Convenient Storage of Electrical Apparatus The introduction of electric heating mantles, hot plates, and magnetic stirrers into the undergraduate instructionai laboratory has greatly increased the ease and safety with whichexperiments can be uerformed. However. these devices are not without their drawbacks. 'How often have you l k d to untangle knotted cords in order to remove a hot plate from the equipment pile. Or, how many times have you had to coil carefully the heating mantle cords in order to fit the last heating mantle into the storage drawer. Problems with the starage of electrid devices having attached cords have plagued scientists since laboratories were electrified. We wish to describe the construction of simple and inexpensive racks which allow the storage of heating mantles, hot plates, and 'magnetic stirrers of the type commonly used in undergraduate laboratories without the usual entanglement of the cords. This storage method is illustrated in the accompanying photograph. Materials required include PVC pipe, a few dozen round head wood screws and, flat washers, PVC cement, and aconvenient cabinet or shelf on which to mount the racks. We have found 6-in. and 8-in. diameter PVC pipe to he most suitable. Construction begins by cutting the PVC pipe to the desired length (the depth of the cabinet or shelf on which it is to he mounted). A 4-6-em slot is then cut the entire length of these smaller pieces. The pipe can be cut using a hand saw or table saw. The pipe is then mounted (with the slots pointing down) to the underside of the shelf using wood screws and flat washers. Space is most efficiently utilized if a second row of pipes is mounted below the first row usinePVC cement. Electrical eaui~mentis inserted in the rack with the cords hanging through the sldts..~hecards will not become tangled if sufficient room is allowed below the rack. This storage system has been in use in our instructional organiclaboratories for the past year. In addition to avoiding a tangled mass of cords these storage racks can utilize space that might otherwise go unused, such as the space under shelves. Our organic laboratory is equipped with enough of these racks to accommodate 24 hot plates, 24 magnetic stirrers, 24 small heating mantles (up to 125 ml) and 24 large heating mantles (up to 500 ml). This required 25 ft of 6-in. PVC pipe and 8 ft of 8-in. PVC pipe. The cost of the pipe, PVC cement, and the necessary screws and washers was approximately $100.00 at 1981 prices.
Thomas D. Harris SUNY at Fredonia Fredonia, NY 14063
Volume 60 Number 7 July 1963
601
