Over Head Solution Mixer

Over Head Solution Mixer

I have been away for awhile. Other things came up and I was unable get back to doing any science and or experimenting. Here is something I did put together this weekend.

Using an old single head mixer, a cocktail swivel stick (it has a propeller at the end of it), lab stand and clamp I am able to make a solution mixer (see second picture). This mixer or stirrer works over head of the solution. Solution container can be a beaker, jar, glass or anything else.

It is very simple to make. I had to heat the end of the swivel stick (the portion that goes into the mixer) and then take a pair of pliers to some what flatten the end to fit it into the notches of the mixer. This holds the stick in and allows for the mixer to spin it.

Other items can be used instead of the mixer, such as, electric screwdriver(very inexpensive to buy or can be found. Most people through them away when the batteries stop holding their charge.), electric motors(such as found in dollar store fans and electric toothbrushes), etc.

Future Projects

Future Projects

I have been very busy lately and with Christmas coming I haven't had as much time to play around as I would like. But here is a list of projects I am working on:

1) converting an old fridge, the bottom section I will use it for chemicals storage unit and convert the top freezer compartment into an incubator.

2) build a flask and plate shaker from an old turntable

3) a roller from an old printer (it rotates and mixes solutions in tubes)

4) a new transfer (sterile) chamber

5) video add-on for the microscope

6) a new work area

So stay tuned in the new year and have a Merry Christmas.

More Lab Chemicals

Here is more to add to the list of chemicals that you can collect for your home lab and where you might be able to get them:

Acetone - (H, D)
Alcohol – Isopropyl (D)
Aluminum potassium sulfate - Alum (G)
Ammonium carbonate - smelling salts (D)
Butane - lighter fluid (department stores)
Calcium Hydroxide - Garden lime (garden stores)
Calcium Oxide - quicklime (H)
Ferric Chloride – circuit board etching (electronics store)
Hydrogen Peroxide – (D)
Lead - fishing weights (sports stores)
Methanol – methyl hydrate solvent (paint stores)
Naphthalene - moth balls (Department stores)
Sulfuric acid - car battery acid (car supply)
Toluene – solvent (paint stores)

I will continue to look for everyday chemicals that can be used in a citizen of science's lab.

The Vortex Revisited

The vortex revisited.

I improved the spinner of the vortex by using rubber instead of foam. In the upper picture you see all the parts necessary to finish the vortex. You need a blender, a nut and washer that fits on the spinning bar of the blender, a juice cap with a hole drilled through it off centre, the juice spout (the cap screws on this to close the spout)remove as much of the cardboard material around it as you can,and the rubber test tube cap from a florist (this is used for providing water for a single flower).

The juice cap is bolted down on the blender spinning bar. The rubber cap is positioned over the nut on the spinning bar. This gives us a place to put the test tube on when we vortex it. Now take the screw top spout and screw it into the cap. This holds the rubber cap in place and has a hole in it to allow the test tube to rest on the rubber. See second picture.

The cost of this vortex was absolutely free. It works very well. Now that I have it working I will clean it up and add it to my growing lab.

Lab Chemicals

As can be seen above I don't keep large quantities of chemicals and all are labeled. Chemicals are the foundation of most labs and experiments. You will need at least some chemicals to do experiments.

Here is a small list of chemicals that you can collect for your home lab and where you might be able to get them. They will get you started:

G - grocery store
D - drug store
H - hardware store

Acetic Acid - pure white vinegar (G)
Aluminium - foil (G)
Ammonium Bicarbonate - spices (G)
Ammonium Chloride - soldering flux (electronics store)
Ammonium Hydroxide - household ammonia (D,H,G)
Aluminium Sulphate - (gardening store)
Ascorbic Acid - spices (G)
Boric Acid - ant and roach killer (H,G)
Calcium Carbonate - tums, chalk (D)
Calcium Chloride - drying agent (H)
Calcium Hypochlorite - bleaching powder (G)
Calcium Sulphate - plaster of paris (H)
Charcoal - (aquarium store)
Citric Acid - spices (G)
Copper - wire (H)
Copper Sulphate - drain cleaner (H)
Corn Starch - (D,G)
Denatured Alcohol - shellac thinner (H)
Glycerin - glycerol (D)
Hydrochloric Acid - muriatic acid (H)
Iron - steel wool, nails (H)
Manganese Dioxide - black material in regular batteries (D,H,G)
Magnesium Sulphate - epsom salts (D)
Sodium Bicarbonate - baking soda (G)
Sodium Bisulphate - Sani-Flush (H,G)
Sodium Borate - Borax (G)
Sodium Carbonate - washing soda (G)
Sodium Chloride - table salt non-iodized (G)
Sodium Hydroxide - Drano (H)
Sodium Silicate - crystal garden kits (toy store)
Sucrose - table sugar (G)
Trisodium Phosphate - TSP (G)
Turmeric - spices (G)
Zinc - metal found in regular batteries (D,H,G)

A Lab Vortex

A Lab Vortex

When I was making the centrifuge I had to drill a hole through the center of the spinner bowl. The first time I drilled it was a little off center and it spun slightly off. This had given me an idea for building a lab vortex.

