Best burners & heaters for labs according to redditors

Homebrew Materials:

Vacuum Pump Oil

Vacuum Tubing

1/4" Barb x 1/4" NPT Male Hose Fitting

1/4" Male x 1/4" Female NPT Extension Hose

Vacuum Pump

Filters

Spatulas

Magnetic Stir Bar

Digital Hotplate with Magnetic Stirrer

Nitrile Gloves (Better than Latex)

Empty Capsules (Buy Separated unless you hate your life)

Capsule Machine (If you value your sanity, buy more than a 100... I hated my life doing this)

Mohr Pipets

Pipette 10ml

Mortar and Pestle (If you're doing orals, get this... Otherwise, you're playing Russian Roulette with your doses and liver)

Funnel (For pouring into small places)

Alconox (For clean your shit)

Temperature Gun (How hot is my shit?)

Graduated Cylinder (If you measure with beakers, you're a fucking idiot... And you should consider Volumetric Flasks)

Beaker Set

1 Liter Beaker (Because brewing en'masse is better)

Scale (I have a 2kg one, too)

Calibration Weight Set

Calibration Weight 100g (Because you need two for the scale linked)

Vacuum Regulator (Unless you want to filter 9001 times due to broken shit)

Oil (Any USP grade, filtered or unfitlered)

BB

BA

Butyl Stoppers

Flip Top Seals

Crimper

Vials (Unsealed)

Autoclave (Cheaper than an oven, why are you using an oven?!)

Weight Boats (Buy a million of these. They're cheap and useful)

Did I miss something? Probably. Yes.

For those of you whom would like to make one of your own you can purchase the magnetic stirrer hot plate here ($210), and the Pyrex Erlenmeyer Flask here ($15.95)! Total investment cost: $225.95.

Alternatively you can purchase this magnetic stirrer hot plate for significantly less, bringing the total cost down to $175.90.

That flat hotplate is not ideal for a RBF (Round Bottom Flask.) To use it more effectively, you might try getting a pot the size of the burner, or a bit larger, and filling it with sand. The sand gets hot and heats the flask relatively evenly around the bottom.
When your finances permit, look for a good heating mantle, preferably with stirring. Something like this: https://www.amazon.ca/Heating-Magnetic-HMS1000ml-Temperature-100-240V/dp/B07Z5KTW6P/ref=sr_1_27?keywords=heating+mantle&qid=1574245664&s=industrial&sr=1-27
Of course, then you will need stir bars, if you want to stir your reaction while heating. (You usually want this.) https://www.amazon.ca/Magnetic-Stirrer-Mixer-Diameter-Length/dp/B07461T2PR/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=stir+bar+olive&qid=1574245874&s=industrial&sr=1-1

And it would be good to use a jack to be able to raise the mantle to the flask, so you can lower it when you want to remove heat, and not have to move the glassware. Handling hot glassware is not a great thing to do for a variety of reasons.

I've used the ones that are little butane tanks that you stick your existing burner to the top of, they tend to leak a little and aren't the greatest. Neighbors in the lab use camping stoves, which seem to work pretty well. I just use a cheap alcohol burner like this one and it serves my purposes fine.

Oops sorry I should have explained better. You don't actually pass your biological stuff through / over flame, just use flame to help maintain a clean workspace. Glass, tools, etc. gets flamed though.

TL;DR: Generic microbiology aseptic technique: article and video

Preface: I did NOT invent this. This is just how we microbiologists do our normal lab work, so it's what I tried to do when I started tissue culturing, and it seems to work just as well for TC. But I suspect this might seem like heresy to a real TC person...

Basic process is:

• generously spray workspace (~1.5-2 ft of bench) with 70% ethanol (or 10% bleach if you're into that. I'm an ethanol guy)
  
  
• Turn on your bunsen burner or this kind of thing as soon as possible after ethanol-ing but ONLY after the ethanol has dried sufficiently to not burn your house down.
  
  
• Make sure it's on pretty high (you want a fairly loud, roaring blue flame cone that doesn't flicker). The little ethanol-wick burners that I've seen don't seem to generate enough heat for this. Sure, it's enough to flame-sterilize a tool, but it doesn't put out enough heat fast enough to keep up a solid updraft.
  
  
• Do all your work within a ~6-inch radius around the burner, preferably less. This is the super important part. You want to have your protocorms / the sterile ends of tools / anything sterile to be in that zone. Like, don't burn yourself. But try to live right on the edge. Basically, the flame creates an updraft, keeping things from falling out of the air into your jar, onto your forceps, etc. But the updraft strength falls away fairly fast the further away you get from the flame. Especially since you ethanol'd your bench, there's practically insignificant contaminant contribution from below, so you have a "practically" sterile airspace. Definitely not fully sterile, but practically. And then you basically play the odds game to get your work done.
  
