Hey fellow chemistry enthusiests, I got a pretty straight forward question thats directed at the members here with hands on lab experience & knowledge with somewhat sophisticated glassware and reaction setups.
So with that I've lost over 3/4 of the people reading this thread. But all it takes is that one person who knows a friend of a friend that will see the pictures and know the answer to this question. Mostly because it has several different variations, so here goes.




The name Kimax Dual west condenser distillation head tends to return only a few ebay listings in which the auction ended already. So the information on these older listings is already known to me. I know that it distills with the greatest of ease and thats generally what distillation heads are for (Duh!). But After looking at the pictures below it should dawn on the more observant as it did myself that running this apparatus with either one or both condensers leaves several features (shown below), unused and therefore wasting it's intended potential uses.





It works well for simple distillation but I'm pretty sure when Kimax designed the glassware in the dual condenser w/a stopcock above the smaller condenser ,that it had an intended use for a certain reaction of some sorts.

Anyone that can add anything to the little I've learned about this piece of glassware you'd be doing me a huge favor, cuz Kimax doent list it on any of their websites.

Thanks
Lowjackal

most likely (vacuum) flow control

you typically don't see dual-distillation setups like that. stacked liebig condenser setups are more common, using a claisen with two three-way adapters.

Exactly, thats whats got me wondering for what distillation process kimax produced this glassware for. The claisen, stillhead ,condenser, vacuum adapter, recieving flask, distillation setup ,is just that. A common compilation of lab glassware to distill mostly anything thats not too close together temp-wise. But this dual west stillhead must be for making or seperating a specific chemical or liquids.
Well kimax doesnt advertise it anywhere anymore so maybe it was just a a shitty design they came up with and therefore dont sell it, mention it, or have any type of publications about it anywhere.

Anyone else that has superior searching skills if you find anything on this glassware please share it with me.
Thanks, LJ

It could also be to release pressure the extra valve. Never used such apparatus before.

Regardless if you are looking for nice distillation glassware check out the clevenger apparatus. They can be simple or rather complicated looking. SWIM uses a sweet one for distilling essential oils.

ahh so that's what those are called.

i've always wanted an oldershaw or spinning-band column for fractional distillations, the latter being the most efficient column. both are $$$

To tell you the truth the only reason I got this dual condenser still head was the price could'nt be passed up. It started at $.99 on ebay and I wound up with it for $23.00 w/shipping.
Once I committed to getting it I bid $1.00 and a highest bid of $10.00. A $13.00 shipping and insurance charge and the rest is history.

I would recommend ebay's lab glassware section to anyone who enjoys the art of chemical research and experimentation. Some real steals can be found there. However I would advise against any clandestine lab operators from ordering from there too often, and NEVER ordering ANYTHING from the chemicals section.EVER! I have never seen so many supposed sellers offering iodine crystals in my life. That, and the formic acid, sodium cyanoborohydride, acetic anhydride , benzaldehyde., and the list goes on. Now all of the chems would be heaven to have at any responsible researchers disposal. But that's not why they're there. They're there to entangle methamphetamine and mdma manufacturers in the dea's net.
It would suck to try and wiggle off that hook. "Uh, I dont remember what I used the 50 grams of iodine on agent dickhead.".
Maybe some day the federal government will collapse and we gain our freedom through the total destruction of both the democratic and republican parties, and a Ron Paul type government would come into power of the people for the people by the people. Not this system of thieves and power hungry conspirators we have been sold to since 1913.
Oh I'm sick of this and the rant stops here.

agreed.

ebay is the cheapest and most easily accessible.
bestlabdeals.com, labdepotinc.com and labx.com are other options, which are less conspicuous

excellently put. You touched on the only part of that anti-the-right-forum-category rambling I really should have posted here. Way to skip the bullshit political rant and stick to the information we here at the nexus could really be bothered to care about.
Plus, all it would have took was one anti-establishment viewpoint even semi aligned with my late night fuck-a-fed dibble and who knows where I would have gone next.
Good man.

A setup like this is also good for distillations under inert atmospheres like argon or nitrogen. It can be a pain to distill a compound that is very air sensitive, mainly because the inert gas must fill the entire apparatus, but still be able to escape without blowing up the glassware. The top "T" connection allows for the inert gas to escape the system after it has circulated.

oh I hear ya, alright.
the status quo isn't conducive to the hobbyist, due to the social climate. during the 50's, anyone could own a chemistry set with all sorts of reagents, flasks and a bunsen burner. now, it sometimes seems big brother thinks we're all potentially making meth or bombs if we try to order reagents.
some online stores still cater to the hobbyist, but won't sell to my home state of Texas because of their draconian laws. it really pisses me off.

^^Agree its not fair. SWIM likes to make things with chemistry equipment that are not illegal or dangerous like essential oils and stuff. But if someone ever saw me with a distillation set up in my house they would freak.

Get this shit... I seen a short documentary about this little woman ,maybe 65 or so that was a basement chemical hobbyist. Well she's down there messing with different polymers and reagents and develops a material that she could upon forming in a brick-like piece, heat so hot that the material would glow beet red (temp unknown, just hot). And while this stuff was still red hot it could be handled without gloves. You know who the woman who was playing around with ceramic polymers sold her patent to? NASA . The re-entry tiles on the shuttle are mainly the stuff this little old lady made on accident.
]Wheres my freedom to invent the cure for heroin addiction, or some other million dollar chia-pet type chemical freedoms?

It's just damnit I need several drums of md-p2p and acetic anhydride. No fucking thresholds just dispense to the worthy of us out here. It's all about the money aint it? Well then... take my money Spectrum you scumbag chemical nazis.

^^HAHa. Drums of acetic anhydride and md-p2p eh?

lowjackal...ever heard of strike and eleusis?
they ordered drums of those chemicals.

The Case Against Strike.pdf : DEA Report

You mean that strike? And the Eleusis that gave uncle fester a few kicks in the ass with a thorough ripping of all the incorrect shit fester put in his first 5 editions of that stupid book of his?
Yeah, I've heard of them. They aint no hero's to me, well maybe strike was a sort of stand up dude by what he told the DEA agents when they asked him why he sold chems that he knew could be used to make mdma....I believe it was along the lines of, I dont agree with those laws and wouldnt ever call the law on anyone I sold chemicals to. If it was wrong I expected someone from law enforcement would have told me not to.

Then he breaks out with "Oh crap!, I forgot to do my dishes."

Just because I crave large amounts of listed precursors doesnt mean I'm gonna acetylate morphine into heroin or anything.....I just have no trust in the pharmecutical mafias asparin supply out there, and making my own is a god given right. That the DEA took away I guess?

^^ I agree with you low jackel. SWIM knows how to make some chemicals that ARE 100% useful medicines. However because they don't have FDA approval or someone else owns a patent on them (that they aren't doing anything productive with) SWIM legally could not produce and sell them. SWIM has become angry at the whole patent scene after working some pharmaceutical companies. Drugs would be produced cheaper and healthcare costs would go down drastically if this market was free from legal monopolies and government interference in all aspects.

precisely

and, you're right...they're not exactly heroes. because of their bravado and carelessness, they ordered drums of reagents and precursors and attracted the attention of the american version of the Gestapo

moral of the story: don't attempt to order drums of ANYTHING, unless you have a business license and business lawyers

not that you were considering ordering any drums
small purchases usually go under the radar. it's when one orders in large volume that alarms are set off