Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Best Websites to buy Chemistry Glassware, Equipment and Apparatus in Australia

The Chemistry Kingdom - 14-1-2016 at 15:05

Does anyone know any websites that use australian currency and shipping prices for buying chemistry glassware, equipment and apparatus westlab is one of these but unfortunately they dont sell jointed flasks (Ground glass joints e.g. 24/40) or distillation glassware


If you know any of the websites as I have described please reply with a link below

j_sum1 - 14-1-2016 at 15:12

auschems.com is a good one for a lot of basic things. Doesn't stock everything you could want. Chem prices tend to be good. Equipment prices vary from great to meh.

Check the link in my sig.

The Chemistry Kingdom - 14-1-2016 at 15:25

Auschems.com only stocks 24/29 and 29/32 tapered glassware making it very inconvenient for my purposes but on the otherhand it stoks pretty good reagents for low prices

j_sum1 - 14-1-2016 at 15:42

Well, 24/29 is pretty much compatible with 24/40. What size were you after?
I got my glassware from a Chinese supplier. Details are in a thread on synthsource.
There are plenty of good suppliers of lab glass on eBay. I suggest reading around on this site a bit -- if you order from overseas you can expect a visit from the police. It's a standard check and generally no hassle. But it is better to know what to expect. Look for a thread with "police" in the title.

HeYBrO - 14-1-2016 at 16:27

theres a guy on the forum from canada who sells stuff in CAD which is 1:1 with the AUD last time i checked. He has all 24/40 stuff- but like j_sum says, you can use 24/29 with 24/40, all that really matters is the first number, which is the diameter and then the second number is the length of the joint. Last time I was on westlab they were selling stuff for way too much. e.g. K2CO3 500g ~$80!! anyway there are threads on this exact thing so do some searching of your own - we are not here to spoon feed you; learning to find your own answers is one of the most valuable things you can learn.

Hope you find your answer, if you find anything new post it!

The Chemistry Kingdom - 14-1-2016 at 16:57
Quote:

theres a guy on the forum from canada who sells stuff in CAD which is 1:1 with the AUD last time i checked. He has all 24/40 stuff- but like j_sum says, you can use 24/29 with 24/40, all that really matters is the first number, which is the diameter and then the second number is the length of the joint. Last time I was on westlab they were selling stuff for way too much. e.g. K2CO3 500g ~$80!! anyway there are threads on this exact thing so do some searching of your own - we are not here to spoo



When you said 24/29 jointed glassware is compatible with 24/40 do you mean it just fits or is it leakproof to a reasonable extent if that is the case i am happy to buy 24/29

The Chemistry Kingdom - 14-1-2016 at 16:59

I found a site called Australian Scientific which has good glassware but i dont know how to order anything off it does anyone know how to order if you do please reply telling me how to order

j_sum1 - 14-1-2016 at 17:29

You would need to contact them and get prices. They are not listed on their website.
You will need to fill out an EUD (end user declaration) form before they sold you any glassware -- with the exception of simple stuff like beakers. Any Australian supplier of any repute will require an EUD. If they don't, then they are trying to fly under the radar legally and I would avoid them. It may also turn out that this supplier will not supply to an individual -- only a company. Anyway, make contact and find out what the whole story is.

If you need an aussie supplier then there is this ebay seller: http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/sciencesupply?_trksid=p2053788
I can't really vouch for them. I think I have purchased one item from them before. You will still likely need to complete an EUD for sep funnels or distillation glasware.


On ground glass joints, all properly made joints have the same taper angle and so one fits in the other even if they are size mismatched. 24/40 just gives a larger contact surface. Sometimes when mixing 24/40 female and 24/29 male you bump into the shoulder of the glassware. But that is a rarity. they are otherwise compatible.

The Chemistry Kingdom - 14-1-2016 at 19:20

j sum1 where do you mainly shop and what size taper joint do have most of ?

j_sum1 - 14-1-2016 at 19:32

For glassware -- I did one big shop through a contact in China. Details are in the synthsource site.
I have also bought incidental small pieces of glassware through eBay sellers. Dechem has usually had better prices than others I look at and I have never had reason to complain about the quality. I always to a comparison first though.
With the exception of occasional bits of 24/29 and a number of unjointed pieces, all of my glass is 24/40.

Chemicals -- four sources:
I have inherited a lot from a school lab throw out pile. Much of it is really old.
The majority of what I buy is OTC stuff -- often from the supermarket or hardware store.
Occasionally I order stuff -- ebay sellers or chem suppliers in various locations around the world.
Some chems I synthesise myself. Sulfuric and nitric acid for example.

The Chemistry Kingdom - 14-1-2016 at 19:52

does deschem supply good glassware I have heard rumors that it cant withstand a vacuum or something like that because I might want to shop there

JJay - 14-1-2016 at 22:22

Deschem is one of the best glassware suppliers on eBay.

The Chemistry Kingdom - 15-1-2016 at 16:23

Are they better than layboy or synthware because laboy is pretty good so is synthware

j_sum1 - 15-1-2016 at 16:26

I have not bought layboy or synthware so I cannot do a direct comparison.
Deschem tends to be cheaper -- especially when shipping to Oz is included.

NedsHead - 15-1-2016 at 18:54

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
Any Australian supplier of any repute will require an EUD. If they don't, then they are trying to fly under the radar legally and I would avoid them.


That's not entirely true and depends on what state he is in, Here is S.A there are no regulations on glassware and so no EUD required.
I have shopped with http://sciencesupply.com.au/shop/ in the past and found them fantastic, their glassware of good quality and delivery was fast.
Here are their guidelines for each state in Australia http://sciencesupply.com.au/Ethos.html

j_sum1 - 15-1-2016 at 20:57

Ok. I stand corrected. Once again I thought there was uniformity across the different states. (Crazy country.)

