Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Cheap, Quality Glass Source (Laboy Glass)

Cheap, Quality Glass Source (Laboy Glass)

Halcyon - 15-2-2012 at 04:45

I hope this doesn't come across as an advertisement, but I just wanted to give a plug to Laboy Glass, a manufacturer/seller in China.

I've dealt with them a number of times over the past 2-3 years and have been very impressed by the quality of glassware, price and customer service offered.

They trade on eBay under the name "echowzh123", but you'll find that purchasing directly through their website (laboyglass.com) gives you a reasonable saving. Often, items will be listed on eBay and not in the main site's catalogue, in which case you're best off ordering via email. Shipping is a flat $15 per order (not item) anywhere in the world.

That's about it; the primary reason for this post is simply because if I hadn't have been put onto these guys when I first became interested in chemistry, I wouldn't have been able to afford the basic kit (and wouldn't have been able to justify the expense of the less-basic stuff I've purchased recently).

Cheers - Halcyon

*EDIT* I realise that they're known around here a little, just putting it out there for those who aren't aware.

[Edited on 15-2-2012 by Halcyon]

Eliteforum - 15-2-2012 at 04:58

I may be putting in an order with these to see what the quality is like. Prices seem OK.

Halcyon - 15-2-2012 at 05:09

I guess they might be a lot better for an Australian than a UK/USA experimenter (we get reamed on prices for a lot of things). The flat-rate postage is a big saving too, if you're buying a bit of kit.

As far as quality goes, I can't say how they hold up to continuous use with nasty reagents, but I can say that they're thicker-walled than any of the gear I've previously used in school and I've never had any issues with fit/finish/breakages besides the time I blew the thermometer adapter out of a distillation column into a brick wall.

Eliteforum - 15-2-2012 at 05:36

For a few hundred quid it's not going to break the bank, and if it's not the best it's no real loss.

neptunium - 15-2-2012 at 14:32

i have a distillation set up 24/40 from them and i am very satisfy with it..the shipping (for USA) was exactly 15 USD and fairly quick considering it came halfway arround the world..
i would gladly order and recomand them as well thank you for your post Halcyon

Lambda-Eyde - 15-2-2012 at 14:44

What I really like about Laboy is that they stock syringe needles, cannulas and rubber septa for a very nice price. I have yet to see an amateur-friendly business sell such items which are absolutely needed for airfree work. Most glassware suppliers sell Schlenk tubes, flasks and adapters but practically none of them carry the accessories needed to use them...

AirCowPeaCock - 15-2-2012 at 14:53

Quote: Originally posted by Halcyon

I guess they might be a lot better for an Australian than a UK/USA experimenter (we get reamed on prices for a lot of things). The flat-rate postage is a big saving too, if you're buying a bit of kit.

As far as quality goes, I can't say how they hold up to continuous use with nasty reagents, but I can say that they're thicker-walled than any of the gear I've previously used in school and I've never had any issues with fit/finish/breakages besides the time I blew the thermometer adapter out of a distillation column into a brick wall.

How did you manage that?

grndpndr - 15-2-2012 at 15:30

Thanks for the O post and replys.Ive been looking for a reasonably priced, decent vac distillation kit.Hard to judge quality among the many offers online unless someone makes a shout out.Thanks again.

Halcyon - 16-2-2012 at 12:56

Quote: Originally posted by AirCowPeaCock

How did you manage that?

Erm.. I sorta washed out some glass (that'd been used for spirit/liqueur duty only) and blew on one end of the vig. column to clear/dry it. It was attached to a distillation adaptor

Set the bottom end on the carpet and gave it a quick puff in the dist adaptor; apparently the carpet made a decent seal and the un-keck'd thermometer adaptor shot out the top, taking out my favourite thermometer with it. Haven't made that mistake again.

ctrlphreak - 18-2-2012 at 05:53

I can say with absolute certainty that they have very thick, well blown glass, for great pricing, with great durability that's been smashed into other flasks, dropped, smashed into the sides of counters, and not had a single one even star or hairline fracture.

mnick12 - 18-2-2012 at 10:40

Just a word of caution,

I have ordered from Laboy a number of times, through ebay and the the online shop. Most of the time everything came as promised, however my most recent purchase (a few months ago) was missing $72.00 worth of items. After realizing this I promptly emailed them, and after waiting a few days sent a few more. In total I sent about 4 emails politely asking where my refund/ missing merchandise went, and no reply was received. Unfortunately by the time these events occurred the 90 day Paypal refund cushion had past, so I am now missing $72.00 and some useful glassware.

