JOURNAL O f CHEMICAL EDUCATION
0
SUPPORT FOR COMPRESSED GAS CYLINDERS R. S. YOUNG and R. SNADDON Diamond Research Laboratory, Johannesburg, South Africa
MOST compressed gas cylinders are awkward objects around a laboratory or lecture room. Unless placed in a fitted recess in a bench or corner, their shape renders them unstable when upright and consequently in constant danger of being hocked over during cleaning of benches and floors or even during normal chemical operations in a crowded laboratory. The usual tall, flatbottomed cylinder is bad enough in this respect, but many gas cylinders are round-bottomed, which of course greatly increases their instability. Cylinders for plant purposes are sometimes mounted on a small, rubber-tired cart, but the bulk of this assembly renders it unsuitable for laboratory use. An obvious way to overcome this difficulty is to strap the cylinder to a fixed point on a bench or wall. This entails screwing or bolting two metal swivels, to which are attached the ends of a belt or webbed strap into the side of a bench or wall. This is satisfactory for some routine operations where the position of a gas cylinder is permanent, but in a research laboratory cylinders are frequently moved to different parts of the
building. Likewise, in a lecture room it is necessary to move cylinders to different positions along the demonstration bench. We have found that mbber suction discs, commonly used on the top of automobiles for supporting a light framework designed to carry a load on the roof of a car, can be employed as a support for gas cylinders. These discs are usually about 3 in. in diameter and are provided with a screwed bolt in the center. A metal swivel t o which is rivetted the strap of leather or webbing can thus be easily attached to the rubber disc. These rubber suction discs will adhere very satisfactorily for long periods to a smooth surface of metal, tile, cement, or wood. If the surface is not fairly smooth it is advisable to smear on a little glycerol or vaseline before pressing the rubber onto it. Two stout pieces of webbing, one of which is provided with a buckle, fastened by swivels to two rubber discs, thus form an efficient, flexible, and unobtrusive means of supporting gas cylinders in perfect safety in almost any part of the laboratory where they may be needed.
