Difference between revisions of "Stopcock"

From Sciencemadness Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(Created page with "{{Stub}} A '''stopcock''' is a form of valve used to control the flow of a liquid or gas. ==General== A stopcock consists of an elongated conical item with a handle and a gro...")
 
 
(9 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{Stub}}
 
{{Stub}}
A '''stopcock''' is a form of valve used to control the flow of a liquid or gas.
+
[[File:Stopcock PTFE and glass with seal screw.jpg|thumb|320px|Glass (above) and PTFE (below) stopcocks with rubber and plastic seal and their respective screw caps.]]
 +
A '''stopcock''' is a form of valve used to control the flow of a liquid or gas in a lab item.
  
 
==General==
 
==General==
A stopcock consists of an elongated conical item with a handle and a ground glass joint, always male. Most models are full glass and have a two or three way bored holes and are full glass. Other models, are hollow and have two bored holes. Stopcocks are made of borosilicate glass or [[Polytetrafluoroethylene|PTFE]].
+
A stopcock consists of an elongated conical item with a handle and a ground glass joint, always male. Most models are full glass and have a two or three way bored holes and are full glass. Other models, are hollow and have two bored holes. Stopcocks are always made of borosilicate glass or [[Polytetrafluoroethylene|PTFE]].
  
Stopcocks are often parts of laboratory glassware such as ([[automatic burette|automatic]]) [[burette]]s, [[chromatography column]], [[Dean-Stark apparatus]], [[dropping funnel]]s, [[Imhoff cone]], [[Schlenk flask]]s/[[Schlenk line|lines]], [[separatory funnel]]s, various [[adapter]]s.
+
Stopcocks are often parts of laboratory glassware such as ([[automatic burette|automatic]]) [[burette]]s, [[chromatography column]], [[Dean-Stark apparatus]], [[dropping funnel]]s, [[gas collecting tube]], [[gas syringe]], [[Imhoff cone]], [[Schlenk flask]]s/[[Schlenk line|lines]], [[separatory funnel]]s, various [[adapter]]s.
  
 
==Availability==
 
==Availability==
 
Stopcocks can be bought from lab suppliers or online.
 
Stopcocks can be bought from lab suppliers or online.
  
You can also scavenge them from broken glassware, like [[separatory funnel]]s.
+
You can also scavenge them from broken glassware, like burettes, [[dropping funnel|dropping]] and [[separatory funnel]]s.
  
 
==Maintenance==
 
==Maintenance==
Make sure stopcocks are always well greased. Teflon stopcocks do not normally require greasing.
+
Make sure stopcocks are always well greased, to prevent them from freezing. Teflon stopcocks do not normally require greasing, but it's still a good idea to grease them, especially if you're handling burettes, where precision is crucial when titrating exact volumes.
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
Line 22: Line 23:
 
*[http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=75712 Leaking stopcocks]
 
*[http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=75712 Leaking stopcocks]
 
*[http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=65764 My teflon stopcock is leaking, is there anyway to fix this?]
 
*[http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=65764 My teflon stopcock is leaking, is there anyway to fix this?]
 +
*[http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=81620 Stopcock replacement]
  
 
[[Category:Lab equipment]]
 
[[Category:Lab equipment]]
[[Category:Rubberware]]
+
[[Category:Glassware]]
 +
[[Category:Plasticware]]

Latest revision as of 21:34, 7 April 2019

Glass (above) and PTFE (below) stopcocks with rubber and plastic seal and their respective screw caps.

A stopcock is a form of valve used to control the flow of a liquid or gas in a lab item.

General

A stopcock consists of an elongated conical item with a handle and a ground glass joint, always male. Most models are full glass and have a two or three way bored holes and are full glass. Other models, are hollow and have two bored holes. Stopcocks are always made of borosilicate glass or PTFE.

Stopcocks are often parts of laboratory glassware such as (automatic) burettes, chromatography column, Dean-Stark apparatus, dropping funnels, gas collecting tube, gas syringe, Imhoff cone, Schlenk flasks/lines, separatory funnels, various adapters.

Availability

Stopcocks can be bought from lab suppliers or online.

You can also scavenge them from broken glassware, like burettes, dropping and separatory funnels.

Maintenance

Make sure stopcocks are always well greased, to prevent them from freezing. Teflon stopcocks do not normally require greasing, but it's still a good idea to grease them, especially if you're handling burettes, where precision is crucial when titrating exact volumes.

References

Relevant Sciencemadness threads