TinSandwich
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Filters and filter paper
This is my first post on this forum and I hope I chose the right discussion board.
I am having trouble finding coffee filters since I live in a country were they are not used very often.
I've been using paper towels and they seem to work fine as a temporary solution. My questionis: is there any advantage in buying lab grade filtering
paper over normal coffee filters? I could order both from ebay but I see no point in paying 7$ shipping for an item that would probably cost 3$.
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MrHomeScientist
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Welcome!
Lab grade filter paper has smaller, more uniform pores than everyday coffee filters, so it's better at filtering finer solids. It's also essential if
you want to use Buchner funnels, since they are sized to match exactly and are a bit more rigid.
That being said, I use coffee filters for just about everything. I use 2-3 at a time, depending on how fine the solids are. I only break out the lab
grade paper for special occasions 
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Sulaiman
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I mostly use filter papers of two grades, medium and slow, (Whatman grades 1 and 3)
but there is a wide range of filter papers available e.g. http://www.gelifesciences.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/cata...
plus, being impatient I use vacuum assisted filtration.
Coffee filters would 'catch' most particles but very fine particles would pass through,
so it depends what you want to filter.
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crystal grower
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I use lab grade papers just because I have them for free.
And this thread should probably be in "Reagents and Apparatus Acquisition" but don't worry about it  .
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Herr Haber
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I use coffee filters when I'm in a hurry with a big volume of solution to filter.
As the others said, the pores are bigger so depending on what you are filtering you might have some loss.
Lab filter paper can be found in different grades. But if you're interested to know if you got 60 % yield or 65% on whatever synthesis they might be
better.
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TinSandwich
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Great! Thanks for your answers
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JJay
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I sometimes filter through a cotton ball, depending on whether I want to keep the filtrate or the filter cake.
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