Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Yet another condenser Q

szuko03 - 12-10-2015 at 08:23

So I purchased a Liebig condenser on Ebay, its Pyrex brand and all that good stuff. It appears that the female end is not frosted, I asked him to take a measurement of the joints because seeing that made me wonder if its a 24/40 or not.

My main question is has anyone heard of this? Does anyone know if it is going to work for my set up? Why must my desire to save big on Ebay make getting a functional condenser so hard?

Detonationology - 12-10-2015 at 08:30

If it is sold as 24/40, that's what it will fit. The purpose of the frosted finish on the ground glass is to make a more snug, airtight fit. I doubt it would be very airtight with any other glass, slick or frosted. I have problems as it is keeping frosted ground glass together with a keck clip.

Texium - 12-10-2015 at 08:32

If it isn't frosted, it probably isn't designed to work with ground glass joints. Is the male end frosted though? Usually you'll see either both ends or neither, although sometimes you see some weird condensers that only have a male ground glass end, though in my experience that's generally with Friedrich's condensers.

szuko03 - 12-10-2015 at 08:41

The male end is frosted, clearly visible. This is the link to it:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331626463953?_trksid=p2060353.m2749....

I had him take measurements and he said the female end would fit the measurements for the male end snug.

ave369 - 12-10-2015 at 09:09

Try using PTFE tape as a sealant for the unfrosted end. Wrap one loop of the tape around the male end of the other glassware you insert into this condenser.

szuko03 - 12-10-2015 at 09:23

Cool and just so people know my plan for this particular condenser is just to get back into practice as it has been like 6 years since i operated a lab in this sense. I am going to first distill water from water, so if anything goes wrong its no big deal. From there i will move to alcohol from water and all minor things without using it for anything "dangerous" until i get something more appropriate for that application. At some point i will need something a little more suited for those types of things but for now i am just anxious to get working :)

CharlieA - 12-10-2015 at 16:16

The female end in the photo in your link is clearly NOT frosted.

Have you received this item yet? Why do you have these questions now, after you bought it and before you received it?

24/40 refers to dimensions, not frosting.

jamit - 12-10-2015 at 22:02

the condenser that have the male joints frosted and the female joints not frosted are meant to be used for reflux, unless you want to attach a rubber cork on the female joint. They are also usually the "older" model and therefore not compatible with any frosted joints. I have these and I use it to reflux my reaction flasks.

aga - 13-10-2015 at 00:37

Surely the 'frosting' is the result of the Grinding operation for a ground glass joint ?

No frosting = not ground glass.

UC235 - 13-10-2015 at 00:49

Quote: Originally posted by aga  
Surely the 'frosting' is the result of the Grinding operation for a ground glass joint ?

No frosting = not ground glass.


Except the rare cases where the resulting joint is polished to oblivion to eliminate all rough surfaces and sharp edges like Clear-Seal joint glassware for making diazomethane.

CharlieA - 13-10-2015 at 04:48

Quote: Originally posted by jamit  
the condenser that have the male joints frosted and the female joints not frosted are meant to be used for reflux, unless you want to attach a rubber cork on the female joint. They are also usually the "older" model and therefore not compatible with any frosted joints. I have these and I use it to reflux my reaction flasks.


Thanks for this post! You can learn something everyday! Charlie

CharlieA - 13-10-2015 at 04:49

Quote: Originally posted by jamit  
the condenser that have the male joints frosted and the female joints not frosted are meant to be used for reflux, unless you want to attach a rubber cork on the female joint. They are also usually the "older" model and therefore not compatible with any frosted joints. I have these and I use it to reflux my reaction flasks.


Thanks for this post! You can learn something everyday! Charlie

szuko03 - 13-10-2015 at 07:51

Quote: Originally posted by CharlieA  
The female end in the photo in your link is clearly NOT frosted.

Have you received this item yet? Why do you have these questions now, after you bought it and before you received it?

24/40 refers to dimensions, not frosting.


