#1 Science Forum For Lab Technicians

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...

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 ...

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 food...

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 requir...

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 thi...

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.

Depends on your garden. You could bury it a bit. I chuck mine in our crappy area around gum trees, not in Summer though.

Ask Westlab

I use a bit of boiling water to help dissolve the nutrient agar, add distilled water, put it into conical flasks, cotton wool plug, autoclave, (I use a pressure cooker), this kills everything. You do not have to sterilise anything. I use unopened bag of petri dishes. I wash the bench surfaces in a d...

Welcome back everyone. I had a quiet one, animals and gardening duties. Baby chicks aplenty, vege patch and orchards looking better and alpacas shorn. I am taking time to have adventures on the days I don't work, while there are no crowds. Beach break booked. I have lots of new teachers and feel exh...

I will use your pics. Many years ago I had a teacher set this up in the fume hood with left over heart dissections. She didn't tell me and back then the fumehood was at the back of a classroom. When she remembered it was abuzz. I bailed. Teacher had to do the clean. I have never done it since.

organic solvents would include alcohols, esters, ethers, ethyl acetate, ethanol, acetone, benzene, and ketones. A work colleague's husband recently had a lung transplant due to lung disease caused from exposure to "organic solvents". Last year I had an unexpected lung cancer diagnosis and ...

Wiltronics in Melbourne.

To get the NO2 I use a quick fit set up and put the tubing up through a beehive in a trough of water, I have the test tubes ready and wear full PPE and do it in the fume hood. Sometimes I used a gas jar and for another prac, gas syringes.

Are multimeters any good as a substitute? They are so cheap. I have older meters and dread getting them out for junior classes.

We just did a geology PD with our lab tech group in Gippsland, I will see if I can find the links we were given. It was from james.driscoll@monash.edu James was great and there are ID pages and lesson plans he was happy to send us.