Prices for Raw Chemicals at ScienceLab

RalphLambrecht · May 29, 2011

Does anybody know why the raw chemical prices at ScienceLab.com are so outrages? They want $127 for 500 g of ammonium thiosulfate. Is this a medical grade? My current supplier charges 14 for twice that amount but will not ship to Florida. I'm on the look for an alternative photographic chemical supplier. I checked with Photographers' Formulary, but they only carry ammonium thiosulfate as a 60% solution and I prefer the crystalline form.

Domingo A. Siliceo · May 29, 2011

I've just bought 1 Kg of ammonium thiosulfate for 4 at Manuel Riesgo in Madrid, Spain. I don't know if they will ship to Europe or the USA...

photomc · May 29, 2011

Good day Ralph, have you tried ArtCraft Chemicals? It has been while since I ordered anything from them, but Mike used to be rally good and prices were pretty good. Other source here in the US would be Bostick and Sullivan. Give one or both a call they should be able to help with a shipment to Florida.

Good Luck,

RalphLambrecht · May 29, 2011

Mike

I checked. Neither of them seems to carry dry ammonium thiosulfate, but at least ArtCraft has the liquid solution for a reasonable price. Still looking for the dry chemical.

RalphLambrecht · May 29, 2011

Domingo A. Siliceo said:
I've just bought 1 Kg of ammonium thiosulfate for 4 at Manuel Riesgo in Madrid, Spain. I don't know if they will ship to Europe or the USA...

Domingo

That's a good price! Tempting!

Roger Thoms · May 29, 2011

I thought that sciencelab rang a bell. This is link to a google search of Apug for science lab.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Roger

willrea · May 29, 2011

Greg Davis said:
Yeah, I remember discussions of Sciencelab.com. There was a Google Earth image of their "facilities" which seemed to be a mobile home and several commercial sized garbage dumpsters.

Doesn't look to be a mobile home on street view.

Ken Nadvornick · May 29, 2011

Greg Davis said:
Yeah, I remember discussions of Sciencelab.com. There was a Google Earth image of their "facilities" which seemed to be a mobile home and several commercial sized garbage dumpsters.

Here is the Google street view of their facilities based on the address listed on their website:

Sciencelab.com, Inc., 14025 Smith Rd., Houston, Texas 77396

Ken

clay · May 29, 2011

Beware of Sciencelab.com. Do a search here and on Photo.net for the problems people have had. I lost a small amount of money placing an order with them. Their modus is to respond that shipping is delayed until you no longer have the option of contesting the charges on your card. I live in Houston, and drove by the place one time. It is a sketchy place surrounded by a hurricane fence. It does not have the appearance of being any sort of legitimate business in my opinion. And the fact that they ripped me off for $20 reinforces that opinion in my mind. I would urge a whole lot of caution.

Check this thread: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

You might check with The Chemistry Store. They are in Florida, and I have had no problems with getting bulk chemicals from them. ( www.chemistrystore.com )

wogster · May 30, 2011

RalphLambrecht said:
Does anybody know why the raw chemical prices at ScienceLab.com are so outrages? They want $127 for 500 g of ammonium thiosulfate. Is this a medical grade? My current supplier charges 14 for twice that amount but will not ship to Florida. I'm on the look for an alternative photographic chemical supplier. I checked with Photographers' Formulary, but they only carry ammonium thiosulfate as a 60% solution and I prefer the crystalline form.

Ammonium Thiosulfate should be common enough that you can get it from any local chemical supplier, I doubt there is much in B&W photography that you CAN'T get at the local chemical supply house. Some chemicals are complex to ship because they are considered dangerous goods. Shipping dangerous goods across international borders, is expensive, fraught with paperwork and generally a pain in the pressure plate. It's something you do when your shipping a container load, it's not something you do, when your shipping a kg or so.

Murray Kelly · May 31, 2011

I bought 5kg of the sodium salt for about $36 from a pool supply store. It is used to lower chlorine (the same as for fish tanks) - my vendor thought I was crazy - he said it was enough to do all the pools in the state. Then I told him what it was really for and all was well. That's about 8/kg. