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Author: Subject: Homemade and Repurposed Lab Gear
Mateo_swe
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[*] posted on 6-5-2021 at 09:38


I just have to ask you all, something that came into my head when browsing a store.
Can these steam cleaners (see pic) be used as a steam source when you want to steam distill something?
I have never tried one of these so im not familiar with them.
If one would just connect a short hose at the steam outlet and connect other end to a glass tube that is inserted into second neck of a reaction flask with the glass tube reach into the bottom of reaction flask, submerged into the liquid.
Then just start the unit and top it up with distilled water when needed.
Would this work, or is the steam from these units not good somehow?
It seems much easier than to set up a steam generator in the usual way.
Any thoughts on this?



Steam washer.jpg - 31kB
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SuperOxide
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[*] posted on 24-5-2021 at 15:49


Heres my very minor contribution.

I only have 1 hotplate, and I needed to warm up some polyphosphoric acid to ~90 °C so I could easily pour it into a beaker that was on the hotplate (being heated and stirred).

I looked around for something to heat it up, and luckily I found this candle warmer thingy that my ex got from some BS candle pyramid scheme years ago (Scentsy, if my memory serves me right).
candle warmer.jpg - 88kB
The surface gets almost exactly to 100 °C, so it worked perfectly for my needs! And while I can't control the temperature, it still works great for many purposes that I've needed it for since.

Because the silly candle pyramid schemes seem to have been popular, I've seen these candle warmers at a lot of my friends places, so they're rather common. If you live with a female, I'd say there's a 85% chance you have one or two in your house that you don't know about, just collecting dust :-)




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Fyndium
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[*] posted on 27-5-2021 at 03:58


An all-glass vacuum flask, great for recrystallizations.

flask.jpg - 51kB
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Belowzero
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[*] posted on 27-5-2021 at 14:06


Quote: Originally posted by Fyndium  
An all-glass vacuum flask, great for recrystallizations.



This needs a little more explanation, what is the intended use for such a flask?
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Fyndium
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[*] posted on 28-5-2021 at 05:55


It is sold as a thermos flask, but it's just made out of glass. Older ages flasks were made of glass, but as people mishandle them, they will break, so they were superseded by SS flasks.

No other, but slower thermal gradient will allow for bigger crystal growth without using insulated vessels, and it is visually more appealing as it's transparent. Also, some stuff react with stainless steel, so no issue here.
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Konduktor
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[*] posted on 13-7-2021 at 21:40


Quote: Originally posted by Mateo_swe  
I just have to ask you all, something that came into my head when browsing a store.
Can these steam cleaners (see pic) be used as a steam source when you want to steam distill something?
I have never tried one of these so im not familiar with them.
If one would just connect a short hose at the steam outlet and connect other end to a glass tube that is inserted into second neck of a reaction flask with the glass tube reach into the bottom of reaction flask, submerged into the liquid.
Then just start the unit and top it up with distilled water when needed.
Would this work, or is the steam from these units not good somehow?
It seems much easier than to set up a steam generator in the usual way.
Any thoughts on this?





Not really. Those devices do not generate a continuous flow of steam, and need time to boil the next portion of water after about 20 seconds of use. This thing is, sadly, useless for anything except for cleaning bathroom tiles.
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Mateo_swe
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[*] posted on 16-8-2021 at 04:55


Thanks Konductor

Good to know these cleaning vacuum devices dont produce a continuous flow of steam.
Now i can forget that idea and focus on other things.
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ManyInterests
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[*] posted on 19-11-2021 at 14:10


I won't put up a picture. But I had a coffee maker that went kaput, and what I did was use it as a makeshift filteration apparature. I put a pair of funnels where the coffee filter used to go to let as much space for my carafe. It isn't 100% borosilliciate glass, but it does handle boiling water very well for obvious reasons. It also holds more than 1 liter of water, which means I can normally filter and clean everything before having to treat the water and pour it down the drain.
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mayko
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[*] posted on 30-5-2022 at 18:40


Maybe you've seen inexpensive plastic drain snakes like this one?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Cobra-Plastic-Drain-stick/100075799...

They're great for clearing soggy plant matter out of the boiling flask after a steam distillation (not bad for hair clogs either)




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zed
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[*] posted on 14-7-2022 at 21:06


Ummm. My Ringstands finally got built.

Ten pound, Cast iron, weight plates, strongly resisted being drilled. My High Speed Steel, Drill Bits, just couldn't drill the required holes. The plates, of unknown, scrap origin, just couldn't be drilled. Too hard.

I finally bought a set of Stubby Tungsten Carbide Drill Bits. The 6mm Carbide bit, produced a hole, approximately correct for my purposes. Easy peasy. The holes were a little large but tap-able. I just stuck a 1/4 inch, 20... Tap into the chuck of my drill press, and I turned the chuck by hand. A few stainless steel bolts to attach hardware and Bingo! Heave duty ring stands.
If you have the weight plates, it's an easy build.
Just bolt your threaded end plates to yer weight plates, and screw in 1/2 inch copper pipe,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185499951448?epid=14015609736&h...



[Edited on 15-7-2022 by zed]
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[*] posted on 15-7-2022 at 17:17


Quote: Originally posted by zed  
Ummm. My Ringstands finally got built.

