Just wondering if investing in an autoclavable pipette (plus disposable tips) would be worth it to anyone.
We get pretty good rates on lab equipment and we could sell autoclavable pipettes and tips retail for a little less than what I've seen on websites out there. Would there be any interest in this, for the hardcore DIYers?
Edit: I also have access to a wide variety of syringes, non-autoclavable pipettes, bottles, and pretty much any lab supply you could think of that would come in handy for DIY use. Also waterbaths and sonicators -- but those are more high-ticket items.
Yes yes yes. I've been holding off on buying beakers, hot plates, magnetic stir plates etc. I'm extremely interested if the prices are better than amazon. Would love to do one big buy with all the flavorings I want to buy as well. Please let me know when this is going to happen as I have a pretty large order I need and I'm running out of flavorings.
That's what I like to hear. I'm working on the DIY Supplies and Equipment part of the site now, I can probably get most product listings published in the next week or two, it's just a matter of getting supplier quotes, bringing it back to marketing to determine pricing, and then buying up some inventory.
Well keep in mind not everyone is like me. I don't count drops when mixing, I either do by weight I measure the ml. I would love an autoclavable pipette but I really can't talk myself into dropping over $5 for a syringe let alone $50 for the autoclavable.
Well if you're using stir plates you're probably mixing larger batches than most people. An autoclavable pipette that measures sub-mL amounts might not make sense for you, but a pipet-aid with serological pipettes might -- definitely costly but it would make life much easier vs. watching a scale every time you mix -- but your process is your process, if it's easy for you to do it by weight then that's all that matters
Why would you need an autoclavable pipette for DIY? Just use tips and toss them, they're dirt cheap.
I can buy bulk boxes of plastic throw away syringes and tips and have everything to DiY for a year for less than $30. At the cost of one of your pipettes I could go on for ~6 years!! I've been using the same 4 syringes for about 2 months now! (Discarded one because the numbering finally came off)
I'm sure some would appreciate it, especially if they are doing it to make money and making lots of juice, but for someone who only produces about 120-160ml a month that's a bit extreme for my level of production.
Point taken, but it's also the relative ease and accuracy of using a pipette vs. a syringe. You can easily and very exactly operate a pipette with one hand, you can change volumes on the fly, and do multiple motions with one tip (say if you were filling PG/VG into multiple bottles) without much more effort than pushing your thumb down, as it comes back up on it's own.
edit: also, no reason to rinse out syringes between flavors because you just throw away the super cheap, disposable tips after you've used them.
Definitely not for the budget or beginner DIYer, but it's matter of ease, comfort, and precision.
Yeah I would totally be interested if the pricing wasn't so high on them, or I made more juice. Not bashing. ;-)
Oh definitely, just wanted to make the distinction, I don't expect everybody to just buy pipettes because I said it's a good idea, I realize people do just fine with a few syringes.
I'm waiting on a quote from my supplier but based on pricing I've seen online I could probably sell the non-autoclavable variable volume pipettes around $60-70 -- tips for these are dirt cheap too, could probably sell those around $4-5 for a box of 96.
Link to syringes?
Amazon 100 packs 1ml and 3ml. They run ~$11 per 100. Luer locks tips 14ga blunts are ~$7 per 50. Don't have a link off hand, not hard to find however.
Wash after each use in an ultrasonic cleaner. Tips are reusable for quite awhile, with I'd only bought 10 now I have yet to throw away one.
Would you happen to know a rough cost? And are you willing to deal with canada?
Yeah, what are we talking? I might be interested.
The pipettes we have access to (and use in our own lab) are the Labpette Discovery series and the cheapest I've seen them go for online is $199. We could probably sell them for around $180. We could sell tips for around $6-8 for a pack of 96 of them.
Edit: I can also get bulk syringes at much better prices than they sell them for on most DIY sites.
The pipettes we have access to (and use in our own lab) are the Labpette Discovery series and the cheapest I've seen them go for online is $199. We could probably sell them for around $180. We could sell tips for around $6-8 for a pack of 96 of them.
I would be willing to deal with Canada however we'd have to figure out the shipping, we can't do free shipping there by any means and I know it's expensive.
I'd probably be interested in a VV non-autoclaveable one as long as it can do at least 0.1 ml increments (100 ul) Possibly a 1,000-10,000 ul one too; but for those ranges 10ml syringes are pretty easy to work with. If I had the money for liability inaurance and got off my ass to shop my juice around, a good set of autoclaveables would be my first investment :)
A trick I read about on here when it comes to syringes is this. Get a roll if clear packing tape. The width is just a little bigger than the number and lines on the 3ml syringe. It all fits within the tape width. Wrap it once and it will last very long. Markings stay and the tape stays on with sterilization as well.
What I'd like is something for measuring (very accurately, if possible, down to the 0.01mL) liquids from 0.25 mL to 5 mL. Anything like this in the ~$200 range? If not, I'll just stick to my syringes. I do need to pick up some glass ones, though. That ripe banana destroys my plastic ones...