Using another blender that I found, a nut, washer, sponge foam and a juice container cap (from one of the many storage bins I made) I was able to make a lab vortex. I drilled a hole in the juice container cap slightly off center. Made a hole in the foam so that when the nut held the cap in place it would also hold the foam in place to. The washer was used under the cap to slightly raise the cap so it would not rub on the blender.

I want to make the vortex cap better and will experiment on fixing this. I was thinking that maybe a small suction cup may do a better job, but we will see. For the time being it works pretty well.

You can see in the pictures the parts used and the vortex working.

Water Bath

Water Bath

At a Thrift Shop I found another aquarium heater for $2.00. I built a lab support stand from a piece of wood and a wooden dowel. Found the clamp and clamp holder at a surplus store for $2.00 each. A lab thermometer I already had. The Pyrex dish I have as well. The thermometer holder was made from a clothespin, plastic tube from a toy car and tape (I will add glue to make it permanent). The aquarium heater is placed in lab clamp and thermometer holder is placed in the clamp holder that clamped to the support stand. Then place all of this into a dish, beaker, etc. Make sure it is large enough to allow other lab equipment to sit in the water bath. And there you have a nice water bath for the lab.

You can use an aquarium thermometer instead of the lab one. You can find these at second-hand stores or in the trash or even buy a new very cheaply. I will be looking at using the slow cooker I found as a water bath as well. It does not have a way to set the temperature as easily as the above water bath can. It has 3 settings to use.

Water baths are a very important item in the lab and this was a relatively inexpensive way to make one.

More Of My Lab

More of My Lab

This picture shows more of my lab. Most of my biological work gets done here.

Over the summer I have picked up many discarded items:

VCR's - they have motors that can move things and timers to set things up.
Blenders, slow cookers (maybe able to use for water baths), electric cup warmers (again use for water baths), aquarium and aquarium heaters.

A great book I found a bit out-dated: Recombinant DNA a Short Course by James Watson, John Tooze and David Kurtz. It is a short course on DNA manipulation, so far a very interesting read. I found this at a second hand book store for $1.00.

Another book I have read over the summer was "A Life Decoded" by Craig Venter. It deals with Venter's time dealing with the human genome group, as well as other parts of his life.

If you want plenty to read and watch, go to www.hhmi.org. There is so much there, so much information. You can even download their journal as PDF files. They have interactive labs, etc.

Power Supply

Power Supply

I have been looking for a power supply for my electrophoresis other than batteries. I have been using an old train transformer, but it is very slow or 3 to 5 9 volt batteries, but is very costly. While searching the internet I found this:

www.science-projects.com/PowerSupply.htm

Now any time you play with a 120 volts you should be very careful. Here is a file for Basic Electrical Safety:

www.labtrain.noaa.gov/osha600/refer/menu12a.pdf

I will be building this power supply and trying it out. I will talk about this in a later post. If you build be very careful.

Building A Transfer Chamber

Building A Transfer Chamber

A sterile environment is needed when working with microbes and tissues. A sterile environment greatly reduces the chance of contamination by other microbes and materials in the air. Here I make a simple transfer chamber from an old aquarium, an fluorescent light, plastic and tape.

The plastic is cut a little larger than the opening of the aquarium. This allows the plastic to fold around the edges where it is taped to the aquarium. I tape the plastic only half way down the sides of the aquarium. This allows for my hands and arms to enter the chamber. The fluorescent light sits on top of the aquarium to allow me to see inside.

I sterilize the inside of the chamber by wiping down all surfaces with 70% alcohol or Lysol. This is a very simple transfer chamber and can be made very easily. I have seen it made from clear tote boxes, etc. It is not the best of chambers but it will help cut down on contamination. Later I will discuss building a much better one. Again this was built from everything I already had or found.

The top picture shows the chamber setup in my lab. It is placed on a metal shelve. The shelve above it holds the incubator and a storage of petri-dishes.

The middle picture shows it put together.

The bottom picture shows the parts used to build the chamber - aquarium, plastic, light and tape.