Sciencemadness Discussion Board - broken labglass in shipping

broken labglass in shipping

resveratrol - 12-3-2012 at 12:48

has anyone experienced broken glass shipped through FedEx? I recently ordered a nice dewar condenser, and the top inlet adapter broke off in shipping (it could have been packed better).

Wondering if it would be worth my time to contact FedEx at this point, because the shipper has already dismissed herself from liability by saying she has a 5 day warranty.......unfortunately I didn't get to opening the package until day 13

GreenD - 12-3-2012 at 12:50

Do contact them.

resveratrol - 12-3-2012 at 13:11

such a shitty place for any piece of glassware to break. although, I do have an idea for a potential fix. I can attempt to shove some tubing into the hole that remains where the inlet was, and attempt to seal it with mighty putty. Kind of ghetto, but it was a nice condenser by chemglass...id hate to see it go to waste.

Bot0nist - 12-3-2012 at 13:37

A graham condenser I ordered came with the internal coil broken. I contacted the shipper, who filed a claim with FedEx. Three months later, and a lot of mean emails, and I got my new condenser. It was better packed the second time.

RonPaul2012 - 12-3-2012 at 16:10

Quote: Originally posted by Bot0nist

A graham condenser I ordered came with the internal coil broken. I contacted the shipper, who filed a claim with FedEx. Three months later, and a lot of mean emails, and I got my new condenser. It was better packed the second time.

Yeah , that's how we do it

tastyphenome - 12-3-2012 at 19:04

i dont see how a warranty can start before you get the package? im pretty sure that is invalid how did you pay for this? if paypal or cc u can prolly dispute/chargeback

resveratrol - 12-3-2012 at 20:36

sorry, i should clarify. the warranty ended 5 days after i received the parcel....i was late to opening it due to being out of town.

resveratrol - 12-3-2012 at 20:39

Quote: Originally posted by Bot0nist

A graham condenser I ordered came with the internal coil broken.

I just re-read this....How does this happen in the mail lol? Only the internal coil breaks and not the jacket. Hmmm, sounds sketchy.

bfesser - 12-3-2012 at 20:47

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia" target="_blank">Inertia</a> <img src="../scipics/_wiki.png" />

[Edited on 7/9/13 by bfesser]

resveratrol - 12-3-2012 at 20:58

Lol true. At first I was assuming the jacket to be structurally weaker, but that little coil would probably snap off like a twig if thrown with enough force.

[<a href="u2u.php?action=send&username=bfesser">bfesser</a>: removed unnecessary quote(s)]

[Edited on 7/9/13 by bfesser]

Bot0nist - 13-3-2012 at 02:39

Shake your graham condenser back and forth vigorously and report what breaks first.

You can feel the coil moving back and forth inside the jacket.

What's "sketchy"? Crudely hand drawn? Not familiar with that slang. You mean I am dishonest in my account? I have pictures of it that I sent to the vendor, if you like.

[Edited on 13-3-2012 by Bot0nist]

Lambda-Eyde - 13-3-2012 at 10:28

Quote: Originally posted by resveratrol

although, I do have an idea for a potential fix. I can attempt to shove some tubing into the hole that remains where the inlet was, and attempt to seal it with mighty putty. Kind of ghetto, but it was a nice condenser by chemglass...id hate to see it go to waste.

I don't know where you live, but here in the developed part of the world we have something called "glassblowers". One of those should be able to fix your condenser for a small fee.

resveratrol - 13-3-2012 at 10:53

Quote: Originally posted by Bot0nist

Shake your graham condenser back and forth vigorously and report what breaks first.

Haha. No. I love my graham's, i would never do anything to endanger its health.

And by sketchy I meant dishonest on the sellers account, lol. not you.

resveratrol - 13-3-2012 at 10:54

Quote: Originally posted by Lambda-Eyde

Quote: Originally posted by resveratrol

I don't know where you live, but here in the developed part of the world we have something called "glassblowers". One of those should be able to fix your condenser for a small fee.

