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Copper
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Obtaining chemicals
Hello,
Do you know of any online place that sells chemicals at a reasonable price ( example is CuSO4 - 500g = $10 or lower), and where to get labware? And
shipping to Australia?
Thanks
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Copper
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Another example includes methanol.
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j_sum1
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So much depends on exactly what you want to do.
Methanol is available from hobby supplies places as a model aeroplane fuel. It is usually mixed with nitrous oxide, but if you ask you can usually
get t pure. Some enthusiasts like to mix up their own fuel. It is also available from places that supply fuel for car racing. Go where the rev
heads go.
I recommend you search on these boards for the exact chemicals and equipment you need. The question has been asked numerous times before. If there
is something you can't find then come back with a specific question.
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Bert
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Thread Moved
10-11-2015 at 07:18 |
SteampunkScientist
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CuSO4 is still sold in some of the older/rural hardware stores as "algae killer" for farmers ponds and such. You can usually get five pounds for a
few bucks. Potassium Nitrate is "Stump Killer" at most hardware stores, and Sublimated Sulfur is still available a many pharmacies.
Some say Science and Magick don't mix. I mix them all the time and the explosions are legendary!
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zed
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Oz can be very unfriendly, to chemical curiosity.
That being said, you can generally find somebody on e-bay, that would be happy to sell you a nuclear warhead, if they had one, and they thought they
could get away with shipping it.
You are also close to China, but I have no idea what Oz allows.
Me, I'm in the U.S.. Here, we can generally figure out how to acquire most common chemicals, and likewise.....lab equipment.
This however, varies from State to State. I've heard tales of young science enthusiasts, being arrested in Texas, just for buying glassware.
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Cou
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Quote: Originally posted by zed  | | This however, varies from State to State. I've heard tales of young science enthusiasts, being arrested in Texas, just for buying glassware.
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AFAIK, the Texas glassware law only applies if you are buying glassware from inside texas. Ordering from an amateur chemistry supplier outside of
texas and shipping to you is fine.
What exactly did they get charged for, or convicted of? A quick google search makes it seem that the law is never actually used in court or enforced,
not even against drug cooks.
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The Volatile Chemist
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Probably because they didn't need to use it to convict drug-makers. And it's not like they're trying to fill 'juvy' with innocent experimenters.
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Cou
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If you live close to a state border, you can definitely have the glassware shipped to an address at another state, then bring the glassware back home
in your car. But I'm still not sure about shipping to texas by mail.
Heh, this comment strikes me as funny. Sad world where the people who rob banks and beat people up for no reason at all, are placed in the same
building with those who opened a lithium battery and placed the lithium in mineral oil for their element collection.
[Edited on 10-11-2015 by Cou]
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The Volatile Chemist
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Yes, it is. Though I doubt this happens much. Probably over-dramatized in our little community here, unless we've lost a member to the bureaucracy...?
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Cou
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So far I haven't heard any stories of innocent amateur chemists actually going to jail JUST for innocent experimentation or ordering glassware alone.
Usually something leads up to it, like a tip to the local pigs from neighbors, or a fire causing the fire department to see the lab.
As for just ordering glassware, the worst I've ever seen is the glassware being confiscated.
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Mesa
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Auschems, argentscientific, vanbar, etc.
There are plenty of suppliers offering good quantities/range of high quality reagents(from a DIY chemist's perspective) and allowing shipping for most
products.
I'm not sure whether it's taboo to name specific suppliers here but given argentscientific is a member of these forums and advertises here...
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The Volatile Chemist
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| Quote: Originally posted by Mesa | Auschems, argentscientific, vanbar, etc.
There are plenty of suppliers offering good quantities/range of high quality reagents(from a DIY chemist's perspective) and allowing shipping for most
products.
I'm not sure whether it's taboo to name specific suppliers here but given argentscientific is a member of these forums and advertises here...
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Naa, not taboo at all, as long as you're not advertising (lol, the Nike shoes posts...) or obstructing forum usage.
