Where to buy Vials/Test Tubes etc?

Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum

Help Support Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Futur

Well-Known Member
Joined
26/8/14
Messages
99
Reaction score
50
I'm struggling to find some 10mL & 50mL screw cap glass vials for yeast farming without having to outlay for a box of 100.

I originally purchased a test tube kit of 12x100mm with push caps and turns out the caps are HDPE which distorted when I pressure cooked them. Frustrating.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced store to purchase this equipment from without having to purchase a quantity for an entire lab?
 
Have you looked on eBay? These aren't something I've looked for myself but I'd imagine eBay or science supplies stores would be the best bet. But whether they'd sell them in smaller amounts than 100 is another thing... :unsure:
 
Off the top of my head I know DigitalHomebrew.com usually has them in small lots. You could try ProSciTech.com.au as they sell most things in lots that aren't too big.
 
I've looked on ebay and they don't have what I want. Either they're overpriced/bulk qty/no idea what the lids are made from.

DIgital homebrew look like they don't have them anymore and proscitech only do lots of 100+ plus caps. So for two sizes of vials it's a ~$160 purchase for some vials!
 
Thanks Mardoo. I found some glass vials on ebay available from china in 10&50mL sizes at decent prices. They have metal lids which is good but i'm concerned about the seal of the lids and what they're made from.I don't want the seal melting when I PC them.

I really didn't think it would be this hard to find this equipment :(
 
I went to the nearest lab supply store to get some stir bars and while there asked if there was any way I could get a small qty of vials that I found in their catalogue and to my surprise the lady ended up giving me 10 that were just lying around out the back.
 
Maybe I should just buy the large quantity and sell the remainder on ebay?

There is a market for these and none for sale so I should be fine :p
 
Mardoo said:
You could probably sell most of them on here.
Nah... You'll never shift them! :ph34r: ... :lol:

Futur said:
Maybe I should just buy the large quantity and sell the remainder on ebay?

There is a market for these and none for sale so I should be fine :p
Futar - my response to MArdoo was very tongue in cheek... yeast tubes in the bulk buy contact det's thread.

I moved 400 15ml vials in an afternoon.
 
Not sure if this is the mob used in one of the bulk buys on here, but Science Supply Australia is another option. FWIW I bought some HDPE ones from MartinOC's BB that were cheap and autoclavable (as long as you leave the lid loose).
 
Futur said:
I think I should share this with you guys. After three days I finally found what I'm looking for after digging through eBay for hours on end!

Ended up paying $35 including postage for:

30x5mL borosilicate vials (polypropylene caps)
8x10mL borosilicate vials (polypropylene caps)

4x100mL reagent bottles (autoclavable)

So happy!!

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/Medicine-Science-/11815/m.html?item=190835896071&hash=item2c6eb4af07&_ssn=fashionladyshop
mind linking to the exact items.. cant seem to find those first two
 
Hey Futur,
I work in a lab so I know some companies that sell lab supplies. I want to get into some yeast banking so I was looking at the best tubes/vials. Do you need glass ?
It's more expensive and there are postage implications with glass . Also the size , what about 30 mL and 50 mL screw cap containers ? I've been thinking there
appears to be a market on here for lab supplies. From plastics and glassware to microscope odds&ends does anyone use their own microscope to check viability ?
I fear people say they'll buy it then when it comes to handing over the money, they don't get back to you. You do have to buy them in bulk so there has to be a
demand for them . I think we should do more of our own yeast supplies here in Oz but it's hard to sell something for $15 a pop when you can buy freeze dried for
< $6. The funny thing is , in my work we do quality control all the time on everything, but BREWERS buy vials of yeast from the US that could be contaminated
or just dead , who checks it ? I think there could be an investigation waiting to be done there but most magazines/online sites would be sponsored by one of these
companies so not much chance.
Roosterboy
 
Roosterboy said:
Hey Futur,
I work in a lab so I know some companies that sell lab supplies. I want to get into some yeast banking so I was looking at the best tubes/vials. Do you need glass ?
It's more expensive and there are postage implications with glass . Also the size , what about 30 mL and 50 mL screw cap containers ? I've been thinking there
appears to be a market on here for lab supplies. From plastics and glassware to microscope odds&ends does anyone use their own microscope to check viability ?
I fear people say they'll buy it then when it comes to handing over the money, they don't get back to you. You do have to buy them in bulk so there has to be a
demand for them . I think we should do more of our own yeast supplies here in Oz but it's hard to sell something for $15 a pop when you can buy freeze dried for
< $6. The funny thing is , in my work we do quality control all the time on everything, but BREWERS buy vials of yeast from the US that could be contaminated
or just dead , who checks it ? I think there could be an investigation waiting to be done there but most magazines/online sites would be sponsored by one of these
companies so not much chance.
Roosterboy
I don't doubt there is a market here for lab supplies, i'm not sure how large that market though.

I am after glass as a personal preference. I've just found glass for next to nothing on eBay but it took me hours to find the stuff. Some others might have some more to add to the labware requirements but I'm just starting out with yeast banking myself.
 
Hi guys,

I organised a Melbourne BB of HDPE centrifuge vials (PP lids) awhile ago via Proscitec in Qld.

We mostly ordered the LCA03-50's because they were the perfect size to split a smack-pack or vial into 4-5 useable chunks & still be able to stir-plate-up a pitchable amount in the shortest time:

https://proscitech.com/?navaction=show_page&chapter=l&page=9#lca01

They worked out at about 20c each as part of a bulk-buy with shipping.

YMMV
There's plenty more on the website if you want to go shopping.....
 
MartinOC said:
Hi guys,

I organised a Melbourne BB of HDPE centrifuge vials (PP lids) awhile ago via Proscitec in Qld.

We mostly ordered the LCA03-50's because they were the perfect size to split a smack-pack or vial into 4-5 useable chunks & still be able to stir-plate-up a pitchable amount in the shortest time:

https://proscitech.com/?navaction=show_page&chapter=l&page=9#lca01

They worked out at about 20c each as part of a bulk-buy with shipping.

YMMV
There's plenty more on the website if you want to go shopping.....

Ahh beauty, Thanks Martin
 

Latest posts

Back
Top