Oscilllator - 16-1-2016 at 15:57

One site nobody has mentioned yet is Haines educational. They mainly supply schools, but will sell apparatus to individuals and have some very nice prices. I have found their shipping to be a bit slow in the past though. The also have some cheap chemicals, but I think they don't sell to individuals. You might be able to convince them to with some of the more benign chemicals, though. It's certainly worth a look at any rate.

Texium - 16-1-2016 at 16:00

Quote: Originally posted by The Chemistry Kingdom  
Are they better than layboy or synthware because laboy is pretty good so is synthware
Just want to point out, Laboy is actually rebranded Synthware. You can see scratched out Synthware logos on many of their pieces if you look closely. So it's almost always better to buy from Synthware than from Laboy.

JJay - 17-1-2016 at 07:23

Deschem's glassware performs favorably compared to Laboy and Corning.

It is constructed a bit differently and tends more towards minimalism and simplicity of construction but with the same features at a fraction of the price. I haven't broken any of my Deschem stuff, but I have broken lots of Laboy and Corning....

NedsHead - 29-1-2016 at 21:10

I received my new, 3ltr RBF from http://sciencesupply.com.au/shop/ today, ordered on Monday and arrived today (Saturday) total cost including shipping was $38.99

DSC_2251.jpg - 1.7MB DSC_2249.jpg - 1.6MB

HeYBrO - 29-1-2016 at 22:30

Damn that thing is huge! what are you going to use it for?

NedsHead - 29-1-2016 at 22:55

It dawned on me while reaching into the fridge for the 2ltr bottle of milk just how big this thing I had ordered was going to be! But I have 3 immediate uses for it, (1) I get my sulphuric acid in 4ltr bottles of 32% battery acid, now I can concentrate it all in one run (with topping up as I go). (2) To distil a useful quantity of nitric acid in one run. and my third excuse is to distil a 4ltr bottle of ethylene glycol radiator coolant that is sitting in the shed

NeonPulse - 30-1-2016 at 03:26

There is Wiltronics: http://www.wiltronics.com.au/ click the Science link for labware.
They are a good source of glassware and other lab consumables. prices are not the cheapest though but there is bulk buy discounts, They also cater for electronics hobbyists.
They do also have an Ebay store but they have much more on offer here.
I have bought a couple of mercury thermometers and beakers from them before and i would say the quality is worth it.

ziqquratu - 31-1-2016 at 15:45

Livingstone - www.livingstone.com.au, based somewhere in Sydney - has served me well many times in the past 10-12 years - both privately and in various university-based labs. Their site could use a redesign, but their prices are good, shipping costs are very reasonable, and the quality of most of the items I've purchased in the past has been acceptable (there were a couple of stupidly cheap separating funnels - as in, less than $10 for a 1L funnel - which leaked rather badly, no matter what I did to fix the taps, but for $10 it was worth taking the obvious risk of it being crap, and otherwise I've had no issues).

They have a mix of very cheap (but still reasonable quality, in my experience) and some of the more expensive brand-name stuff, so you can take your pick.

Oh, and it's worth taking a browse through some of the sections other than the obvious "laboratory" link on the front page, if you're after other types of consumables or equipment not traditionally associated with chemistry.

semesa - 2-2-2016 at 21:53

I can vouch for sciencesupply. I've made several orders from them and never been unhappy with the purchase.

A few weeks ago I ordered a 1L separatory funnel and ring clamp. It arrived 4 days later but the end had broken off the funnel. I emailed them about it and offered to provide pictures, they said it wouldn't be necessary and a replacement arrived 4 days later.

j_sum1 - 10-2-2016 at 18:43

Is there a good OTC source of KOH in Aus?
It seems to be the sort of thing that should be fairly readily available but I don't know of anyone who supplies it.

diddi - 10-2-2016 at 19:40

yes I can get you some :) jsum

j_sum1 - 10-2-2016 at 21:00

Oh I already have some. But I love otc and was thinking about what to do after I had converted it all into metallic potassium.

ziqquratu - 11-2-2016 at 14:28

In my experience, soap making suppliers are the best shot for decent grade KOH. If you have one close by, lucky you; a quick search turned up http://www.heirloombodycare.com.au/potassium-hydroxide, who apparently ship it via AusPost; I'm sure others would turn up with more careful searching.

JMus - 17-2-2021 at 16:09

Quote: Originally posted by semesa  
I can vouch for sciencesupply. I've made several orders from them and never been unhappy with the purchase.

A few weeks ago I ordered a 1L separatory funnel and ring clamp. It arrived 4 days later but the end had broken off the funnel. I emailed them about it and offered to provide pictures, they said it wouldn't be necessary and a replacement arrived 4 days later.


Has anyone recently bought from them? I placed an order at the beginning of this month and have emailed then about the order and received no reply.

nleslie321 - 17-3-2021 at 10:03

Quote: Originally posted by JMus  
Quote: Originally posted by semesa  
I can vouch for sciencesupply. I've made several orders from them and never been unhappy with the purchase.

A few weeks ago I ordered a 1L separatory funnel and ring clamp. It arrived 4 days later but the end had broken off the funnel. I emailed them about it and offered to provide pictures, they said it wouldn't be necessary and a replacement arrived 4 days later.


Has anyone recently bought from them? I placed an order at the beginning of this month and have emailed then about the order and received no reply.


The owner sold the business last year. i was on a first name basis with him and he did me good deals. Ive not bought anything since he sold it.

Lion850 - 17-3-2021 at 10:38

Science Essentials in Brisbane sells to hobbyists but I only ever go to pick up. Peter is the contact. Most of my glassware and others were ordered on eBay, usually from Aussie stocked suppliers but some from China. So far everything arrived in good condition.