Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Good prices on beakers

kbk666 - 8-7-2005 at 17:34

I use www.pelletlab.com for my beakers, they have generally good prices and good service.

neutrino - 8-7-2005 at 17:48

Cynmar is cheaper. Also, I'd advise staying away from Bomex beakers. Sooner or later, your cheapness will come back and bite you (personal experience talking here).

kclo4 - 8-7-2005 at 18:47

looks like they have a cheap distiller (i think i might buy it)

ordenblitz - 8-7-2005 at 19:29

I just recieved my first order from this establishment.

http://www.sci-bay.com/categories.asp?catid=19596&fileID...

The prices on the used glassware I bought, were very reasonable and most items looked as if they were unused.

kbk666 - 8-7-2005 at 20:32

I plan on buying that distillation kit eventually too, which reminds me, where can I buy a bunsen burner and can I hook it up to propane, my parents wont run gas into the garage..I will have to check out that other site neutrino. Also, what is better than bomex? The school uses Kimax and I have been told by my friends to try and get Pyrex..

[Edited on 9-7-2005 by kbk666]

neutrino - 9-7-2005 at 06:27

A quick and dirty rundown of borosilicate glassware:

Bomex- cheap Chinese junk, avoid.

Kimax- Good American glass, worth the price.

Pyrex- The industry standard, slightly more expensive than Kimax.

Simax / Duran- Good European glass, allegedly better than Pyrex.

Quartz / Vycor- If you get any of this, eBay it and buy borosilicate glassware.

Get Kimax or Pyrex. I'm not sure exactly how they compare to each other, but they are good glass.

A couple of points

chloric1 - 9-7-2005 at 10:31

neutrino-first I want to say that Bomex is the cheapest glassware and of lesser quality but to recommend others not to use is close minded. I bought considerable quanitites of Bomex beakers and flask in the summer of 2003 and I am still using them regularly. The first point I wish to make is that for simple synthesis of precipitates and salt crystallizations Bomex cant be beat. I have yet to use these containers above 200 degrees C. I strongly recommend using them for wet chemistry instead of your better quality glassaware in case you do drop it or whatever. I am not going to use pricey Kimax to make Barium Chloride from ceramic supply Barium carbonate.

Secondly to turn away from quartz and sell it is a waste too. A decent sized quartz reaction tube can be purchased at reasonable cost as well as crucibles.

neutrino - 9-7-2005 at 10:57

I was talking about glass suitable for general use. Sure Bomex is fine when no heat is involved, but I was assuming that he wanted to do the normal things with his beakers, i.e. heating, cooling, etc.

I suppose I should add these two things to my previous post. First, small, simple pieces of quartz and Vycor aren't worth too much, keep these. Second, Bomex is perfectly fine where no heat is involved, i.e. cylinders, funnels, pipettes, etc.

kbk666 - 9-7-2005 at 16:52

You assumed correct, I do use them for heating and what not, but so far the bomex has worked alright for that.

Cyrus - 9-7-2005 at 22:51

I use bomex for many things too. I've heated some, albeit in an oil bath, and never had any failures. The only glassware I've really had fail on me (besides test tubes and minor things, which break frequently on me) was a pyrex erlenmeyer flask that couldn't withstand the minor jolt of a 3 foot drop onto concrete. Oops...

I've bought bomex from Cynmar before, and I'll buy it again. I love my "real pyrex" kimax and pyrex labware, of course, but just because bomex is made in a country other than good 'ol USA doesn't mean it's garbage.

The_Davster - 9-7-2005 at 23:30

Its not because Bomex is not made in the US that some of us hate it. Apart from the obvious thermal inferiority of Bomex, all Bomex I have ever gotten has been of inferior quality. I have had Bomex graduated cylinders with uneven bottoms, almost a 30 degree slant, and every Bomex flask or beaker I have had had air bubbles in the glass, some bubbles even at the surface where it catches chemicals and makes cleaning difficult.

kbk666 - 17-7-2005 at 10:47

I used my bomex beaker recently for a TNP synth, it handled the heating and cooling just fine...I did gradually cool it though, using warm water, then cold water, then putting it in the freezer.

undead_alchemist - 7-8-2007 at 23:35

I know that this is an old thread, but I figured I would add some updates.
Quote:
Originally posted by neutrino
A quick and dirty rundown of borosilicate glassware:

Bomex- cheap Chinese junk, avoid.

Kimax- Good American glass, worth the price.

Pyrex- The industry standard, slightly more expensive than Kimax.

Simax / Duran- Good European glass, allegedly better than Pyrex.

Quartz / Vycor- If you get any of this, eBay it and buy borosilicate glassware.

Get Kimax or Pyrex. I'm not sure exactly how they compare to each other, but they are good glass.


Bomex is now a part of Kimble Glass, so they now make Kimax items.

Borosil : same grade as Pyrex, as it uses the same mix. Made in India by a company co-founded by
Corning.

VWR Beakers: made by Borosil

VEE GEE Beakers: made using Bomex glass.

[Edited on 7-8-2007 by undead_alchemist]