#1 Science Forum For Lab Technicians

This is such a good idea! But what do you use them for? We usually just weigh straight into a beaker... have I been doing it wrong all my life??


I have always used watchglasses and a distilled water bottle to rinse the last bit into a beaker. My new, (1 day a week), school uses pattypans even ...

A reset is a good idea... I was wondering what the lock was for!

It appears as a separate conversation from the original for me. It's no big deal, though.


Locks were on the old Mettler scales to stop them moving after you have the weight. We always weighed to 4 decimal places when I started in ...

You can mount the wheel onto a drill if you get stuck.

My new relocatable science room has a ductless fume hood. No gas. And as far as I can see no extraction fans. Does anyone have one of these fume hoods and what does it do? I think it has filtration cupboard written on it and uses a charcoal filter. It's on wheels too. The room has sinks so we can do ...

Marama T wrote: 04 Aug 2025, 08:17 I've got heaps of awesome racks (even if I do have to use a stepladder to reach them all) but if i run out of space i invert them in tripods.

That is a great idea. I balance mine inverted on the edge in a tub for days.

I would love to know. I have been labbying for nearly 36 years and I swear the crystals are closer to powders these days. So fine you only see them when you start cleaning up, then you see them forever.

Anyone done this? I think I have but I cant remember. "For the nylon rope trick, a safer substitute for 1,1,1-trichloroethane can be dichloromethane. Alternatively, cyclohexane can be used, but it should be layered under the aqueous solution due to its lower density.
Elaboration:
The nylon rope ...

What can I use instead of trichloroethane to constitute the sebacoyl chloride? I cant use kero and I dont have hexane. I have cyclohexane and dichloromethane which I thought we used.

Just found this thread. My newer bunsen's wont stay lit when we turn the collars. They turn into flame throwers then go out. If we turn the collar very slowly they work ok sometimes. I have replaced them all through the supplier, double checked they are for LPG (they are the red based ones) and now ...

I use toothpicks. dip in water, (250 ml beaker) then salt, burn, chuck out after use into a different beaker. The bunsen's get salt down them sometimes but it is safe. I use about 6 different salts per group. We also use spectra lamps and spectroscopes. Methanol is quite toxic and I never let it be ...

for 500ml, 40ml H2O2, good squirt of detergent and 7ml conc KI, I use slightly watered down 35% H2O2, prob about 30%, or else it makes too much mess. I put down newspaper and put a big tray on top of the paper. I use "magic sponge" to clean any food colouring stains. (cheap as in bulk off ebay ...

for 500ml, 40ml H2O2, good squirt of detergent and 7ml conc KI, I use slightly watered down 35% H2O2, prob about 30%, or else it makes too much mess. I put down newspaper and put a big tray on top of the paper. I use "magic sponge" to clean any food colouring stains. (cheap as in bulk off ebay).

Thank you all for your suggestions and help!

I eventually found a small amount of sodium silicate solution which Year 12 Chem students used.

The recipe we use is ethanol and sodium silicate solution using a plastic cup, paddle pop stick and measuring cylinder. You can also add a drop or two of ...

Teacher demo these days. 0.1M, personally not that fazed if the students use their PPE properly. I'd probably let senior kids use it but not our juniors.

Gov schools in Vic must have the fume hoods checked yearly. Costs a lot. The rooms have extraction fans, as far as I know that is compulsory including the chem storage. You shouldn't have windows open in your chem store room. The room must be secure. But non-gov schools seem to have different ...

I just checked online and saw cheap ones, same as mine on ebay. Has anyone tried them? under $6 for 20.

Just did a test run for you. 21 label sheet. I used the spot which I dont usually. It does cut a bit of the spot off, but not much. I have a new laser printer so the labels last for ages and survive the dishwasher in good order.

Hi Brains trust!!

We have been told we have to have a corrosive cabinet, we have a flammable liquids cabinet inside our chemical room which is well ventilated 24/7. It's been suggested that a small 50L corrosive cabinet could be placed on top of flammables cabinet. Can anyone see a problem with ...

This is seriously one of the best threads ever!!! I have lots of bones. But no human remains. I did have an appendix and a cartilage at one point, long since disposed of. I did collect skulls after a bush fire to go with my existing animal ones. We have porpoise bones and rabbit, from a kit all Vic ...

I got an email straight away and printed it off, just from Westlab. $25 discount.