Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Homemade and Repurposed Lab Gear

Homemade and Repurposed Lab Gear

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Mateo_swe - 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?

SuperOxide - 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).

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 :-)

Fyndium - 27-5-2021 at 03:58

An all-glass vacuum flask, great for recrystallizations.

Belowzero - 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?

Fyndium - 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 Older ages flasks were made of glass, but as people mishandle them, they will break, so they were superseded by SS flasks.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.

Konduktor - 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.

Mateo_swe - 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.

ManyInterests - 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.

mayko - 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)

zed - 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]

SuperOxide - 15-7-2022 at 17:17

Quote: Originally posted by zed

Ummm. My Ringstands finally got built.

Pictures... or it didn't happen

Water chiller

Gammatron - 30-8-2022 at 14:10

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]

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