heist_2009
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A list of common chemicals that can be found in stores.
I was scrolling through the forum and realized that there is no posts on how to acquire reagents for cheap, at least in the parts I have searched, so
let us put down our most common and cheap sources for reagents.
PS Americans and Canadians, please refrain from listing your sources. I know you can find literal cancer juice in your hardware stores.
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heist_2009
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here is what little information i know
NaOH can be found in plenty of drain cleaner brands
KOH is also found in drain cleaners
acetone is found in nail polish removers
ethylacetate or ethylethanoate is found in some more expensive nail polish removers.
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Radiums Lab
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Sulphur, CuSO4 from pottery and plant stores. Yellow cake can rarely be found in same stores.
Water is dangerous if you don't know how to handle it, elemental fluorine (F₂) on the other hand is pretty tame if you know what you are doing.
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fx-991ex
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HCl
H2SO4
NaOH
CaCl2
S
most solvent(ethanol, methanol, acetone, toluene mek)
TCCA
NaCLO
CAN
KCl
NaHCO3
NH3
UREA
NaCl
H2O2
Diatomaceous earth
Silica
some metal like lead/tin
probably more am forgetting.
[Edited on 27-11-2025 by fx-991ex]
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Sulaiman
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there are many relevant threads,
look for "OTC" (Over The Counter)
eg https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Asciencemadness.org+ot...
CAUTION : Hobby Chemist, not Professional or even Amateur
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chempyre235
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| Quote: | | PS Americans and Canadians, please refrain from listing your sources. I know you can find literal cancer juice in your hardware stores.
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As opposed to figurative cancer juice? Besides, a magician never reveals his secrets! 
Though, elemental phosphorus is still hard to come by here, and chlorinated solvents seem to have all but disappeared from the shelves...
| Quote: |
NaOH can be found in plenty of drain cleaner brands
KOH is also found in drain cleaners
acetone is found in nail polish removers
ethylacetate or ethylethanoate is found in some more expensive nail polish removers. |
KOH is often mixed with NaOH if included in drain cleaner.
KOH is more commonly found pure for soap-making suppliers.
Acetone is more easily bought as a paint solvent; nail polish remover is very diluted.
Ethyl acetate is marketed as "MEK substitute," which is also sold as a paint solvent.
[Edited on 11/29/2025 by chempyre235]
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." -Winston Churchill
"I weep at the sight of flaming acetic anhydride." -@Madscientist
"...the elements shall melt with fervent heat..." -2 Peter 3:10
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esquizete_electrolysis
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Ether can be found in low temperature starting fluid for relatively cheap. If you order a bulk quantity, you can recover ether at a price a bit lower
than the cheapest I've found.
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Radiums Lab
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Ethylene glycol in anti-freeze.
Water is dangerous if you don't know how to handle it, elemental fluorine (F₂) on the other hand is pretty tame if you know what you are doing.
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DraconicAcid
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I just bought some borneol from AliExpress. IR shows it contains a lot of camphor.
Please remember: "Filtrate" is not a verb.
Write up your lab reports the way your instructor wants them, not the way your ex-instructor wants them.
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j_sum1
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Problem with these threads is that the details vary wildly from location to location.
Most of my "bulk" chemicals are from otc sources.
ethylene glycol from antifreeze
ethanol (methylated spirits, so not pure, but useful for lots of things.)
methanol bought from an alternate fuel and specialist oil supplier down the road (now closed)
Oxalic acid from the hardware store
sulfuric acid, bought online as a cleaner
lots of different oxides from a pottery supplier
HCl from the hardware store
citric acid, borax, tartaric acid from the supermarket
sulfamic acid from the hardware store
sulfur from the garden supplies
etc, etc, etc.
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chloric1
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Pottery chemicals are a great asset with some caveats. Some ingredients are at tolerable as technical grade like cobalt carbonate, nickel oxide and
carbonate, dichromates etc. Others need considerable work up to be worthwhile like barium strontium and manganese. The upside to this that extra
labor in pH adjustments, precipitation, filtration and crystallization gives one additional critical thinking and manual skills not always thought in
academics but definitely present in industry.
Fellow molecular manipulator
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chempyre235
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Photography suppliers also have some interesting organics for sale. This site seems to list photography suppliers for the EU.
"However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." -Winston Churchill
"I weep at the sight of flaming acetic anhydride." -@Madscientist
"...the elements shall melt with fervent heat..." -2 Peter 3:10
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Varungh
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Iodine as Betadine
Asprin(can make salicylic acid off of it)
Carbon(just burn sugar)
Glucose
Cadmium and nickel(as Ni-Cd batteries)
KMnO4
NaHSO4(can make HCl, HNO3(from chlorides and nitrates) and pyrosulfate and SO3 on dehydration)
Urea(cold pack or fertilizer)
Bleach(pretty useful stuff for scrubbing H2S, making chloroform)
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Amos
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I made this doc for US home chemists a while back; note that some options are listed as online only. I don't check sciencemadness much but if you all
have suggestions of specific products to add, I might do so.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jJUpBnSgqQBx686jKINE...
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pesco
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Fentanyl and similar
NCl3
(CH3)3SO4
Most Hg and Cd compounds except few in very small quantities.
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bnull
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@pesco, are you OK?
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