Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Building a lab

james2395 - 22-2-2014 at 21:25

Lab:
Organic molecule modelling kit
IR thermometer -50>900C
Multimeter
Water aspirator
Mortar and pestle
Glass petri dishes
Hand vacuum pump
Stirring rods
Digital pH meter
Pippettes in 4 different sizes
...and a distillation kit

Reagents:
Sodium hydroxide
Borax
Acetic acid
Salt (NaCl)
Magnesium
Ethanol
Acetone

What else do I need? Where can I get them?

thesmug - 22-2-2014 at 21:31

You need acids. You can get HCl as muriatic acid at the hardware store, H2SO4 as car battery acid at an auto parts store or sometimes as drain opener. You can't really get nitric OTC but you can (if you have the proper protective gear) get HF at auto parts stores, but it's extremely rare to find (and in very low conc.). You also need regular glassware such as beakers and flasks, but those you can pretty much only get online. I don't know much about intl. shipping regulations so I can't help you with finding any sites to buy from. You can also do a lot of reactions with copper sulfate, which you can buy as root killer. I can't think of any others right now but I will come back if I do.

[Edited on 2/23/14 by thesmug]

james2395 - 22-2-2014 at 21:36

Quote: Originally posted by thesmug  
You need acids. You can get HCl as muriatic acid at the hardware store, H2SO4 as car battery acid at an auto parts store or sometimes as drain opener. You can't really get nitric OTC but you can (if you have the proper protective gear) get HF at auto parts stores, but it's extremely rare to find (and in very low conc.). You also need regular glassware such as beakers and flasks, but those you can pretty much only get online. I don't know much about intl. shipping regulations so I can't help you with finding any sites to buy from. You can also do a lot of reactions with copper sulfate, which you can buy as root killer. I can't think of any others right now but I will come back if I do.

[Edited on 2/23/14 by thesmug]

Funnily enough I live near multiple pool supply shops (just a walk away) that sell muriatic acid, I'll check automative stores for battery acid though. Thanks for your help btw.

Edit: Just a quick search now brings up http://www.bunnings.com.au/hydrochloric-acid-20l_p0960236 (20L of hydrochloric acid for 45 dollars at Bunnings)

[Edited on 23-2-2014 by james2395]

thesmug - 22-2-2014 at 21:39

Quote: Originally posted by james2395  
Quote: Originally posted by thesmug  
You need acids. You can get HCl as muriatic acid at the hardware store, H2SO4 as car battery acid at an auto parts store or sometimes as drain opener. You can't really get nitric OTC but you can (if you have the proper protective gear) get HF at auto parts stores, but it's extremely rare to find (and in very low conc.). You also need regular glassware such as beakers and flasks, but those you can pretty much only get online. I don't know much about intl. shipping regulations so I can't help you with finding any sites to buy from. You can also do a lot of reactions with copper sulfate, which you can buy as root killer. I can't think of any others right now but I will come back if I do.

[Edited on 2/23/14 by thesmug]

Funnily enough I live near multiple pool supply shops (just a walk away) that sell muriatic acid, I'll check automative stores for battery acid though. Thanks for your help btw.

You're very welcome!

Mr_Magnesium - 22-2-2014 at 22:26

Fountain pump
Filter Flask
Buchner funnel + paper
Tubing
Keck clips
Watch glasses, petri dishes could take their place
Scales
Zip lock bags as a form of desiccator, cheap and quite effective!
LOTS of beakers
Retort stands, home built ones are good
Jars or reagent bottles to hold your chems
HDPE bottles are cheap and nice to store some chems
Crystallizing dish are amazing for oil/water baths
Gloves and safety equipment
Glass rod to prod stuff
Test tubes

Victoria has a lot of nice chemical suppliers that you can choose from.

Choose an experiment/project and then purchase or synthesize your own chemicals for it.



ZIGZIGLAR - 23-2-2014 at 03:26

Some of the more dangerous chemicals you'd normally struggle to get can be bought here. 98% Sulfuric acid, for example.

Mr_Magnesium - 23-2-2014 at 04:42

They sell to the public?

No way, i thought you needed an account with them.

I have scoured across their whole catalogue so many times.

Thanks for that

Peroxide here i come!

They also sell storage vials/bottles at really good prices, i regret my order from China.

[Edited on 23-2-2014 by Mr_Magnesium]

[Edited on 23-2-2014 by Mr_Magnesium]

thesmug - 23-2-2014 at 09:25

Quote: Originally posted by Mr_Magnesium  

Crystallizing dish are amazing for oil/water baths

I've been meaning to buy one of these. Where would you be able to buy one? I've only seen them sold by suppliers that only ship to institutions (schools, labs, etc...).

sargent1015 - 23-2-2014 at 15:55

That's an easy question:
eBay!!!

thesmug - 23-2-2014 at 16:25

Quote: Originally posted by sargent1015  
That's an easy question:
eBay!!!

Would that accommodate a 1000 ml boiling flask?

ZIGZIGLAR - 23-2-2014 at 16:37

Quote: Originally posted by thesmug  
Quote: Originally posted by sargent1015  
That's an easy question:
eBay!!!

Would that accommodate a 1000 ml boiling flask?


The diameter of a 1L RB flask is around 130mm, so no, it would not fit, but fitting it is only half the problem. You need a decent amount of volume to suround the lower hemisphere of the flask.

I use crystalization dishes to... well crystalize. If I'm using a hotplate as the source of heat for a water bath, I just use a pot from my kitchen, as they are taller than they are wide, unlike a crystalization dish. The depth helps the bath temperature to be more stable and controlable and also reduces the impact of evaporation (and the need to add more water, impacting on temperature again).

If you're happy to be a bit "ghetto" you can find really cheap rice cookers that work really well as a water bath. I have done this before, simply running the power supply of the rice cooker through a temperature controller. You can build your own heating and cooling digital thermostat really easily - eBay "stc1000" ($20). This is a basic unit that you need to wire up yourself and house in a jiffy box. Or you can buy them ready to go for about 3x the price.

Crystalizing dishes are usually quite small. Or least the ones I have are. I mostly use them in a bell jar vacuum, working with solids that have a low temperature decomposition issues.

ZIGZIGLAR - 23-2-2014 at 17:25

Quote: Originally posted by ZIGZIGLAR  
Some of the more dangerous chemicals you'd normally struggle to get can be bought here. 98% Sulfuric acid, for example.


The chemicals they supply aren't illegal to sell to the general public. It's just that most chemical suppliers refuse to deal with the public as a blanket solution, as they sell a lot of things that DO require user end disclosures or particular licenses.

ANpros request that you contact them prior to purchasing dangerous goods, purely so that they can generate a custom shipping quote, as dangerous goods cannot be shipped by AusPost.

Mr_Magnesium - 24-2-2014 at 01:21

150mm crystallizing dish works pretty well for my 1000ml flask. Put aluminium foil around the top to stop heat loss.

I used to use a pot but i didn't really like it that much, its hard to see whats going on.

If you were in Australia i could've U2U'd you a link but you are on the other side of the world.

http://www.cynmar.com/ProductDetail/11528205_Best-Value-Crys...

That looks pretty good but its only 140mm so its only going to have 5mm~ space

ZIGZIGLAR - 24-2-2014 at 02:38

Would you u2u me said link so I can compare with the suppliers I use?