  Tips/techniques for winning the odds game:
  
  
• Always keep things covered when not directly reaching in. E.g., lid of donor vessel off, reach in, pick protocorms, pull out, lid goes back on, lid of receiving vessel off, place protocorms, pull out, lid goes on. This is the most important, I think: chances of contamination are directly proportional to time the lid is uncovered. The flame helps, but it only works if you have flame + quick & precise work. Which is totally feasible since the actual reaching in and collecting only takes ~2 seconds, moving between the two takes ~1 s, placing takes ~1-2 s.
  
  
• Don't open things by completely removing the lid unless absolutely necessary, just barely crack the lid enough to reach your tool inside. Sometimes you need to fully open it and set the lid down (inside up), which is OK. Just be quick and close to the flame!
  
  
• When opening lids, angle lids when open to keep as much of the vessel covered, and have the angle open towards the flame, not you.
  
  
• With jars set up like yours, briefly tilt the jar and flame the mouths of the jars as soon as you open them to create excurrent air. Not enough to get the whole thing so hot it cooks the life, just enough to heat up the glass at the opening a little bit. A good way to minimize open time - open lid and tilt mouth into flame quickly, pass the opening through once or twice. Then set the jar back down, and set the lid on top (don't screw it on, just set it since nothing will get in with the lid resting shut, especially since you flamed the opening). Now you can just crack the lid open with your left hand, don't need to re-flame since the lip should still be hot from before. And just reflame before every transfer (or every other transfer).
  
  
• No air currents
  
  
• Try not to breathe or breathe very softly when you have anything open
  
  
• Flame your forceps/spatula often, and flame it VERY hot. Usually I flame the working end of mine so hot that if the temperature equilibrated on it, I'd have very burned fingertips. But, then I squirt some 70% ethanol on the working end to cool it down. This isn't super safe, and try not to breathe the smoke/fumes that happens, but it saves a ton of time from having to balance the forceps somewhere in the sterile space to cool. And, of course, wait for the EtOH to evaporate before handling the biology.
  
  
• Ethanol gloves before you start.
  
  EDIT: Formatting. And I'm so sorry this got so long... I got carried away

They use a small alcohol lamp. Amazon sells them in appropriate sizes.

For example

Any replacement lamp will not automatically snuff itself, though. You will have to do this manually.

If you use a flask with vacuum, you need to use a round-bottom flask because flat bottom flasks have the risk of implosion when used with vacuum. That leaves heating mantles, and they are expensive but I wouldn't say they're a fortune (rotovaps--now those things cost a fortune).

You should be able to find a heating mantle for $100 or something like that if your desired flask volume isn't too large.

Here is a stirring heating mantle for not much more than $100.

I recently sent a pretty big email list to my brother, so I'm just copy/pasting out of the email. Before you ask why I'm recommending 12 packs of the beakers, it's because they break, and you WILL break them. Buy this stuff:


Scilogex 86143101 Model MS-H280-Pro LED Circular-Top Digital Magnetic Hot Plate Stirrer with 5.3" Diameter Ceramic Coated Plate, 110V
http://amzn.com/B00AYGIFCA - I'm not sure why, but when you use this link, it takes you to a non-amazon supplier. Click the link to buy from other sellers that offer prime shipping. It's $60 cheaper.


Spinpak Magnetic Stir Bar Assortment with Pivot Ring (Pack of 6)
http://amzn.com/B002VBW72K


Glass Beakers, 50ml Pack of 12
http://amzn.com/B003K1EH0A


Glass Beakers, 100ml Pack of 12
http://amzn.com/B003K1KQKK


Edit: Also, I don't turn the heater on until I've finished adding all ingredients except nicotine, but the entire time, I'm running the stirrer. Once all ingredients excluding nicotine are in, I then set the hotplate to 80c, and run the mix for 90 minutes. If you have beakers that have a cap, use the cap to capture vapor instead of letting it escape in to the atmosphere. If you buy the beakers I linked, you'll need to cover them. I use plastic wrap with a very small rubber band (like for orthodontic braces.)

Edit 2: Before heat is applied, I'm stirring at 200 rpm. Once the solution is up to temperature, I increase to between 450 - 700 rpm depending on the viscosity of the liquid I've created. You'll have to play around with the speed until you arrive at a speed that is not causing the liquid to spin out to the sides so much that the magnetic pill is halfway out of the solution.

