edited by
JOERICH
inventory control
Blackhawk Christian Schwl 74W East State Boulevard Fon Wayne, IN 46815
Bob Zafran Abraham Lincoln High School, 555 Dana Avenue,San Jose, CA 95126 Are you tired of lines at the counter when students are obtaining reagents? Are you tired of spills and the inconvenience of reagent bottles and dispensers and of washing and storing glassware? Do yourself (and your students) a favor and at the same time recycle plastics. lnnovatlve Labware Use screw-topped soda (pop) containers as liquid dispensers during lab activities. Most gardenhardware stores stock a two outlet "Y" adapter for garden hose faucets. The 'T adapter is equipped with two, lever-type, continuous turning control valves. The input end of the adapterjust fits the screw top of soda bottles. Prepare your noncaustic solutions, deionized water, dilute acids, or anything that can safely be stored in a plastic container, and add the liquid to a clean soda bottle. Screw on the 'Y' adapter, slip a ringstand ring over the neck of the bottle, invert the bottle and attach the ring to a ringstand. The best "Y" adapter fitting I have found is made by "Gardena" and costs less than $4.00.The Gardena 'T adapter fits most plastic soda bottles so you can have 0.5-,I-, 2-, and even 3-L dispensers. I have added an extra hose washer to my fittings to prevent leaks and connected a 5-cm piece of Tygon tubing to each output end of the '5"' fitting to make access for the student easier. Use another ringstand ring placed at the bottom of the bottle for support. (See drawing.) Now, two lines of students can dispense reagents easily and quic!dy from the two outputs without spillage while smoothly and SAFELY controlling the outflow. If a larger outflow rate is needed, simply poke an airhole in the bottom of the bottle. Rinse and Recycle When you are finished, simply rinse the soda bottle and recycle it? Voilh, there will be no more need to wash glassware!
I
The set-up for the reagent dispenser.
Volume 70 Number 7 July 1993
595
