chemrox
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Hardware store solvents
Usually marketed as "Toluol" the stuff of commerce is running about $18/gallon in the US and is pretty good. The main contaminant was water. I
distilled 1 1/2 L discarding the first 100 ml or so until the distillate was clear. I used a vigeraux head and had a constant temp all the way to the
last 50 ml that were starting to turn brown. I stopped there. I've been running a MeOH still all afternoon and the output seems reasonably pure so
far. I haven't checked for formaldehyde yet but the main worry was water.
"When you let the dumbasses vote you end up with populism followed by autocracy and getting back is a bitch." Plato (sort of)
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psychokinetic
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Toluol =?
Toluene? Phenol?
Great that it is good quality. I've never had a problem with hardware store chemicals.... Just have to read the ingredients usually. 
“If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found
the object of his search.
I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.”
-Tesla
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watson.fawkes
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It's an older name for toluene, which link is the first Google hit for "toluol".
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psychokinetic
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Ah. That'll learn me. I was wondering if the 'ol' was a reference to a hydroxyl.
“If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found
the object of his search.
I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.”
-Tesla
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Sedit
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I can't find it anyware and have checked every hardware store, paint shop and automotive store around. I have even checked a few art shops but haven't
fully blanketed them yet.
Any suggestions? Right now my best source involves distilling a DCM/Acetone/MeOH/Toluene mixture.... Not exactly that fun or good way to get it but
its the cheepest unless someone can point me in the right direction.
Knowledge is useless to useless people...
"I see a lot of patterns in our behavior as a nation that parallel a lot of other historical processes. The fall of Rome, the fall of Germany — the
fall of the ruling country, the people who think they can do whatever they want without anybody else's consent. I've seen this story
before."~Maynard James Keenan
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DougTheMapper
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I haven't been able to find either toluene or methanol in any of my local stores. (Except HEET, but that has questionable purity.) A google product
search for either will easily yield decent prices for each.
Here is a gallon of toluene for under 25 USD delivered.
Now if only phenol, aniline, benzene, and n-hexane were sold like this...
[Edited on 15-12-2010 by DougTheMapper]
Victor Grignard is a methylated spirit.
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Fleaker
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Actually, I've found n-hexane, n-heptane, cyclohexane, and calcium hydride at the local military surplus store.
Neither flask nor beaker.
"Kid, you don't even know just what you don't know. "
--The Dark Lord Sauron
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MagicJigPipe
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"n-hexane were sold like this..."
This can be had at various solvent suppliers around the US. Very easily. Often, however, the minimum purchase amount is 5 gallons but it's really
cheap (comparable to gasoline).
Also, there is a place where you can get benzene in small quantities in the US. Let me know if you "need the source".
And Fleaker, what were the circumstances surrounding these purchases? Were these lab chemicals or what?
"There must be no barriers to freedom of inquiry ... There is no place for dogma in science. The scientist is free, and must be free to ask any
question, to doubt any assertion, to seek for any evidence, to correct any errors. ... We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it and
that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. And we know that as long as men are free to ask what they must, free to say what they think,
free to think what they will, freedom can never be lost, and science can never regress." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
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Fleaker
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The solvents were in 1 gallon metal tins marked as fuel and the hydride was in some sort of canister. This was at least 4 or 5 years ago, and I think
I mentioned it in a post here back then.
Neither flask nor beaker.
"Kid, you don't even know just what you don't know. "
--The Dark Lord Sauron
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Arthur Dent
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Here's one that's pretty vague. I have a 2 liter metal can of a solvent called "LePage Thinner for Rubber Cement" and the ingredient list just states
"Contains Petroleum Distillates". Do'H! So much for a detailed description of contents!
At least, there are some OTC solvents that are a bit better at describing contents, like Bestine:
http://papercement.com/bestine.html which is 100% heptane.
I have some solvent cans, inherited from the old days back at Xerox, that's composed of 1,1,1-Trichlorethane and isoparaffinic hydrocarbons... would
that be a component similar to benzene?
A solvent that intrigues me is something called "Taltine" brush cleaner, supposedly made of white spirits, it's very light and odorless. I had found a
website with a MSDS, but the link is dead, and the manufacturer's website is of no help at all.
Well at least, my hardware store has some things properly identified like Acetone and Methyl Alcohol. But i'm surprised at times how hard it is to
track down MSDS sheets on certain products, and how vague they can be in their description...
Robert
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Jor
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Don't use the 1,1,1-trichloroethane as a solvent for cleaning if you every intended to. It is now completely banned due to the Montreo Protocol, and
is very expensive to get from chemical suppliers. So you if you would ever need it, you are lucky!
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Arthur Dent
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Wow! 
Didn't know that. I'll hang on to the last 2 or 3 tins I have. I've had that stuff for the past 25 years, way back when I was a maintenance tech for
Xerox in '85!
- Robert
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ScienceSquirrel
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Quote: Originally posted by Fleaker  | | Actually, I've found n-hexane, n-heptane, cyclohexane, and calcium hydride at the local military surplus store. |
Calcium hydride was used as a hydrogen generator for balloons to carry radio arials etc aloft.
The cannister was attached to the balloon in some way, water was added and the balloon inflated.
It was good for special forces and operations at a distance as it was a lot lighter and safer to carry compared with cylinders.
Actually a bit of a nasty to sell in a military surplus store, might as well have some napalm, case of tracer, etc... 
Used extensively for weather balloons;
http://www.tpub.com/content/meteorology/TM-750-5-3/TM-750-5-...
[Edited on 20-12-2010 by ScienceSquirrel]
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100PercentChemistry
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[rquote=195168&tid=15060&author=DougTheMapper.
Now if only phenol, aniline, benzene, and n-hexane were sold like this...
[Edited on 15-12-2010 by DougTheMapper][/quote
I found some starter fluid containing. Hexane and diethyl ether
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careysub
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| Quote: Originally posted by Jor | | Don't use the 1,1,1-trichloroethane as a solvent for cleaning if you every intended to. It is now completely banned due to the Montreo Protocol, and
is very expensive to get from chemical suppliers. So you if you would ever need it, you are lucky! |
I few years ago I found 12 oz or so of 1,1,1-trichloroethane in my garage, dry cleaning spot removing solvent from the 1980s.
I did a little research and it looked like that was worth a couple of thousand dollars on the chemical trade.
What did I do with it?
I contacted a company that was offering this for sale and offered it to them for nothing if the would simply make shipping arrangements. Which they
did - sent me everything to package it up and mail it back to them.
Why? Because I didn't want it to escape into the air - and giving it to someone who values it at thousands of dollars (either buyer or seller) is the
best way to prevent that from happening. Additionally I doubted I could legally sell it on eBay or what-have-you anyway since I suspected it would
require some sort of license.
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