Edit 3: I have sacrificial magnetic pills in each of my bottles of nicotine. When I take them out of the freezer, they go directly on the stirrer. NO HEAT. Just leave the cap on and stir for a while.

Edit 4: Before you balk at the $200 price tag of the stirrer, consider this. My ADV is POET Amaretto Nite Cap. It's $22 a bottle. I go through a bottle in a little less than 3 days. This stirrer costs the same as 9 bottles. A bottle of DIY juice costs approximately $1 to make. Do the math.

I believe that a heated plate is essential in the speed steeping process (which I assume is what you're going for) in which case I doubt you're going to find one under $100. I believe this one is the go-to for most people here. There are some "lightly used" ones on amazon as well for a few bucks cheaper.

The home version is to raise the temps to between 75-80c and sustain it there, while mixing, for an extended period of time, and allowing it to cool to near room temp before bottling.

I use one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Scilogex-86143101-MS-H280-Pro-Circular-Top-Magnetic/dp/B00AYGIFCA

Once temperature is reached: https://i.imgur.com/4NWmbeN.jpg

Four hours later: http://i.imgur.com/wsUfL3f.jpg

As you can see the color has changed significantly, and to the extent one would expect with a well "steeped" juice.

It also remedies some of the unpleasant volatiles by allowing them to escape as gas coming off the flask.

This was from DL:

You guys convinced me to home brew. Especially after I just did some math on what my latest $2k purchase would get me.

Putting together the list, will be refining as I learn more.

• [Autoclave](http://www.amazon.com/Prestige-Classic-Electric-Autoclave- Sterilizer/dp/B002AR0NUI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hpc_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0E5AJ7PQ2CHM1083QMPT) -- $899
  
• 2 x Autoclave Gasket -- $120
  
• Hormone powder
  
• Filtered Cottonseed USP Oil 4 Liter -- $255
  
• Benzyl Benzoate USP 1 Liter -- $60.75
  
• Benzyl Alcohol USP 1 Liter -- $45
  
• 3ml TERUMO Luer Lock Syringe w/o Needle (Qty. 50) -- $8
  
• 1 x 10ml EXEL Luer Lock Syringe w/o Needle (Qty. 50) -- $15.25
  
• 5 x B-D 25g x 1.5' (Qty. 10) -- $11
  
• 5 x B-D Needles 18g 1.5 (Qty 10) -- $11
  
• Alcohol prep pads/wipes
  
• Accurate scale to hundredths place
  
• Calibration weight
  
• 2 x Corning Pyrex 3 Piece Glass Graduated Low Form Griffin Beaker Set, 50ml, 100ml, 250ml -- $29.90
  
• 4 x PYREX Griffin Low Form 400mL Beaker Graduated Ea -- $34
  
• 4 x Beaker - PYREX GLASS 10ml -- $22.72
  
• 2 x SEOH Class A Volumetric Flask Borosilicate Glass 250ML -- $29.90
  
• 2 x Beaker Filters -- 150ml Nalgene MF75 Bottle Top Filter - 33mm neck (Qty. 12) -- $145
  
• Vacuum Pump -- 1.5 CFM Portable -- $275
  
• Melting Point Checker
  
• Sterile .20um syringe filter (For Tren) -- $162.88
  
• Crimper
  
• Vials
  
• Caps
  
• Glass stir rod
  
• Agar plates
  
• Latex gloves
  
• Alconox Detergent Cleaning Concentrate 4 lb. Container -- $30.30
  
• Scilogex 86143101 Model MS-H280-Pro BlueSpin LED Circular-Top Digital Magnetic Hotplate Stirrer with Ceramic Coated Plate, 100/240V -- $200
  
• 2 x Bel-Art Scienceware 371100138 PTFE Octagon Spinbar Magnetic Stirrer Bar, with Integral Pivot Ring, White, 1" Length, 3/8" Diameter -- $13
  
• 3 x jugs isopropyl alcohol
  
• Propolyene Gylcol 300
  
• Lockable Medical Storage Box -- $44.50
  
• Horizontal Laminar Flow Hood 48" x 24" -- $1,900
  
  
  Which Bottle Top Filter?
  ---------------------------------
  
• Millipore Hydrophilic PVDF Stericup-GV Bottletop Filter Unit, Radio-Sterilized, 0.22µm Pore Size -- $225
  
  Or
  
  
• 2 x Beaker Filters -- 150ml Nalgene MF75 Bottle Top Filter - 33mm neck (Qty. 12) -- $145
  
  
  Which Pipettor?
  ---------------------------------
  
• VWR Ergonomic High-Performance Pipettor -- $267.02
  
  or
  
  
• BRAND seripettor* pro Bottletop Dispenser - 1-10 mL -- #296.30
  
  Money is not an object. I'm not the type to do things cheaply or in a half-assed way. Lets set up the dream home brew lab now. I'll post pictures.
  