Halcyon - 19-2-2012 at 04:47

*EDIT*

MNick, you have a PM

[Edited on 20-2-2012 by Halcyon]

Funkerman23 - 22-2-2012 at 11:56

Their glass may be good but their main site is not. If nothing else I wish they would either fix the pictures so they would appear or upload the rest of their catalog PDFs.. Half of them show up with a 404 error and most of the images fail to load every time.

mnick12 - 22-2-2012 at 18:17

Just a quick update,

I would like to retract my earlier statement about Laboy, it appears as though I was incorrect. Thanks to the help of another member I was put in contact with Laboy, and everything has been amended. They gave me two very generous options and I can say that all is well.

RonPaul2012 - 1-3-2012 at 13:35

Quote: Originally posted by mnick12

Just a quick update,

I would like to retract my earlier statement about Laboy, it appears as though I was incorrect. Thanks to the help of another member I was put in contact with Laboy, and everything has been amended. They gave me two very generous options and I can say that all is well.

I've sent these massive land captains an e-mail yesterday and I havn't got a reply.

Do you know of a better way to contact them ?

Halcyon - 5-3-2012 at 02:08

Christ, I'd hate to take you out on a date

Be less clingy.

In seriousness, they've rarely taken more than three days to reply to me, but they're pretty busy lately, so I'd expect 2-3 days before thinking that there was a problem getting through.

Genuinely curious question; massive land captains?

RonPaul2012 - 19-3-2012 at 05:17

Quote: Originally posted by Halcyon

Christ, I'd hate to take you out on a date

Actually it was more than a day and I still have yet to recieve an e-mail from them

.

Oh well I found another supplier (Dr. Bob)

A "massive land captain" is something I made up on the spot , I guess it's something to do with the massive land mass that they inhabit and the fact that they make ridiculous animes with characters who are captains of flying baloons and other such nonsense.

BTW are you a guy

?

If so I'm glad you wouldn't want to take me out

[Edited on 19-3-2012 by RonPaul2012]

Geko127 - 28-3-2012 at 20:04

So far i think they have been good to deal with .
Good comunication and the shipping was free

So far i think they have been good to deal with .
Good comunication and the shipping was free

adamsium - 13-4-2012 at 08:42

I placed an order for one of their sets, with the addition of a vigreux column and some keck clips a few days ago - waiting for it to arrive now. They had quite a nice range and it's encouraging to read positive things about them! I can post back my thoughts once I get it.

RonPaul2012 - 13-4-2012 at 14:48

Well I went ahead and ordered from them about 4-5 days ago , I paid for everything.

But wouldn't you know it I sent them a half dozen e-mails and I haven't received any e-mails back (except the one for payment).

Does anyone know how to get in touch with them ?

adamsium - 13-4-2012 at 15:32

Quote: Originally posted by RonPaul2012

Well I went ahead and ordered from them about 4-5 days ago , I paid for everything.

But wouldn't you know it I sent them a half dozen e-mails and I haven't received any e-mails back (except the one for payment).

Does anyone know how to get in touch with them ?

I only know what's on their website's contact page: http://www.laboyglass.com/support.asp

I placed my order on ebay (I hadn't actually seen their website at that point) and it has apparently been shipped, so hopefully all is well there.

I found it odd that they list only a fax number, with no phone number. They do have skype, though.

RonPaul2012 - 13-4-2012 at 15:47

Quote: Originally posted by adamsium

Quote: Originally posted by RonPaul2012

Yeah I have tried their "phone" number and it doesn't work.

After reading their terms I probably shouldn't expect my items this month :mad:

Geko127 - 13-4-2012 at 16:14

My items took 2 weeks /10 working days, Thats not bad considering china---to austraila is a long way. And all items arived safe.

adamsium - 14-4-2012 at 04:13

Quote: Originally posted by Geko127

My items took 2 weeks /10 working days, Thats not bad considering china---to austraila is a long way. And all items arived safe.

