Sciencemadness Discussion Board - CaC2 supply in Australia. Anyone know of any?

CaC2 supply in Australia. Anyone know of any?

B(a)P - 12-4-2020 at 02:39

Does anyone know of a calcium carbide supplier that would deliver to Australia? Thanks!

j_sum1 - 12-4-2020 at 02:58

Does anyone know of a calcium carbide supplier that would deliver to Australia? Thanks!

Last time I looked ot this is was difficult to get and hideously expensive.
I think the school I was working at got 500g of chunks for about a hundred bucks.

If you find a good supplier, I am interested too. So many good experiments and demonstrations can be done.

Btw, probably not the best thread for this post, but nm.

[Edited on 12-4-2020 by j_sum1]

B(a)P - 12-4-2020 at 03:14

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1

Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P

Does anyone know of a calcium carbide supplier that would deliver to Australia? Thanks!

Thanks, I was trying not to start a new thread and this was the best I could find. Happy to take the discussion to another thread. It seems so cheap in Europe, but I can't find a store that will send it to Aus.

j_sum1 - 12-4-2020 at 03:28

Thread split.

B(a)P - 12-4-2020 at 03:31

Thanks, if I find a source I will let you know. Anyone else in Aus interested?

Calcium carbide on eBay

MadHatter - 12-4-2020 at 09:46

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Calcium-Carbide-10-lbs/283673690072...

This is the only eBay seller I can find that will ship to
Australia but the price+shipping is horrible. Depends
upon your priorities I guess. $150 USD + $66.34 USD
for shipping.

[Edited on 2020/4/12 by MadHatter]

B(a)P - 12-4-2020 at 13:06

Thanks, I did see that one, but it is about 20 time what I was after.

TheMrbunGee - 12-4-2020 at 13:57

It is sold as a "get rid of moles" thing, at my place (Not Australia), maybe You have something like that?

You are supposed to pour some in every molehill, and they don't like it or maybe it kills them, not sure. Not even sure You have moles there. :?

B(a)P - 12-4-2020 at 14:07

We have two types of marsupial mole, but they live well away from populated areas, so don't really cause any issue.

j_sum1 - 12-4-2020 at 15:44

https://www.haines.com.au/calcium-carbide-500g.html

You would need an account. And you would need to do some persuading if you are not a school. And the shipping charges are usually outrageous from these guys.
All in, it works out slightly more per kg than the ebay listing above, but the quantity is more reasonable.

This lets you know that it is around. I would just like to do a better price than this: like a fifth of what they have quoted.

wg48temp9 - 12-4-2020 at 17:20

minerals-water.ltd on ebay uk has CaC2 for £23/kg inclusive of UK delivery
see: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1kg-Calcium-Carbide-caving-gas-la...

Perhaps ask if they will send to Australia and the price.

j_sum1 - 12-4-2020 at 17:41

I have found these two:
https://www.chemsupply.com.au/calcium-carbide-lump-25-50mm-t...
https://shop.omegascientific.com.au/Calcium-carbide-500g

And another where the minimum purchase is 22 tonnes. (gasp)

B(a)P - 12-4-2020 at 19:40

Thanks for all of the suggestions, I have asked the UK ebay seller if they will ship and sent an enquiry to omega to see if they will sell to the general public.

It would be great if these guys shipped to Aus, but sadly they do not.
https://www.restauro-online.com/epages/63807438.mobile/en_GB...

[Edited on 13-4-2020 by B(a)P]

j_sum1 - 12-4-2020 at 20:04

Good. And I have just sent off an email to George at auschems asking if he can get some too. Let's see how that pans out. George is pretty good: at least for the things he can get.

Lion850 - 13-4-2020 at 01:55

A few months ago I bought some from Science Essentials in Brisbane. Call Peter on 0438 383 180. Can’t remember the price.

Lion850 - 13-4-2020 at 02:20

A few months ago I bought some from Science Essentials in Brisbane. Call Peter on 0438 383 180. Can’t remember the price.

Herr Haber - 13-4-2020 at 15:42

Unless you need it chemically pure you should be able to find tech grade Cac2.

It is still used in carbide lamps and in speleology though less and less. I used to pay mine 3.5 Euros / kilogram. Now it's closer to 5.50.
Carbide lamps are still used in many places where there is no electricity.

Not Australia but if you want a lamp and order a drum of calcium carbide India is the place

http://www.jkdey.com/

B(a)P - 18-4-2020 at 03:10

I didn't hear back from anyone. I am giving these guys a go. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353044977466
I will report back.

B(a)P - 19-5-2020 at 14:10

Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P

I didn't hear back from anyone. I am giving these guys a go. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353044977466
I will report back.

The Calcium Carbide arrived today. It is much later than expected, but the seller shipped it very promptly, it has just been held up with COVID delays. The product was as described and well packaged for shipping. I have tested a couple of small fragments in soapy water and it reacts vigorously and when the bubbles are lit it burns with a bright flame and produces a small amount of soot. It also has the typical garlic oniony smell.

j_sum1 - 19-5-2020 at 22:03

You need this:

Attachment: Chemical Demonstrations Resource Book 2.pdf (6MB)
This file has been downloaded 323 times

Go to page 164. Just awesome!

B(a)P - 20-5-2020 at 01:44

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1

You need this:

Go to page 164. Just awesome!

Thanks! I will definitely be giving that a go.
There are a lot of interesting procedures in that book.
I also like the double displacement between two solids on p.123. I did not realise that occurred. I have seen the lead nitrate and potassium iodide reaction done on a petri dish by placing a few drops of each solution on either side of the dish, joining them with distilled water and then a bright yellow line appears once the two solutions disperse into the water.

j_sum1 - 20-5-2020 at 02:33

Ooh. I like that variant of the Pb(NO3)2 reaction. I can see an application in measuring diffusion rates. Similar I suppose to HCl and NH3 at ends of a tube.

There is a comoanion to that book. Not as good but still a nice one to have. I will pist it later.

[Edited on 20-5-2020 by j_sum1]