Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Borosilicate

golfpro - 24-5-2013 at 20:18

Hi,

Just wondering if kitchen Pyrex glass measuring beakers are made of borosilicate? I want a glass beaker 200-600ml borosilicate glass, as well as a stirring rod made of the same. I would like not to order anything from ebay or the like, I couldn't think of any sort of glass rod used for something else. Also, where might I find a glass red mercury thermometer as well? I have no qualifications in chem, just wanted to do a few experiments for fun.

Also, while I'm at it, I have been using nitrile blue gloves in handling HCl but I heard somewhere nitrile material is not what you want w/ sulfiric acid in high concentrations. And latex gloves always seem a bit thin for handling strong acids.

Thank you.

adamsium - 24-5-2013 at 20:25

Pyrex kitchenware is no longer made from borosilicate glass, but soda lime glass. It should definitely not be used in any applications where it will become hot.

Funkerman23 - 24-5-2013 at 20:26

while I can't give you exact dates if it was made within a few years chances are it isn't Borosilicate glass.A lot of the current kitchen grade pyrex is tempered glass and I can't say for sure it was actually made by corning but the more learned here will clarify

as for you glove question I've used neoprene on latex gloves but they weren't disposable. There really isn't a one material stops all solution here. Neoprene & butyl rubber are better for longer term work but nitrile should hold for incidental stuff.

[Edited on 25-5-2013 by Funkerman23]

paw_20 - 25-5-2013 at 08:51

Practice your surgeon's technique for glove removal. If you're fast enough, you should be able to whip 'em off before the acid (or most other sorts of nastiness) gets to your skin. That is, for small drops and such, the "incidental stuff" Funkerman mentions.

mr.crow - 25-5-2013 at 09:23

Never, Ever use kitchen pyrex

Depending on where you live it should be very easy to get real beakers. Even kids science stores might have them. EBAY

Nitrile gloves are fine. Just take them off right away if something spills

Also get safety glasses! The ones with seals all the way around.

golfpro - 25-5-2013 at 14:33

I never found any where in my city where they sell chemical beakers... Are there any other kitchen brands of glassware or anything borosilicate w/out ordering from ebay?

Fantasma4500 - 25-5-2013 at 14:37

another solution to handling H2SO4 might be a running tap..
i have had 98% on my hands for as much as 4 seconds, nothing else but just feeling it getting really hot VERY suddenly..
i didnt think experimenting it was a good idea, but running tap and the rest is pretty selfexplanatory.. otherwise get some gloves thats too big for you, so you can take them off very easily, and dump them into water or a sink or whatever

while were at it.. does anybody know a simple test for metaborosilicate glass without destroying them?
i have found 2 glass tubes and i dont know if its normal glass or meteborosilicate and i dont want to ruin them, in which heating would do..

halogen - 25-5-2013 at 15:31

, melting point maybe, not sure how quickly base will eat it but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosocyanine maybe feasible either.

binaryclock - 26-5-2013 at 18:51

Quote: Originally posted by mr.crow  
Never, Ever use kitchen pyrex

Depending on where you live it should be very easy to get real beakers. Even kids science stores might have them. EBAY

Nitrile gloves are fine. Just take them off right away if something spills

Also get safety glasses! The ones with seals all the way around.


Glasses are good for less caustic and acidic chemicals, but when dealing with any acids over 50%, you certainly want a full face shield!

Also I did a test on the weekend with 70%+ RFNA (red fuming nitric acid) on a nitrile glove. Know how long it took for smoke to start on the glove after adding just two drops? 3 seconds. In 5 seconds there was a hole in the glove, and in about 15 seconds the glove set on fire when I added a few more drops.

Take my advice, get a face shield when dealing with acids of high concentration!



[Edited on 27-5-2013 by binaryclock]

golfpro - 26-5-2013 at 19:00

Internet search I found nothing as far as a store open to public that sells scientific lab supplies. Funny how hard it is to get a basic 300ml borosilicate beaker

Also, somewhere I saw someone using a metal thermometer in highly concentrated H2SO4??? Is there some sort of coating you can get so it is unaffected by acid? If so what?

chemcam - 26-5-2013 at 19:12

I find it hard to believe that you couldn't find a store to buy a beaker. What country are you in? If USA and west coast there are a lot of places. Search harder.