  What to buy?
  
  

http://www.amazon.com/Corning-Digital-Hot-Plate-120/dp/B003NV43C4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415052177&sr=8-2&keywords=digital+hotplate

If you want them to be, yes.

I have this exact one in perfect condition I'm trying to sell.

It has worked very well for me the few times I used it to make a couple 1L (85%VG)batches.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYGIFCA/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687522&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004J4W83A&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1BCEZM98NJDQEJZV0TYN

Post removed for having amazon referral links. Please ensure that nothing with "refRID" is allowed.

For example:

http://www.amazon.com/Scilogex-86143101-MS-H280-Pro-BlueSpin-Circular-Top/dp/B00AYGIFCA

I looks like you can get Petri dishes, test tubes and beakers pretty cheap on Amazon. Bunsen burners are a little more expensive but not too bad.

I have no idea why they wouldn't have put an address though. Sorry, hope everything gets sorted for you.

Hmm. Your thoughts on this for steeping?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYGIFCA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1CD90EEBCVSXZ&coliid=I30SA4FL051ZQR

Stuff you'll need (Prime links given)

$200 digital hotplate: amzn.com/B00AYGIFCA

$13.50 large flask: amzn.com/B00BERGESK

$9 rubber stopper to fit flask: amzn.com/B00ES3UE9C (can be had for $.50 at Fred Meyers or lab stores)

$17.49 for a hose to run from faucet to condenser: amzn.com/B000KI7VN6

$16.72 for the condenser: amzn.com/1450567898

$13.03 for a stand to hold the condenser: amzn.com/B00657N7TS

Misc you likely already have around:

Large pot or dish that can hold the flask

Cleaning sponge or rag

1/2 gallon vegetable oil

Total cost: $269.74 and maybe $20 for the misc stuff if you lack it

Preparation: This needs to be done in a temperature controlled room; the method uses slight variations in temperature to isolate out the individual chemicals, so any fluctuation in the room will hinder this. You will need to be near a sink with a running faucet. Be prepared for this method to take 24 plus hours.

Method:

1. Place your large pot on top of the hot plate, and place your sponge or rag in the center of the pot. This will prevent a hot spot where the flask touches the pan.
   
   
2. Fill your flask with the herb or extract you will be isolating (use extract, the results are much purer!), and place it on the sponge in the pot. Stopper the flask.
   
   
3. Attach a hose from the stopper to the top of the condenser. Attach a hose from the faucet to the coolant intake on the condenser. Attach a hose from the coolant exhaust and let it dangle in your sink.
   
   
4. Fill the pan with 1-2 inches of oil. Not enough for the flask to float, but enough for the oil level to be above the level of your herb or extract in the flask.
   
   
5. Start running cold water through the condenser, and start heating the oil. To get a list of the required temps, lookup each cannabinoid on Chemblink (or wikipedia), and look for the evaporation temp listed. Start with the lowest temp and work your way up.
   
   
6. Once the oil has reached the temp you specified, let the system run for at least 4 hours. You will begin to see resin buildup inside of the condenser. This is your isolate. Once you are satisfied that no more isolate is building up: run hot water through the condenser so the isolate melts and runs out of the condenser.
   
   
7. Go up a heat level and repeat 5-6.
   
   As I said, this really only works for THC-like cannabinoids, you won't get any terps with this method without much more expensive equipment (theyll just evaporate away), and the overall loss is great enough that its unlikely youll be able to get an isolate of CBG or THCV, since they are such a small percentage of the cannabinoids, but you should have no problem getting pure THC and even CBD, assuming your starter strain has more than a percent of it. Once you have isolates you can isomerize and do other fun stuff as well.
   
   That said, pure THC isnt fun at all, but its a great learning experience, and you can also use the same setup to distill essential oils or liquor, which is a slightly different process but uses the same equipment (though you can sub the digital hotplate for a cheaper electric range for those purposes)

We used Corning PC420D's when we first started. Jake from Nude Nicotine recommended it to me a while back. It does a good job.

We stopped using ours as we grew out of it and we still have 2 of them. Not sure if you're looking for a used one, but they're in great condition if you want to save a few bucks. Not really trying to sell it(haven't listed it anywhere), but it's sitting there unused.

You can get them for $380 shipped on amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Corning-6795-420D-PC-420D-Stirring-Pyroceram/dp/B004DGIC0W

May be able to find them cheaper elsewhere

Not sure what you need but there is this. Wide range of prices depending on what you want.