Was that by EMS? Mine are going by EMS, which I would have expected to be be reasonably quick.

RonPaul2012 - 14-4-2012 at 14:56

Quote: Originally posted by Geko127

My items took 2 weeks /10 working days, Thats not bad considering china---to austraila is a long way. And all items arived safe.

Well I'm in PA , so lets see , 2 weeks to ship plus 2 weeks to arrive , that's about a whole month , yay

mycotheologist - 14-4-2012 at 16:15

Flat shipping no matter how much the order weighs? How is that possible? Anyhow, if this company really does give a flat shipping rate of $15, I'm definitely going to buy from them. Thanks a lot for sharing.

EDIT: They have all kinds of glassware at brilliant prices. I started building up my lab over 3 years ago but it is still poorly equipped because theres only so much money I can put into my hobby. I have been relying mainly on ebay to find reasonably priced glassware. Maybe now I can afford to get properly equipped.

[Edited on 15-4-2012 by mycotheologist]

adamsium - 14-4-2012 at 16:25

Quote: Originally posted by mycotheologist

Flat shipping no matter how much the order weighs? How is that possible? Anyhow, if this company really does give a flat shipping rate of $15, I'm definitely going to buy from them. Thanks a lot for sharing.

EDIT: They have all kinds of glassware at brilliant prices. I started building up my lab over 3 years ago but it is still poorly equipped because theres only so much money I can put into my hobby. I have been relying mainly on ebay to find reasonably priced glassware. Maybe now I can afford to get properly equipped.

[Edited on 15-4-2012 by mycotheologist]

On their website, it says that orders over $2000 USD receive free shipping. Although, IIRC, the threshold was $500 on their ebay store which offers a subset of their product range.

I really hope it's not going to take a month to arrive, though. Surely EMS should be a lot quicker than that (it's already shipped - it was in Beijing last I saw).

Geko127 - 14-4-2012 at 18:39

give it 2 weeks ffs

Halcyon - 15-4-2012 at 05:13

In my experience EMS has taken 2.5 to 3.5 weeks. Longer than I'd like, but considering the shipping prices I can overlook that.

Their EBay shipping threshold might be lower, but the prices are usually a little bit higher.

mycotheologist - 15-4-2012 at 11:34

Quote: Originally posted by adamsium

I really hope it's not going to take a month to arrive, though. Surely EMS should be a lot quicker than that (it's already shipped - it was in Beijing last I saw).

I've ordered things from China (I'm in Ireland) before and it usually takes 3 weeks to arrive. Most of the major cities in China are near the east coast so I'd imagine shipping to the US would be faster than shipping to Europe.

adamsium - 15-4-2012 at 11:57

Quote: Originally posted by mycotheologist

Quote: Originally posted by adamsium

I really hope it's not going to take a month to arrive, though. Surely EMS should be a lot quicker than that (it's already shipped - it was in Beijing last I saw).

I'm in Australia, so we'll see. Regardless, I've been told that their glassware is quite decent, especially for the price, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it once it arrives.

Geko127 - 25-4-2012 at 16:03

Is it still a no show ?

adamsium - 26-4-2012 at 02:06

Quote: Originally posted by Geko127

Is it still a no show ?

I actually just checked the tracking, and it came out of customs this afternoon, so I'm hoping for a delivery tomorrow!

Customs was the only hold up here - ordered on the 9th, it was shipped on the 12th, arrived in the country on the 17th, and sat in customs until the 26th, today. I've never had that happen before... I'm wondering if it was 'randomly selected' for a more thorough inspection. Still, 9 days seems excessive. I recall other things being in and out of customs in times from barely an hour to about a day, not almost a week and a half.

I also placed another order with them for some clamps, 8 days after the glassware order. That only took 5 days to arrive from when it was shipped and 2 of those days were a weekend. The clamps seem decent enough. The boss heads are certainly better than the ones I ordered domestically - which were described as being some sort of a zinc alloy, as far as I recall - 2 of the 3 snapped on clamping them to the retort stand... and there's no way I'd trust the remaining one to support anything more than a thermometer or the like, and even then, extremely reluctantly. At the exposed ends of the breaks, 'bubbles' could be seen inside the metal - they were largely hollow as a result. So, I was pleased with the Laboy ones. They were all packed very well, too. I was surprised at the huge amount of cushioning they used for boss heads and clamps - there was absolutely nothing you'd consider to be all that fragile in there.