To answer these angry sounding questions. (i know they arent meant to be taken that way)

Item was purchased on my phone so the image looked frosted on the male end and the female end was barely visible so my thinking was "male end frosted and can be found at the end of a system (sometimes) should make a frosted female end as they normally are in the middle of the system" obviously my thinking was incorrect and after discovering that i wanted to find out what application it would serve as its pyrex brand too (leads me to believe it was intentional and not a mistake, unlike if it was generic)

No I havent received it and the point of learning is to do it prior to a physical practice (at least in this case) so i figured whether i received it or not was irreverent as i will come here and as anyway. And I know it refers to the joint hence why i had him take measurements of the female end. However, all of taht could have been inferred by reading the post ;)

But thank you guys I figured it could be used for reflux and if i can get it to work well enough things like distilling water from water and alcohol from water as they are not dangerous. But a reflux apparatus is always a good thing and I am kinda careful around glass so i will find a use for it in the next 50 years i plan on being alive for. Even if it is some kind of long glass straw to take to fancy restaurants then so be it, not all of us get all end of the world pissed off when stuff isnt exactly right :)

If i was going to get upset about money wasted it would be student loans and the fact that i am learning more about laboratory equipment name and function then my 3 years majoring in chemistry at Uconn :/

[Edited on 13-10-2015 by szuko03]

chemrox - 13-10-2015 at 17:27

It shouldn't be hard to get a condenser on ebay. Look at the pics! ST joints are frosted. 24/40 is USA size and 24/29 is used all over the rest of the world. They are mutually compatible so whatever is available. I've never seen a day when a condenser with 24/40 joints wasn't available and cheap.

ave369 - 14-10-2015 at 06:27

Pay attention to the PTFE tape tip. It will allow you to use this condenser safely like any other condenser.

szuko03 - 14-10-2015 at 06:28

LOL its not that i cant find them I got a free broken Friedrich because the guy broke the water in line either boxing or in shipping and now i bought a reflux condenser labeled as a 24/40 liebig condenser . But I located a place thats "down the road" because of the little slip up so now i can buy them on Ebay and pick them up in person :)

I am a little gun shy about the shipping since i was happy about the price and now have a useless friedrich condenser which i refuse to throw away and will get fixed in the following many years :)

But thanks for all the advice its about learning not about getting it right the first time!

[Edited on 14-10-2015 by szuko03]

szuko03 - 14-10-2015 at 06:32

Quote: Originally posted by ave369  
Pay attention to the PTFE tape tip. It will allow you to use this condenser safely like any other condenser.


Believe me i have and am getting the tape because i still want to use it for distilling water from water as its been literally 6 years since i touched a glass on glass joint that wasnt made for tobacco use ;) And i am very anxious to fire up this elaborate set up i dropped like 400 building over the last month and a half

Thanks again everyone its all appreciated seriously without this site i guess id have to randomly contact one of my old professors or high school teachers not that i couldnt but this website is a life saver!

Praxichys - 14-10-2015 at 08:37

If the water line on the Friedrichs condenser is the only thing that's broken, try cleaning it really well, rough it up with some emery cloth, and make the repair yourself with epoxy putty. I have used JB weld with success to repair noncritical areas on glassware.

szuko03 - 14-10-2015 at 08:52

Quote: Originally posted by Praxichys  
If the water line on the Friedrichs condenser is the only thing that's broken, try cleaning it really well, rough it up with some emery cloth, and make the repair yourself with epoxy putty. I have used JB weld with success to repair noncritical areas on glassware.


Thats what i was hoping to do. I figured because it is a low pressure situation completely lacking any heat or harsh conditions a simple repair should hold up. It isnt broken at the base so there is like a millimeter of glass coming off the body at its lowest point. I tried contacting a glass blower for some information but they never got back to me. Its a beautiful piece, never saw a Friedrich in my life, so i really want to fix it. I was all worried about a vertical condenser or not being "ready" for it but really fell in love wtih the thing when it arrived and to be rendered useless because of the water in tube being broken almost at the base with absolutely no damage to the body... i could have cried.