Australia's Science Forum

I am very excited, all my new plastic dropper bottles arrived and now it is time to get rid of the rubber top ones that perish.

Would you guys make up fresh chems, or just transfer the old solutions into new bottles?

I don't know when the last solutions were made....

thanks!

G'day Narelle, I know that feeling. I have come to a school where all the dropper bottles were glass and I detest them. So it has taken me a while to change them over.
I would make up new solutions. Keep your unused chemicals in amber bottles with a date made up as part of your chemical label.
I think you would be happy with that. Then the job is all yours, not someone else's.
I will get some amber bottles though for iodine solutions.
Maree

Thanks! I will prob keep all the indicators and stains in their amber bottles but replace all their droppers with the better ones from the chems i am changing...

now which chem to to do first...i am a bit partial to HCL but i like the thrill of NaOh

I am such a sad case..

Sad is not the word
Remember Silver Nitrate in brown bottles only
You need more work to do
Come back and work with me
Have you heard anythink yet ??????

All i have heard is that nothing wil be known until after the 2nd April when the LSL is officially over and the position is vacant...
So it will be the hols.. fingers crossed. I SOOOOOOO want to stay here..... i love what i do here.

But i would come back & work with you in a flash Rosalie!!!!

I wont be filling any dropper bottles today, i just got handed a complicated prac for tomorrow (at least i waasn't handed it this arvo) The staff are learning.....

I thought the plastic ones would be great too. But, teachers being teachers!! One didn't know to twist the top to open the bottles to dispense the chemical and had the kids snip the tops off with scissors!! Didn't realise they needed lessons to use the bottles !!!! Otherwise the bottles are great.

oh Rob - how annoying!!!!
I was so excited when i was ordering them, i ran around and showed all the staff how they worked, bit of PR to show how great they were.

Then when theya rrived, i did the same thing "look, no rubber just twist and use, no contamination either..." but i will be on the look out for snipping!!!!

Just curious, but what are the plastic dropper bottles and where did you get them from?
Estelle

i got them from Science supply Australia, and they are an 'all on one unit' so you just twist the top and drop, so the kids don't actually take the dropper out of the bottle.

They come in 60ml and 120ml i think, i got the 60ml bottle, and they are shoter and fatter than the sample, and they just squeeze into the dropper bottle trays from Qstores....

The are white / clear so unsuitable for silver nitrate and iodine but good for the rest!

I think they are the bottles I got to put the water conditioner for the marine studies class in. They were going through the stock bottle at a rate of knots, so I bought those bottles to put it in. That way, they only put two drops per bucket of water, not half a 250mL bottle at a time like they seemed to be doing. Only, some of the students are still, tooooooooo lazy to count and I saw one of them just squirting it in to the bucket yesterday. Can't win!!

While we are on the subject of handy items, I would like to add, from the science supply australia people, the parafilm. I get the students to use that when making agar plates and sealing them. I found sticky tape doesn't go around the petri dishes that well and I have had them leak on occasions. But with the parafilm, about a 6cm length stretches all the way around and seals very well. Probably would recomment the 10cm wide one, bit expensive but it goes a long way and as far as not getting leaking, incubated agar on yourself it is worth the $$$$$.
Estelle

I have these botles and they are fantastic!!!I keep all my indicators and stains in them. I have a food prac tomorrow and they need benedicts solution, ethanol, NaOH and copper sulfate, sooooooooooo much neater and easier to use that stock bottle and droppers ! I got a big pack of 50 75ml ones for one of my regular suppliers for $44. Really handy!

i got 200 of them, incl postage it was $160...i love spending other people's money LOL

I'm looking at ordering more dropper bottles soon and these sound great. I've got all amber glass at the moment so I'm going to ask a silly question.
Are there any particular chemicals or concentrations that really shouldn't go into these plastic bottles?

Cheers
Kel

just as far as i know, don't put the ones that need to be kept in the dark..silver nitrate & any iodine ones, as for the rest it is safe i think. I hasd a look at our solutions and there are lots of them in plastic.....
I am going to phase out the amber bottles, swapping over the more common ones first HCL, NaOh etc etc

Does that mean you're getting rid of the ambers Narelle???????

I will prob store some, but yes prob have some to *swap* for something else. HT approval of coarse.

Just went to find some HCL- and all we have is 2M - thats no fun....wont be mixing any before the hols.....oh well the dropper bottles are ready with their little labels....

These do sound good. Has anyone tried keeping vinegar in these? The rubber teats deteriate if left on for any lenght of time. Do these plastic bottles have a full plastic lid/dropper that doesnt perish?

I currently have vinegar in them. They are called Stull dropping bottles.
I also like the dropping eyedrop bottles. They are great for food colourings and other chemicals.
Maree

I prefer the glass amber bottles..yes.. with the glass dropper, the white cello cap and the rubber teat!

Traditionalist, I know

Anyone plans to throw out their old ones.. throw them in my direction!
I am about at the point of having to order more!

I have been using them for a few years now, they are great. I use them for everything except Iodine and Potassium permangante. I use them for Silver nitrate and cover the outside with foil, and sticky tape not a problem.

The only problem I have with them is kids don't screw the dropper closed and teachers don't check, but better than picking the old amber bottle up by the lid and the rest hits the ground. I haven't had any perish.