Surplus Lab Equipment?

theunforgiv3n asks: "We have recently been doing some cool science experiments, in school. Being the geeky type, I am looking to recreate some of these at home. To do this, I am looking for a good place to order some surplus laboratory equipment like flasks, non-gas Bunsen burners, and tubing (glass and plastic). Price isn't a big issue but I don't really want to spend a lot of money on this. So tell me Slashdot, where do you order your science equipment?"

Comments

Local University

[frink_exp]

Try a nearby university with a chemistry department. When I was an undergrad, the chemistry store on campus had everything you could want. You could browse the shelves and buy stuff cash-and-carry. Access to the store may have been restricted since Sep 11, 2001, though, as it has at my current grad school.

Check the chem department

[3waygeek]

at your local college or university. Back in the 80s, when I was at Iowa State, the chem dept. sold glassware and other goodies at decent prices.

Also, many colleges and universities have periodic sales/auctions of used/surplus equipment -- I used to pick up lots of computer goodies at ISU's monthly sales.

the ultimate place

[jjshoe]

is american science and surplus

Plenty of Catalogs

[liquidice5]

here at college, i LOVE getting mail, so i signed myself up for some catalogs
besides your basic Crutchfield and random crap, i enjoy looking through

Edmund Scientific who has a great supply of random stuff

Fischer Scientific they sent me several boxes of catalogs all for free, and then have EVERYTHING, you do need a "company" to buy, i have never bought anything but I dont think it should be a problem to make one up

One stop shopping...

[MrIcee]

You will find everything you need in surplus... from flasks to surplus army gear, electrical, materials and much much much more.... at American Science and Surplus.

This company used to be called Jerrico - and I've ordered from them for years. Additionally, their catalogs are FANTASTIC reading - very accurate descriptions on all items and most of the writeups are quite humorous as well.

Also, if you happen to visit the Chicago area, they are located just outside of north chicago - the store is chalk full of amazing things - a true surplus shoppers dream.

Aloha

AssetRelay for Microscopes

[nado]

AssetRelay carries good second-hand microscopes. So you can get good stuff for cheaper. See their microscopes page: AssetRelay's Microscopes

Re:Scavengers

[nado]

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/1 6/1712236

Make your own

[bluGill]

Lindsay books has lots of neat books, some of which (depending on what is in print now) tell you how to make glass. If you really want to do experiments you will find their collection valuable for that purpose too.

P.S. the good stuff is in the dead tree catalog, but not online, so get a copy of the catalog.

Oregon State Surplus Property

[Webmoth]

Head to OSU's Surplus Property site. Specifically, the Online Auctions page.

Labmart

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.labmart.com/

Everything you never wanted for prices you can't resist. And no, I'm not marketing for them, I've just bought a lot of fun stuff from there, and the prices, like I said, are very reasonable.

Enjoy!

Your school

[charlie763]

Check at you local university. I go to Rutgers and they usually have a table near the equipment room full of equipment that they are getting rid of. I got a florence flask and a few beakers for my halloween costume (mad scientist). Enjoy your new equipment...

Re:Scavengers

[Phronesis]

It costs billions if you want to get more energy out than you put in. If you're content for your reactor to be an energy sink rather than a source, the price drops by about seven orders of magnitude.

I get stuff from "surplus asset sales"

[Medievalist]

E. I. duPont Nemours Inc. has been dismantling itself for over a decade in a futile attempt to survive truly excrable management. The place is more Dilbert than Dilbert, basically, and so they are reduced to chopping off body parts and selling them on the street. They are not alone, either!

I got an 8-foot steel worktable wired for 120 VAC with 8 explosion-proof outlets and a 4-inch thick oil-impregnated maple butcherblock top for $20. (I got a propane-powered flamethrower and a softball-sized rheostat thrown in for free.) That was when they busted up the (awewsome) Wilmington Shops, which was where EDL used to have their custom robotics built.

Some guy got a vertical end mill that was less than five years old for $400 with all the bells and whistles. It cost him more to ship it and install it than he paid for it.

Google for "surplus asset sales" to find this sort of thing. For instance look at http://www.advancedlink.com/index.html
which is a similar outfit in Woburn, MA (just outside Boston, basically. Good scallops.) or http://www.michaelfox.com/us/ which is a big-time reseller.

Or just wander around until you find the warehouse area with the lowest rent in your immediate neighborhood, that's where you will find the real deals!