Sciencemadness Discussion Board

sending stuff through the post

Lithium - 24-3-2012 at 22:02

hello

i am about to send some things through the post, but i thought i might get a second opinion. i am not sending them, rather they are being sent to me.

the chems are:
2lb KOH
1lb Mg turnings
5lb Ca(NO3)2

and there are also various basic chem. glassware.

i know they are a bit wary of oxidants, but meh.

Li

Gearhead_Shem_Tov - 25-3-2012 at 03:42

You should be right, mate. Just be sure you don't have strong oxidisers or acids together with metals or fuels in any shipment. The AusPost website will fill in details.

-Bobby

Hexavalent - 25-3-2012 at 11:44

Put the chems in their bottles, tape the lids shut, pad and place the containers in secondary containment if reactive with one another or incase of leakage, perhaps with some inert absorbent material in between. Pad again, place in a box and then place a final wrapper of parcel paper over the top for shipping. Place 'fragile' and 'handle with care' on the box to help avoid accidents.

With this, you should be fine. I've had allsorts come this way - even things like concentrated acids, extreme flammables and even things like dichromates:)

Lithium - 25-3-2012 at 12:05

thanks you guys, (or gals) for your input, and i will be buying them today.

Li

Lithium - 26-3-2012 at 01:33

okay, had an attempt at buying it.

they sold me the glassware, but the chems could not be shipped to australia. i tried getting the Mg shavings from galliumsource, but they said it would cost over $200 in shipping fees. i have asked them if a block of Mg would be less expensive.

Li

neptunium - 26-3-2012 at 05:45

what a terrible burden being a home chemist in Australia! i do feel for you guys! everytime somebody from there is trying to get anything shipped or find any chemicals you are getting slammed with fees and regulations....what a drag !
Iam glad i aint there!

Bot0nist - 26-3-2012 at 06:12

Quote: Originally posted by neptunium  
what a terrible burden being a home chemist in Australia! i do feel for you guys! everytime somebody from there is trying to get anything shipped or find any chemicals you are getting slammed with fees and regulations....what a drag !
Iam glad i aint there!


I agree. The state of amateur chemistry in the Land Down Under seems pretty bleak, at least from what I have gathered from most Australian member here. As a child it was on my list of places to visit/live, mostly because of the wildlife and landscapes. As an adult, I would never move there do to my perceptions of there government, not that my own governing body is laudable though.

neptunium - 26-3-2012 at 06:47

i agree ! love to visit ! thats it

Hexavalent - 26-3-2012 at 09:41

This is why I think that Australian home chemists can be some of the best. . .they have to be more resourceful and knowledgeable about syntheses and what is available from where and how than in other countries with less strict regulations.

Gearhead_Shem_Tov - 26-3-2012 at 13:31

Quote: Originally posted by Lithium  
okay, had an attempt at buying it.

they sold me the glassware, but the chems could not be shipped to australia. ...

Li


Li, did you get the U2U I sent you?

-Bobby

Lithium - 27-3-2012 at 01:47

sorry, i was at school, seem to be spending a lot of time there nowadays;)

the regulations over here are pretty bad, i can't even comprehend how in other countries you can simply just buy many chemicals that are needed for a "to do list".many times i have had to find a way around a chemical that i can't get.

my pet hate is obtaining nitrates. no matter how hard i look, i can't find them! i once tried heating copper mesh in a container and passing NH3 and O2 through it, then passing the remaining gas into water, in an attempt of the Oswald process. that did not fare too well. the worst part about it is that there is the orica plant near me that produces thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate, but i can't obtain any!:mad:

i guess i will have to keep improvising.;)

Li

Gearhead_Shem_Tov - 27-3-2012 at 02:46

Quote: Originally posted by Lithium  

...
the regulations over here are pretty bad, i can't even comprehend how in other countries you can simply just buy many chemicals that are needed for a "to do list".many times i have had to find a way around a chemical that i can't get.


I'm in Adelaide, and, just off the top of my head, I've been able to find OTC, locally or though the net in Australia:

• 90-98% Sulfuric acid
• 50% H2O2
• Methanol
• Toluene
• Acetone
• Methylated spirits
• CuCl2, FeCl3, KCl, KBr, KI
• NaOH, KOH
• KNO3, CaNO3
• KMnO4
• V2O5
• CuSO4, FeSO4, Na2SO4
• Na2SO3
• Potassium Citrate
• Potassium Ferricyanide
• Sodium Benzoate
• Sodium Thiosulfate
• Sulfur
• Magnesium ribbon
• Tannic Acid
• Thiourea
• Urea

Quote:
...
my pet hate is obtaining nitrates. no matter how hard i look, i can't find them!
...
Li



You really need to find an ag-chem outlet, a place that carries 25kg bags of Nitrate fertiliser. Call around. Don't tell them what you want it for, just ask if they carry the 25kg bags of potassium nitrate. If you don't have a mature, confident-sounding voice, then find a mate or parent who is willing to call around for you. At least write up a short little script for yourself: "Yes, I'm looking for 25 kilo bags of potassium nitrate. Do you stock that?" Say it without umm-ing or err-ing, that's half the battle.

Failing that, hi yourself over to your nearest garden centre and start methodically looking at package info in the fertiliser section. What you are looking for is the NPK number (Nitrogen Posphorus Potassium). Look for the bags that have high N and K numbers and that say something along the lines of 14% N at nitrate. You won't get pure nitrate, but you should be able to dissolve the stuff and recrystallise to separate the crap from what you want. There are several threads here about this, so give site:sciencemadeness.org a go and see what turns up.

-Bobby




Dr.Bob - 27-3-2012 at 07:27

Quote: Originally posted by Hexavalent  
Place 'fragile' and 'handle with care' on the box to help avoid accidents.


You must not ship stuff often. The more labels on things that say fragile or 'handle with care', the harder they seem to throw the package, in my experience.

Bob

Lithium - 27-3-2012 at 11:39

when i read your list i looked like this: :o
i will have to look harder, if you can find them why not i
that supplier you told me about in the u2u, they seem to have nitrates, i'll give them a ring this weekend.
i will look so hard, i will look like this: :o

i think there is one near me, but i can't remember what it is called

Li

[Edited on 27-3-2012 by Lithium]

Loreenah - 29-3-2012 at 02:46

on islands , it's always hard to get chemicals.

ibro - 29-3-2012 at 09:17

Does anyone know can you send co2, like the things from a paintball gun, out of US

[Edited on 29-3-2012 by ibro]