22-5-2012 at 20:40

Has anyone tried Laboy under vacuum?

Funkerman23 - 5-6-2012 at 11:26

Quote: Originally posted by Aperturescience27  
Has anyone tried Laboy under vacuum?
this thread may help. (although I don't plan on buying thermometers from Laboy anytime soon) http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=18316
it seems it will hold a good vacuum( assuming grease is used) and the quality is good.

[Edited on 5-6-2012 by Funkerman23]

vmelkon - 7-6-2012 at 12:57

I had bought a 299$ kit from echowzh123, just like the link posted above mentions.
I did a vacuum dist of water and I used a fridge compressor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHRurSLAiwk

However, the condenser I used is liebeg.

I also have the graham one. I think all the glassware in the kit is decent, but the graham arrived broken. He shipped a new one for free.

I suspect it was broken because the condenser outer tube has been pinched in. It had made contact with the inner glass (the coil). On cooling, it probably broke. The broken part is like a 3 mm x 3mm area, but it obviously makes the entire thing useless.

They pinch the glass so that the inner coil doesn't vibrate and break when you move it around. It is there just to stabilize the coil.

Mailinmypocket - 6-3-2013 at 13:10

I bought a reflux condenser from Laboy very recently, I am very impressed!

For $40 I got this nice tightly coiled condenser, arrived in pristine condition :) The only problem with the order is that instead of a vacuum take off adapter they sent an adapter without the barbed vacuum connection(seen in the background)! They are sending me the proper piece and allowing me to keep the one I received in error due to their mistake! Unreal customer service! :D



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Hockeydemon - 7-3-2013 at 00:37

I'm glad someone posted this! If only I would've read it the other day haha. I recently bought a bunch of things from there (filter papers, clamps, stands, thermometer ect..), but I was afraid to buy their condensers.

There shipping was very fast for what I got from them and well priced. I'll have to hop back on there and look at their glassware.

Funkerman23 - 7-3-2013 at 09:16

got a favor to ask of ya:when you get the thermometer post back with how it turns out. thinking about trying their 10/18 ground one but I dunno what to expect.
Quote: Originally posted by Hockeydemon  
I'm glad someone posted this! If only I would've read it the other day haha. I recently bought a bunch of things from there (filter papers, clamps, stands, thermometer ect..), but I was afraid to buy their condensers.

There shipping was very fast for what I got from them and well priced. I'll have to hop back on there and look at their glassware.


[Edited on 7-3-2013 by Funkerman23]

Hockeydemon - 7-3-2013 at 10:43

Quote: Originally posted by Funkerman23  
got a favor to ask of ya:when you get the thermometer post back with how it turns out. thinking about trying their 10/18 ground one but I dunno what to expect.


Hahaha I'm a liar.. Sorry. I thought I had purchased my thermometer there, but after double checking my orders I didn't.

I purchased a 24/40 three-way glass adapter 105° Bent and Thermometer adapter/inlet adapter,24/40 from them.. Those two items should be here today I hope..

Sorry my mistake :/

[Edited on 7-3-2013 by Hockeydemon]

Funkerman23 - 17-6-2013 at 20:32

No worries I bought a pair of the 10/18 thermometers anyway and for the price ther are OK. They got better about linearity but one of mine had the scale off by 2 degrees. other than a quirk like that they are indeed in the +/- 1 degree accuracy range. The thermometers themselves are made by synthware.