Pictures... or it didn't happen ;)
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[*] posted on 30-8-2022 at 14:10
Water chiller


Here is a chiller I made from a water fountain I found in a dumpster. I used a cheap 12v pump and a juice bottle as a reservoir to make a closed loop and it stays around 5⁰C. I mounted it in a box on wheels so it's real easy to move around. I have since insulated all the tubing and put a guard over the fan.

20200221_092722.jpg - 3.1MB

[Edited on 8-30-2022 by Gammatron]
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[*] posted on 27-9-2022 at 20:27
3D Printed Labware


Bought a 3D printer earlier this year, and I love it. Lately,I have been doing some preliminary investigations on the chemical resistance of polylactic acid (PLA)filament. It's actually amazingly durable.

This first round, I printed five little beakers with grey Sunlu PLA+ filament. Wall thickness of 1mm. So far I've exposed them for an extended (24+ hours) period of time to:

Acetone
IPA, 91%
Toluene
Methyl Ethyl Ketone
Turpentine (the real stuff)

I would have bet on failure from the turp, tol, and MEK, however, only obvious damage was "leakage" of turpentine. No melting or deforming of the plastic with any solvents checked so far, only a bit of "whitening" after evap of the solvents.


Be interested to see how this stuff stands up to acids and bases; but at this moment I wouldn't hesitate to use this stuff for things like funnels and what not.

platest.jpg - 241kB

platestend.jpg - 204kB




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[*] posted on 27-9-2022 at 20:35


I haven't done any rigorous chemical testing on PLA but the only one's I've come across so far that destroy it are sulfuric acid and DCM. I have found it to hold up well against hydrocarbons, curious if it could withstand gasoline though.

[Edited on 9-28-2022 by Gammatron]




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[*] posted on 27-9-2022 at 20:48


From the mix of solvents I exposed it to, I think PLA+ would probably be OK with gasoline for quick things like funneling. Wouldn't want to STORE hydrocarbon solvents in it. I'm curious about bases though, as I've seen ammonium hydroxide solution fuck up some PET.

I've got a variety of liquid acids to throw at it too:

Formic
GAA
HCL
Sulfcuric
Nitric




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[*] posted on 27-9-2022 at 20:57


Hmmm yeah I wonder how it'd hold to NaOH, especially if hot. And given the effects I've seen with H2SO4, I would imagine most strong acids would attack it. Definitely do some more testing and let's us know!



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Yttrium2
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[*] posted on 8-10-2022 at 09:52


I’d really like to know if there is a commercially available bookshelf or some such box, preferably with a sash, that I could use for a fume hood.



Thanks
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[*] posted on 9-10-2022 at 01:21


Don't know if you find something suitable, why don't you go to hardware store, but some wood or chip boards and assemble it by yourself? If you find the bookshelf or whatever then you're pretty likely to still do some manual work meant for adaptation for chemical use.
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[*] posted on 14-10-2022 at 05:59


Post-pandemic world is full of cheap second-hand UVC disinfection lamps, and I came across this one in working condition, for as little as $1. Works great for visualising plates, only needs some shield to prevent me from going blind.


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[*] posted on 24-11-2022 at 05:12


supposedly HDD platters are made with a Pt alloy coating them i'm gonna test mine by using them in a hypochlorite cell




i was experimenting with soldering wires directly to the platter rather than just clamping on to them,
they seem to be coated in a thin non metallic or oxide layer but brushing that off with a scotch pad left me with a mat surface that readily bonded to the solder.

now to finish building the rest of the cell

*edit by arkoma--image resize*

Ia9iP9E.jpg - 218kB

[Edited on 11-25-2022 by arkoma]
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[*] posted on 24-11-2022 at 05:59


I'll be interested to see how that turns out, I have a bunch of those and old HHD's are cheap too.



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[*] posted on 27-11-2022 at 20:41


Bottle cut: I use for a test tube stand & for dust funnel :-)

Any size, any mouth diameter...

smooths the corners to prevent cuts.


ampolla2.jpg - 602kB ampolla3.jpg - 550kB ampolla.jpg - 564kB
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[*] posted on 29-11-2022 at 16:29
3D printed PLA Bosshead


Running trials (so to speak) now. Generic PLA, 50% infill (gyroid)



[Edited on 11-30-2022 by arkoma]

20221129_180336.jpg - 538kB




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[*] posted on 3-12-2022 at 17:21


Quote: Originally posted by Gammatron  
Here is a chiller I made from a water fountain I found in a dumpster. I used a cheap 12v pump and a juice bottle as a reservoir to make a closed loop and it stays around 5⁰C. I mounted it in a box on wheels so it's real easy to move around. I have since insulated all the tubing and put a guard over the fan.



[Edited on 8-30-2022 by Gammatron]

Now this is quite impressive! What do you use as the coolant? Do you have the ability to control the temperature?
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[*] posted on 4-12-2022 at 16:30


Thanks! There is a thermostat which I have set to the lowest temperature but I found that If I bypass it I can get below 0⁰C so I bought some electronic controllers so I can just set the temp to whatever I want. I use antifreeze for coolant.



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