Fantasma4500 - 27-5-2013 at 06:02

i think i know why tho.. bad reputation part of the world (;
despite this i have even imported glassware from israel! thats pretty far south plus its directly in war at the very moment..

the internet is where you wanna trade.. then you can always click away to see other offers in other stores

H2SO4 doesnt react with lead AFAIK, but i doubt there was being used lead for a thermometre.. glass would be better aswell as multi purpose.. perhaps it was some really fancy metal?
doubt it tho.. how would you see the temparature anyways?

Variscite - 27-5-2013 at 12:16

As other posters said, Pyrex glassware is no longer made from borosilicate glass. World Kitchen LLC, now sells kitchenware Pyrex. After they spun off from Corning in 1998, they licensed the brand to sell for kitchenware. The kitchenware they sell is made of tempered soda-lime glass, and is not very resistant to thermal shock.
Even then, Glassware that may be used for food or confused for food pursposes, should never be used in the lab, period.

zenosx - 27-5-2013 at 18:51

I have found that the gloves at Lowe's (in the paint section where you find the HCL etc>;) have very nice charts on the back for what their glove line can handle. They include everything from Conc. H2SO4 to HCL, Acetic Acid, MeOH, Hexanes, Heptane, etc, etc, etc.

There are several lines offered (Nitrile, Heavy Duty Chemical, Latex, Etc>;), and none are good for everything. They even offer different concentrations on the charts listed.

As for the kitchen grade Pyrex. I have used it for water baths not exceeding 100C (IE boiling water), and have in testing found that they shatter very easily at any temp above this, or any amount of thermal shock (including turning off a hotplate with a ceramic top -- (EG: Corning PC 320), which exploded on cool-down with a 1L kitchenware Pyrex bowl about 1/4 full.)

I do NOT recommend any of the Pyrex kitchenware in a lab unless you never plan to go over boiling water temp, and you only put Water in them. I would NEVER trust one of these containing ANY chemical.

I still use them for lower temp water baths (EG Di-ethyl Ether distillation or other low temp water bath distillations), but other than a crystallization dish, they should not be used in a lab otherwise.

They do make great crystallization dishes however :)

Build your lab to what you plan to use it for. I spent a couple years and a few thousand dollars to build a very small, but safe lab area with jointed glassware and high quality instruments. It all depends on how far you intend to take the hobby.

I am a complete newb in as far as the Dr. level guys in these forums that I don't even bother attempting to contribute to, only learn from what they give. I spend hours and hours in theoretical work to spend one hour in the lab.
If that is the only advice I would give beginners it would be that.

As far as glass:

There are MANY threads on obtaining quality lab-ware for your specific needs if you look around.
And don't Diss ebay, I have found extremely good deals from defunct chemical companies, and in fact purchase most of my jointed glassware on e-Bay as it is almost always cheaper if you know what to look for.

golfpro - 27-5-2013 at 18:53

I'll have to order online, I sat on the comp for an hour searching for any place that might sell a beaker to someone as a walk in in this city and none.

Is there a coating you can get to use on a metal needled thermometer so that it is unaffected by the acid? If so what might this be or will I have to get a glass one?

Thanks

chemcam - 28-5-2013 at 09:01

There are a lot of different acid resistant plastic coatings but if you do that to a thermometer it will lessen its accuracy by a little bit. Thermometers that do have a coating already have been calibrated to account for it at the manufacturing plant.

Dr.Bob - 29-5-2013 at 18:28

Go to Amazon and search for beaker, you will get 6000+ results. Some are even beakers... The more detailed your query, then the fewer hits. There are some nice kits of 3 to 5 sizes for ~$20 plus s/h (which varies a lot...) Here is a 400 ml one for $6 plus s/h. I sold some on there until I ran out.

http://www.amazon.com/PYREX-Griffin-400mL-Beaker-Graduated/d...

As for thermometers, buy a glass one off Ebay, and then it will withstand nearly any chemical you are likely to encounter. Most coatings on thermometers can't handle anything near what glass can, and they tend to crack or leak with time. I have used Teflon coated themocouples, and would use them for mild reactions, organics, and other work, but not strong acids. I have a few of those, which I am working on cataloging and photographing, but I would stick for simple glass ones for most cases, unless you really want digital readings, like for temp controllers or computer monitoring.