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ahill
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Bunnings Hardware. In particular the gardening section will have CuSO4, along with a lot of other handy (and suprisingly good quality) chemicals right
along side it.
They have a bunch of good quality solvents too. Acetone, shellite (aka naptha), xylene, toluene, metho etc. I distilled DCM from their paint stripper
the other week - that was a bit of fun, and DCM is a very useful in the lab.
They also have good quality sodium hydroxide, which along with HCl are the two work horses in my lab. (which is really just a garage with a really
nice epoxy coated work bench.)
Unfortunately their HCl is rubbish. Only good for the crudest experiements. There are tricks on the net for cleaning it up to reagent quality, as long
as you dont require it concentrated.
I got 99.97% methanol from Race Fuels in South Melbourne. Had to buy 20 liters tho. Not much fun lugging that across the city, and catching trams and
trains - but hey - 20 liters of methanol ! Dunno what the other .03% is. Cyanide .. water - dunno - I distil it before I use it where I think that
might be a problem. It doesnt leave a residue.
I've dealt with all the other suppliers mentioned here and would recommend them all. (they all provide varying degrees of quality, responsiveness, and
value.)
Chinese (ebay/aliexpress) glassware / distillation sets are fantastic value for money - the police _will_ (eventually) visit you if you order them.
Unsettling, but not necessarily especially unpleasent. I also use a local crowd called westlab for glassware and other equipment - they have the
decided advantage of being quick. (I can order on Wednesday, and I'll have the stuff for the weekend.)
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Mesa
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The Recochem shellite from bunnings contains a non-volatile waxy/oily adulterant, they started including it in the product about 3-4 years ago.
What's wrong with the bunning's HCl? I thought the only significant impurity was iron.
Edit: Frontline hobbies sells pure/unmixed methanol and nitromethane in minimum 500ml's if you ask at the front counter. They package and bottle it
when it's requested so generally not on display.
A few other RC hobby stores also do this, but generally only for methanol.
[Edited on 11-11-2015 by Mesa]
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Cou
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| Quote: Originally posted by ahill |
Chinese (ebay/aliexpress) glassware / distillation sets are fantastic value for money - the police _will_ (eventually) visit you if you order them.
Unsettling, but not necessarily especially unpleasent.
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As a Texan... shit. Guess I'm gonna cancel that order and get a permit before ordering it again.
[Edited on 11-11-2015 by Cou]
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j_sum1
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OP hasn't come back.
Feel free to U2U me, Copper. I do have a few suggestions and sources in Australia. Depending of course on what specifically you need.
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Upsilon
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| Quote: Originally posted by ahill |
Chinese (ebay/aliexpress) glassware / distillation sets are fantastic value for money - the police _will_ (eventually) visit you if you order them.
Unsettling, but not necessarily especially unpleasent.
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Wait, what? Where do you live that they would actually do that? I ordered a distillation setup over a month ago, on eBay, from China, and I haven't
heard squat about it.
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Cou
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| Quote: Originally posted by Upsilon | | Quote: Originally posted by ahill |
Chinese (ebay/aliexpress) glassware / distillation sets are fantastic value for money - the police _will_ (eventually) visit you if you order them.
Unsettling, but not necessarily especially unpleasent.
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Wait, what? Where do you live that they would actually do that? I ordered a distillation setup over a month ago, on eBay, from China, and I haven't
heard squat about it. |
He lives in Australia, probably just as bad if not worse than Texas for amateur chemists.
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j_sum1
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Check upthread for the link to a discussion on the acquisition of glassware for Australians. Bottom line is that it is all pretty low-key. You can
buy and own pretty much anything you want. The police may turn up to check you aren't making methamphetamines. then they go away and leave you
alone.
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Upsilon
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| Quote: Originally posted by Cou |
He lives in Australia, probably just as bad if not worse than Texas for amateur chemists. |
Ah, ok. I'm in Florida so I guess I'm fine. I've order "scarier" things than distillation glassware before anyway without any problems (namely HgS
powder, As2S3 as the mineral orpiment, and a huge box of 3% hydrogen peroxide). Still, I suppose I have nothing to worry about since I'm not doing
anything wrong, but the confrontation would still be pretty unnerving. I'd rather have the NSA watching me than be confronted, in my opinion.
