mep500
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Low-Budget Homelab beginnings
Hello,
I am really interrested in home chemistry and because Christmas is right before us, I decided to invest some of my Christmas money to start building a
small homelab. But while I was researching the glassware etc. I encountered two problems:
1. The ridiculous price of glassware in Germany. Every single glassware retailer is selling simple glassware for a huge amount of money (e.g. a 16cm
Liebig-cooler is 40 bucks.) so I think I'll order the glassware from aliexpress and I already found a retailer that sells borosilicate glassware.
2. The ability to stir/heat a mixture. I really don't know what to do, I need a hotplate/stirrer for beakers and a heating mantle for round bottom
flasks. What should I do about this? A oil bath is fairly dangerous and doesn't reach temperatures needed for certain reactions.
While trying to avoid all these problems I already have a small list of the things I want to buy at first:
everything has a 24/40 standardized joints
1l 2-neck flask
500ml round bottom flask
300mm liebig condenser
vacuum adapter
thermometer adapter 75° bend
measuring cylinders 50ml/250ml
hotplate / stirrer 2l max 300°C
500ml buchner funnel + flask
1 beaker 1l,500ml and 250ml
and last but not least a vacuum aspirator
All this would cost me a little bit over 300€, I would still have some space upwards within the budget but the lower the better. What are your
thoughts, did I miss anything?
Thanks already
[Edited on 10-12-2017 by mep500]
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Vosoryx
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Try ebay. There's a lot of reputable sellers on there. (Deschem, sam, etc.)
If possile, order it in kits, it's cheaper that way. The hotplate might run you a few bucks - they're expensive. Trust me, i don't have one for that
reason.
You CAN also use a sand bath in place of a heating mantle, but it limits your max tempurature a bit.
You don't need a stirrer for everything, you can get by without one for a lot of experiments.
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Sigmatropic
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A vacuum pump for distillations and filtrations, perhaps a crucible or two. Some erlenmeyers are handy for quickly throwing up a solution. Other than
that I don't think you've missed very much. Depending on the kind of chemistry you're going to be doing an efficient reflux condenser is optional.
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Plunkett
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Like Vosoryx said, eBay is your friend. I bought a great kit from China and while it took a month to arrive, everything was extremely well packed and
there were no bubbles in the glass that I could find.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1000-New-Organic-Chemistry-Laborato...
Your also going to want a water pump for circulating water through your condenser. I got an aquarium pump at a local pet shop for a few dollars.
[Edited on 10-12-2017 by Plunkett]
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JJay
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China's glass is as good as anyone else's, and if you're willing to tolerate seconds you can get some incredible deals. On eBay, Nanshin and Deschem
are both reputable sellers. A lot of the cheap Chinese glass is actually very high quality, though, and some of the upper-tier Chinese glass brands
(e.g. Laboy, Synthware) have a reputation for quality. I'd suggest buying a German or American hotplate stirrer unless you get one that is really
high-end.
There is really no good substitute for a heating mantle, but I have used a table salt heating bath with some success. They really don't transfer heat
fast enough for many reactions, though. It's possible to buy heating blocks that fit round bottom flasks on hotplates, but they are expensive, and I
don't really know how well they work.
You'll definitely want some means of measuring temperature.
Oh and on eBay Sam10086 is good also, as are laboratoryglassware (Reacware), sunny-baby2013, Getty Laboratory Glass and others. Avoid the Hong
Kong-based Yee Chen and its many aliases.
[Edited on 11-12-2017 by JJay]
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NEMO-Chemistry
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Small set of cheap scales, measuring is important. A camping stove can heat sand baths fairly well if needed. Or ebay has some mantels for around
£65. Boiling chips help as well.
First discover what interests you most, then collect equipment based on that choice. One thing to keep in mind....
It would take a great deal of money to set up a small lab in one go. Few start this way, most of us build up over a couple of years.
The great thing about doing it slowly is, you tend to find reactions that fit what equipment you got, this can take you down some really fascinating
paths. There is a German chem supplier currently on UK ebay, its written in German! but the prices look really good.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Molekularsieb-3A-0-3nm-Molsieb-Tr...
[Edited on 10-12-2017 by NEMO-Chemistry]
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