Anyway, I'll let you know what I think once it arrives.

Dragunov-21 - 27-4-2012 at 02:33

I'm glad I've got all the gear I want so far... Dunno if it's those 300 Glocks that made it through recently or what but they seem to be inspecting things very closely lately...

RonPaul2012 - 27-4-2012 at 05:46

Well Laboy came through.

I must say that the glass is top notch

Palladium - 27-4-2012 at 14:20

I have very good experiences with Laboy Glass. It's ridiculous cheap. The quality was better than I expected; I have actually hydrogenating in their 1000 ml and 2000 ml RBF. I figured out this by myself, if it would work or not; I asked a guy who studying chemistry since many years, and he recommended me not to hydrogenate in a RBF. He had wrong. Of course there's difference from RBF to another. I tested first to pressurize 2 bar, with safety protection. Then added some heat by setting the RBF in boiling water. No problem at 2 bar. No problems at 4 bars either. More than 5 bars I don't dare to do, but it will stand against much more than this.

I have cracked one of their RBF, and this was used very much. Thermal shock did finally crack it (I wade a mistake), but it took long time and didn't fall apart - only a fracture.

The biggest treat for my glassware has always been that the glass-cork gets stocked in the flask. The technique to solve this stocked cork has always worked with WD-40 (or similar "rust / penetrating oil") together with heat from boiling water. 100% of the attempts have worked without cracking the flask/cork. Before I found out this method, 100% of my RBF's with a stocked cork was cracked and wasted.

By the way, echowzh123 is an excellent seller with great service.

Geko127 - 27-4-2012 at 15:58

Ya ya. I second that, Great to hear you got ya much loved glassware

Geko127 - 27-4-2012 at 21:50

Nice kit ay. I took the option of purchasing an additional flask. So theres 2 500ml flasks 1 is a 3 neck. 1 250ml. 1 100ml. 1 50ml .1 25ml. 1 125ml sep funnel. 1 clasin. 1 distil head. 1 vac addaptor. 1 reflux condenser(fraction colum). 1 west condenser. Thermo addaptor. 1 plug. 1 pipet. Not to bad for around $190

[Edited on 28-4-2012 by Geko127]

adamsium - 28-4-2012 at 06:21

My package arrived yesterday, as I'd hoped. It does look to be of decent quality. I've not yet tested it as I, unfortunately, don't have any vacuum grease - I'm waiting for it on backorder from my local supplier.

Arthur Dent - 28-4-2012 at 10:11

If you're just waiting for the vacuum grease to use your new labware, check this thread out.

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=18358#...

in this post, I suggest an inexpensive and readily available substitute.

Robert

Dragunov-21 - 28-4-2012 at 22:54

What's wrong with vaseline?

Hell, for simple stuff I've used body-shop's lip balm.

Arthur Dent - 29-4-2012 at 05:53

@ Dragunov-21: As I mentioned in my post above, vaseline (also known as petroleum jelly) is far from being an inert substance, and with heat, it can melt and mix with the material you're working with, especially organics and solvents. If you don't care about the purity of your reagents or possible contamination, then go ahead, use lip balm (ugh!)...

But we stray from the topic, I have a bit of Laboy glassware and it's not too bad, actually nicely crafted, and a billion times better than the "other" chinese cheap glassware... Bomex! Now THAT, is crap!

adamsium - 29-4-2012 at 09:51

Quote: Originally posted by Arthur Dent

If you're just waiting for the vacuum grease to use your new labware, check this thread out.

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=18358#...

in this post, I suggest an inexpensive and readily available substitute.

Robert

Thanks for that, Robert. I had actually read that thread earlier today, along with any others I could find on vacuum grease and PTFE sleeves. I'd been considering using the sleeves, but from what I've read, they sound like an expensive and not necessarily better alternative. I'm still not entirely sure of the best way to clean up the grease, though. I've not really managed to find a consensus on that.