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ahill
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@Mesa - yeah I did used to distill the Bunnings shellite before I used it. Someone suggested a product called X55 solvent as an alternative to
shellite - I got some - but it smells like a mixture of burning dog turds, asphalt and headache - and has a pronounced greasyness - made me really
appreciate shellite.
I've seen something called vm&p naptha recommended - but I think maybe thats an Americanisim. In anycase with my few liters of shellite and X55
I've got more than I am every likely to use.
I dont know _what_ the impurity in their HCl is - iron sounds plausable. The MDS doesnt mention anything. I had some from years ago, and recently
bought a different branded one from them - but it seems to have the same issues - leaves a greyish crystalline residue when evaporated to dryness.
Addition of H2O2 causes an instant reddish brown discolouration. Some reactions I've done with it that I would expected to have been colourless were
more like mango puree !
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Tdep
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| Quote: Originally posted by ahill |
Addition of H2O2 causes an instant reddish brown discolouration. Some reactions I've done with it that I would expected to have been colourless were
more like mango puree ! |
Just seconding the orange colouration on addition of peroxide. Definitely surprised me on the odd occasion, like making copper chloride by the typical
HCl + peroxide method goes funky colours. Always considered it to be iron as well, not that i've ever had proof of that
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HeYBrO
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| Quote: Originally posted by ahill | Bunnings Hardware. In particular the gardening section will have CuSO4, along with a lot of other handy (and suprisingly good quality) chemicals right
along side it.
They have a bunch of good quality solvents too. Acetone, shellite (aka naptha), xylene, toluene, metho etc. I distilled DCM from their paint stripper
the other week - that was a bit of fun, and DCM is a very useful in the lab.
They also have good quality sodium hydroxide, which along with HCl are the two work horses in my lab. (which is really just a garage with a really
nice epoxy coated work bench.)
Unfortunately their HCl is rubbish. Only good for the crudest experiements. There are tricks on the net for cleaning it up to reagent quality, as long
as you dont require it concentrated.
I got 99.97% methanol from Race Fuels in South Melbourne. Had to buy 20 liters tho. Not much fun lugging that across the city, and catching trams and
trains - but hey - 20 liters of methanol ! Dunno what the other .03% is. Cyanide .. water - dunno - I distil it before I use it where I think that
might be a problem. It doesnt leave a residue.
I've dealt with all the other suppliers mentioned here and would recommend them all. (they all provide varying degrees of quality, responsiveness, and
value.)
Chinese (ebay/aliexpress) glassware / distillation sets are fantastic value for money - the police _will_ (eventually) visit you if you order them.
Unsettling, but not necessarily especially unpleasent. I also use a local crowd called westlab for glassware and other equipment - they have the
decided advantage of being quick. (I can order on Wednesday, and I'll have the stuff for the weekend.)
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did you get diggers HCL? that stuff is ~28% and clear as water. Very cheap too. Since you're a fan of large amounts, keep your eye out on eBay as
there is a guy who sometimes is selling 5 L of 68% HNO3 for $40 !!! and 50% H2O2 o.o and they're in melbourne if i recall correctly.
[Edited on 13-11-2015 by HeYBrO]
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j_sum1
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I have had good experience with Diggers HCl too. No iron detected. Concentration varies a bit. Last two bottles I titrated came in at 10.8 M and
9.6M
Actually, I have had no reason to complain on any Diggers products.
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ave369
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Why not try a simple test? There is a ton of reagents that allow to detect trivalent iron. Rhodanide, cyanoferrate, tannic acid all give strong,
easily detectable colors. Just remember to neutralize the acid beforehand if you use cyanoferrate.
[Edited on 13-11-2015 by ave369]
Smells like ammonia....
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