Australian suppliers of base dry chemicals

jonr

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Hi,
I'm getting back to my analog practise after covid/university and have had to discard almost all my chemistry.
I'm now out of the loop with regards to where to purchase dry chemistry, such as stuff needed for pyro developers,
TEA (Triethanolamine), Pyrogallol 10g, Phenidone 0.375g etc.
I live in NSW, but regional so likely I'd have to order online.

J
 

john_s

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Vanbar is my first go to place. However, their stock levels are temporarily low as they are rearranging something in the new year. They have no sodium sulphite, for example. The stock levels (and some details) on the web site can be incorrect.

Gold Street also good, and I like to support them.

TEA is used in all sorts of processes. I bought mine from a firm which makes industrial lubricants. I brought my own container. It is clear and viscous: some isn't as it's not 100%TEA
 

revdoc

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Gold Street for me. Generally cheaper and faster than Vanbar. (Last time I checked.)

Some things are easily available on eBay, especially if they have non-photographic uses. This applies to things like propylene glycol and TEA.
 
OP
OP

jonr

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revdoc said:
Gold Street for me. Generally cheaper and faster than Vanbar. (Last time I checked.)

Some things are easily available on eBay, especially if they have non-photographic uses. This applies to things like propylene glycol and TEA.
Click to expand...
Would you trust eBay quality?
This TEA for instance is half the price of stuff found at other vendors and claims "100% pure"

Triethanolamine TEA 100% pure BP pharmaceutical Grade Australian Made | eBay Australia

Triethanolamine is a strongly alkaline substance used as surfactant and pH adjusting chemical. Top Quality, Australian Made. This is Pure TEA, its alkaline you must dilute it before using.
www.ebay.com.au
 

Romanko

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Gold Street Studios.

There are chemical suppliers in Australia (AceChem and AusChemSource) that I used to source "exotic" chemicals like formalin, concentrated acids and permanganate. They sell restricted chemicals to individuals and small businesses but require you to fill an "I-am-not-a-criminal" declaration. The minimal order quantities make AceChem expensive for small amounts.

I contacted several sellers in China via Alibaba. They have local regulations on shipping chemicals via post so you have to use FedEx or other courier services. This makes it uneconomical unless you need a 200L drum of CD-4 or a sack of phenidone.
 

Romanko

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jonr said:
Would you trust eBay quality?
Click to expand...

I bought chemicals from eBay and was lucky. You can always contact the seller and ask about concentration (100% pure does not mean 100% TEA content) or even the certificates for the products they sell.
 

revdoc

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Yes, but I only buy from Australian sellers.

You can easily get a refund if anything's wrong with a product. eBay is pretty good like that.
 

john_s

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Vanbar are about to open at a new address, or maybe they have already. A few months ago their stock levels were low, so maybe soon they will be up to full speed.
 

Mick Fagan

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Interesting about Vanbar moving again, this must be about their fifth move.

They seem to move whenever their business expands, or their lease runs out. Any idea where they are going to?

Hopefully somewhere public transport allows reasonable access to them.
 

Taylor Nankervis

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They have outgrown the dingy, antiquated Fitzroy store.

Stock seems very threadbare nowadays - - certainly not packed to the rafters as was once was a very common scene. Even film stock is not half so plentiful.

They once had stores in North Melbourne, and Carlton (both expired leases). A staff member was shockingly fatally assaulted at the North Melbourne store quite a few years back.

They will be opening their new store at 349 Darebin Road, Thornbury, on 31st December, not far from the bespoke Colour Factory.

Store is reasonably accessible by public transport e.g. METRO train from CBD to Fairfield or Alphington then bus, or walk 2.9km. Yeah, bit of a hike! Riding your bike (once off the train) through the scenic Darebin Parklands is another very good option. Might be best to ring ahead if you are in need of something specifically (remembering that their website is not updated in real-time).
 
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Mick Fagan

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Taylor, thanks for the information. I can see myself catching the train to Alphington, then cycling along the Darebin creek trail up to almost their address.

As far as bulk single chemicals are concerned, ordering ahead and awaiting either an email or telephone call that it's ready to pick-up has always worked best with Vanbar. The largest size they usually have, seems to be 25kg bags, which I've bought a couple of times for chemicals I use a lot of (Paper developers).

Marc, the Carlton shop was terrific, if the weather was fine, I could have lunch in the park. I wonder if they ever sold the Gossen Profi-Six light meter which was listed for $1100 for at least 10 years in their glass case display of wares? It had been there so long, some parts of that light meter, which were subject to the display lighting, were starting to fade.
 

Taylor Nankervis

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Hi Mick,
I've taken a break (on account of heavy rain and gales!) from my usual style of DIY coffee in the caravan, and found out what it is like to queue for 45 mins in Barwon Heads for an (overpriced –$6.40! ) caffeine hit made by a Barista!

It is not very often now that I am at Vanbar, or the Colour Factory – both though being an easy distance to reach by bike. Last time I trained to Fairfield (May), the problem once there being the horrendous amount of traffic and congestion at the railway crossing. Quick-smart left turn into Perry Street for 1.6km, and that takes me to the Colour Factory, Vanbar being <1km further on). The Parklands are accessed from the south (nr. Alphington Station), via Wingrove St., then L/ at Yaranga Road, travelling north to Darebin Road ( this road does not have a reserved bike lane and can be very busy!).

Would not recommend lumping a 25kg sack of chems on your treadle!

 
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Mick Fagan

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Taylor, I use an AeroPress completely manual coffee maker in our camper, coupled with a super small ceramic hand driven burr grinder, it requires no power except for heating water somehow. Barwon Heads, it seems, is gentrifying!

Back to Vanbar, thanks for the directions and their advert. I did a street view to ascertain what the building looks like, only to find a 4.5 tonne Isuzu with four axles completely blocking the view of their building. This is a first for me as I've never before seen such a stretched and stitched together, street view picture.

I did in fact bring the 25kg bag home on the pillion seat of my motorcycle, thinking it wouldn't be an issue as my normal pillion weighed around 55kg. The weight spread across the pillion seat and my two panniers, was so low and concentrated that it certainly made me aware that it was there. On the pushy I try to keep it under 4kg in my backpack, otherwise it becomes hard work. As this will be a train and bicycling journey, I usually don't carry anything on the pushbike as you never know the conditions you may encounter on a train.

Going back about 35 years ago, Vanbar had their chemicals emanating from somewhere in Richmond.
 

john_s

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Every time they move they're further from me. I used to go to their South Yarra store as it was around the corner from my work.

Still worth the journey to Thornbury though.

The fact that the film stocks may be lower could be good in a way: if turnover is lower, maybe keeping film fresh is easier. I go to a fish shop that has almost empty shelves by 4pm, not like the others that have tons of fish sitting around at 5pm.
 
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