I also need to work out the best set up for connecting the condenser to the water supply. Some sort of pump is obviously going to be best for me, I just need to work out which one would be ideal. I did quite a lot of reading today about both this and hooking up an aspirator vacuum pump (also on backorder with the same supplier as the vacuum grease - I think I'm going to contact them tomorrow and get an update on where things are at). It seems like some people have managed to set up a pump system of sorts to run an aspirator, but what I've read seems to indicate that using the same sort of pump you might use to run the condenser wouldn't pull any appreciable vacuum. Also, it looked like the rigs people had come up with to run an aspirator from a pump were absolutely well beyond what I'd be able to do with the facilities and tools I have available for that sort of thing (i.e. essentially none). I'm starting to think that just using a mechanical vacuum pump may be best in my situation, particularly since where my lab will be set up will not have a tap / sink (I am moving in the next few weeks and intend to use a spare room as a lab / study). Even if I did have a sink nearby, there's also the fun of trying to attach the aspirator to the tap itself (I did see a couple of tap adapters that people had put together from various plumbing parts).

Does anyone have any advice on this? I'm somewhat reluctant to start a new thread on it, since I know it's been discussed so many times. I have searched and read plenty, it's just difficult to know what the best solution is going to be, particularly with a lack of experience of doing this outside of an actual university lab where these things don't even really need to be considered as it's all just there.

I also have another question about tubing. I've tried measuring the hose connections on the condensers, and it looks like the narrowest part of the outermost 'barb' (the very tip, farthest from the condenser body) is about 8mm in diameter, with the widest part of this same barb being about 10mm, and it looks like each barb is slightly wider than the previous as you move toward the condenser body. What size hose should be used for this? Would I get 8mm ID, 10mm ID, or do I need something narrower still to give a tight fit? I'm also wondering if the type of hose makes a difference here - I would think that PVC tubing might stretch less than the latex / rubber types. That raises another question - is it preferable to use PVC tubing, or rubber tubing for this? I have been looking at this type of PVC tubing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/290370979192 Is that type appropriate? Or is there a better option (PVC or otherwise)?

starman - 29-4-2012 at 22:55

Adamsium stay away from PVC tubing.It can stick on the barb of your condenser and people have been known to break same trying to remove.Additionally the tubing goes rock hard when using ice water.The red elastomer tubing seems almost universal for this purpose.(you may have to hunt a bit for it in oz.)

Dragunov-21 - 30-4-2012 at 02:15

Quote: Originally posted by Arthur Dent

@ Dragunov-21: As I mentioned in my post above, vaseline (also known as petroleum jelly) is far from being an inert substance, and with heat, it can melt and mix with the material you're working with, especially organics and solvents. If you don't care about the purity of your reagents or possible contamination, then go ahead, use lip balm (ugh!)...

But we stray from the topic, I have a bit of Laboy glassware and it's not too bad, actually nicely crafted, and a billion times better than the "other" chinese cheap glassware... Bomex! Now THAT, is crap!

Hey, what's a little coconut flavour in my vodka?

Sale

Geko127 - 5-5-2012 at 22:28

Quote: Originally posted by Geko127

So theres 2 500ml flasks 1 is a 3 neck. 1 250ml. 1 100ml. 1 50ml .1 25ml. 1 125ml sep funnel. 1 clasin. 1 distil head. 1 vac addaptor. 1 reflux condenser(fraction colum). 1 west condenser. Thermo addaptor. 1 plug. 1 pipet. For sale now

[Edited on 28-4-2012 by Geko127]

LABBOY

cal - 6-5-2012 at 04:53

Quote: Originally posted by Halcyon

I hope this doesn't come across as an advertisement, but I just wanted to give a plug to Laboy Glass, a manufacturer/seller in China.

I've dealt with them a number of times over the past 2-3 years and have been very impressed by the quality of glassware, price and customer service offered.

They trade on eBay under the name "echowzh123", but you'll find that purchasing directly through their website (laboyglass.com) gives you a reasonable saving. Often, items will be listed on eBay and not in the main site's catalogue, in which case you're best off ordering via email. Shipping is a flat $15 per order (not item) anywhere in the world.

That's about it; the primary reason for this post is simply because if I hadn't have been put onto these guys when I first became interested in chemistry, I wouldn't have been able to afford the basic kit (and wouldn't have been able to justify the expense of the less-basic stuff I've purchased recently).

