Can I as a student buy basic chemical reagents and lab materials?

[wert]

I am an engineering student at a Chicago university. I was simply wondering whether I would be able to purchase basic chemicals such as HCl, Cl2, various organic substances, etc, from companies that specialize in supplying small quantities of basic chemicals. On the website of the most prominent of these companies, at least in N. America, Fisher Scientific, it seems that they mostly sell to companies and schools and whatnot.

 

So, would I be able to get these basic reagents without having a company address etc? Would they ask me what I need them for? The same question goes for things such as basic flasks and pipettes and more expensive tools such as reflux condensers and distilling machines etc. Any help with this question would be appreciated.

 

BTW, I would not be able to buy them under the auspices of my university, and I would probably either have to pick them up personally or have them sent to a private residence. Just to clarify.

[Fred56]

My take on the purchase of chemicals (of any description) and equipment for private use, is it's a lot more problematic than it was "back in the day". Probably because of all those terrorist alerts and stuff. You might have more luck contacting a company who can order stuff for you.

[pioneer]

One place where anyone can get some of the basics are pyrotechnic supply companies, that sell supplies that allow one to make their own fireworks. There is a company that caters to school laboratories, like High Schools. One can get basic glassware. I used to experiment with hydroponics and needed some beakers and graduated cylinders and they had all the basics. I got some acids and bases from a pyrotechnic site, so I could adjust the pH cheaper than what was sold at hydroponic sites.

 

Here are few links; shop around. The second site is cheap for glassware.

 

http://www.vgdllc.com/home2.htm

 

http://www.researchsupply.net/index.php

[nitroglycol]

There's also Home Science Tools, who will send you a free catalogue if you request one online. Since you're in the US, you can order anything in the catalogue; unfortunately for foreigners like me they will not export most of the chemicals in the catalogue. The only thing is, it's aimed at homeschoolers, and at the back of the catalogue are a whole bunch of "educational" books from Bob Jones University Press. If you live in the US and are not worried about giving your money to some fundie whackos, there's some good deals to be found there, at least on equipment. Chemicals are sold in small quantities with what look to me like big markups (why pay $3 for 30 g of sodium carbonate, when your local grocery store will sell you a hundred times that much for the same price?) However, they do have plenty of neat chemicals that you won't find in a typical store.

[YT2095]

I was simply wondering whether I would be able to purchase basic chemicals such as..... Cl2

 

Good luck with that one

[wert]

Hmm, so then the reality is that I "shouldn't" be able to get these products? In order to get a hold of them I would need to go through all sorts of contortions and shemes eh? That's odd, especially in the US. Here is a country where you can buy a semi-automatic assault rifle without encountering any difficulties or suspicions but where getting hold of a graduated cylinder is not a straightforwad process...

[ydoaPs]

unitednuclear.com

 

 

It's owned by Bob Lazar, though.

[YT2095]

Here is a country where you can buy a semi-automatic assault rifle without encountering any difficulties or suspicions but where getting hold of a graduated cylinder is not a straightforwad process...

 

the rabbit hole goes deeper than that, in fact a Graduated Cylinder is plain old Illegal in Texas! you Must register any glassware like this, even if you have no list 1 chems.

the DEA will see you in Prison!