I happen to know one. But I don't know if it would be an easy fix....maybe I'll ask him.

Dr.Bob - 13-3-2012 at 13:03

I have had at least one, well packed Graham condenser break in shipping. They are the easiest type to break, as the coil inside is very susceptible to inertial breakage as bfessor stated. I found one broken before I shipped, and can't imagine how to fix it practically. If you know a good glassblower, that is great, but I am finding it harder to find them lately.

The challenge is that if FedEx says that you did not complain that the package was damaged when it was delivered, then they will claim that means it was not packaged correctly. I have even gone as far as to push a pipe-cleaner or other item into the end of the condenser to try to stabilize the coil inside. But those are just hard to pack, ship or insure. I have given up on shipping insurance, as most places require you to document the packing, get a signature at delivery, which must note the damage at that time, and then the package has to be inspected at FedEx, etc, for a claim. (See http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=16914#... for a good photo of this trick)

I just self-insure most things, and have only had a few items break other than overseas shipments, which are very hard to control and cost prohibitive to insure. Those have been worse. I had one package from UPS which I received once which had tire marks on it, it had been crushed, and they claimed that it must have started that way. They did eventually pay that one after I threatened to post the photos of the damage on the web.

What type of dewar condenser was it? Can you post of photo? I have a few left. Maybe I can give you a better deal for an intact one.

Bob

[Edited on 13-3-2012 by Dr.Bob]

Lambda-Eyde - 13-3-2012 at 13:23

Quote: Originally posted by resveratrol

I happen to know one. But I don't know if it would be an easy fix....maybe I'll ask him.

If it's just the top inlet adapter that's broken off, then it should be trivial for a scientific glassblower. That's routine work.

Quote: Originally posted by Dr.Bob

I have even gone as far as to push a pipe-cleaner or other item into the end of the condenser to try to stabilize the coil inside. But those are just hard to pack, ship or insure. I have given up on shipping insurance, as most places require you to document the packing, get a signature at delivery, which must note the damage at that time, and then the package has to be inspected at FedEx, etc, for a claim.

Expediglass does something similar:

I've received three coiled condensers (one 200 mm and two 400 mm) without such protection, all of them survived the trip from UK. I might have been lucky...

vmelkon - 13-3-2012 at 16:03

I have had a graham condensor internal tubing break as well.
The shipping papers at the chinese side of things said "broken". Strange.

The problem was that the outer glass has been pushed in by a machine finger or a person with some tool while it was molten and it made contact with the inner tubing. While cooling, it probably caused the inner tube to crack.

The seller quickly sent a new one.
The new condensor has the same issue : the outer tubing has been pushed in.

There are actually 3 pushes in the glass. I think it is for keeping the coil stable.

Dr.Bob - 14-3-2012 at 07:42

The indents are supposed to keep the inner coil from rattling in shipping, cleaning and storage. But the tolerances for the indents have be be close to avoid having the coil get squeezed by them too much. That is why those condensers cost more and get broken often. I prefer simpler liebigs and other more sturdy ones for my use, since I am rough on stuff in the lab. I often use a vigreau column as an air condenser, then add a liebig on top to catch what goes through. That keeps things from boiling dry, even if the water pressure drops or the water is warm.

resveratrol - 16-3-2012 at 08:04

Quote: Originally posted by Dr.Bob

What type of dewar condenser was it? Can you post of photo? I have a few left. Maybe I can give you a better deal for an intact one.
[Edited on 13-3-2012 by Dr.Bob]

I paid about 95$ for this one:

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6766/dewar1.jpg

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/4949/saddewar.jpg

Dr.Bob - 20-3-2012 at 08:20

I have a couple just like that, as well as some smaller ones with 24/40 and hose barb connections. I also have ton of other traps. I will try to get some photos posted soon on my thread, as that is one of the boxes I have yet to list on my sheet or get photos of yet.

That seems like a reasonable price for one that complex, assuming it was not broken. :-(

Bob