Cheers - Halcyon

*EDIT* I realise that they're known around here a little, just putting it out there for those who aren't aware.

[Edited on 15-2-2012 by Halcyon]

I HAVE ORDERED MY WHOLE LAB FROM THEM, GREAT PRICE AND QUALITY.

Geko127 - 6-5-2012 at 15:46

Above kit is for sale. And its new.

Funkerman23 - 6-5-2012 at 16:18

Quote: Originally posted by Geko127

Above kit is for sale. And its new.

Granted this may be hijacking the thread but what joint size anyway? You might have more luck starting a new thread though..

Geko127 - 7-5-2012 at 05:39

24/40, & Its not high jacking the thread, because its a one off. PMs please.

anotheronebitesthedust - 14-6-2012 at 23:58

I decided to try out Laboy. Got the following for $272.27 + $15.00 shipping.

Wilmad-Labglass charges $212.89 each for a 600ml vacuum buchner funnel. Laboy charged $57.81 each and the quality is identical IMO.

(I wonder how many American distributors have been importing Chinese-made glass all this time and slapping on their logos for a quick turnaround?)

Funkerman23 - 29-6-2012 at 15:30

Any one else have a small square with Chinese pop up when they try to submit an order? I can't seem to print screen it but it keeps dragging me back to the address and billing section.( Please forgive the thread jacking but I am at a loss as to what to do) Should I email them the order instead of using their cart? Edit: fixed that problem. lets see if their email comes through.

[Edited on 30-6-2012 by Funkerman23]

Funkerman23 - 21-7-2012 at 12:46

Well except for the reflux( Dimroth) condenser everything was well made and stellar. AS for the dimroth I don't know if it was DOA or it died as I put away my other glass.. Jesus these things are fragile as hell and know I haven't the faintest clue how to fix this.
The flasks are well made and the seams are as clear as a summer day. You will not be disappointed . I will also say this: they ship 2 weeks from the date on the invoice. I payed them the very next day( after submitting my order) and sure enough they sent it out 2 weeks later. as for ems they will take around 5 days depending on where you live.

[Edited on 22-7-2012 by Funkerman23]

BlazeBall - 12-8-2012 at 06:53

I ordered the £150 chemistry set from him and £20 worth of other stuff, and while I was impressed with the quality, I wasn't impressed with the fact it took 3 weeks to arrive and the £30 customs and handling charge I received. The delivery tracking with EMS was also terrible, saying that attempts to deliver had been made when they in fact hadn't.

Lab Boy

cal - 12-8-2012 at 12:57

I have been buying glassware from Lab Boy for several years now. None has broken or cracked so far. I am very pleased with the performance of the products as I have a large selection of it.

Quote: Originally posted by Halcyon

Antimony Pentafluoride - 17-8-2012 at 19:23

I've ordered from Laboy and would agree that the quality is very good but that their delivery speed is terrible. Overall I'd still recommend them above the massively overpriced competition.

Pyro - 18-8-2012 at 03:22

you can also mail them and ask for custom glassware, I got 2 29/42->29/32 and 2 29/32->29/42 adapters for 100$ and a few cents.
I asked for discount because I am buying 2 of each, and they said they can not give discount on custom glassware but they will give me 10 joint clips for free

so if you have special requests you just need to email them

Funkerman23 - 1-9-2012 at 17:40

Note to anyone else ordering from them: the max size of flask they sell is 2 liters. apparently anything bigger is made via a mold and they do not use molds. as I did not know this I thought I'd ask them. as for thermometers they do sell non ground jointed thermometers. they claim the accuracy id about +/- 1 degree Celsius. I was quoted about $5.50 for a 0 to 300' Celsius thermometer.

Funkerman23 - 6-11-2012 at 12:36

Just had a second order from them and I am stunned. the Glass is hand-blown and it makes for a very clean looking product. Their allihn condensers have offset barbs but that is not an issue for me, I am hard pressed to find any bubbles on the seams( Much better than my corning 19/22 glass). the Pressure equalizing funnel I bought is also crystal clear and of a sturdy thick glass. as before the flasks are very well made and is a pleasure to see. Worth the wait and worth the money any day of the week.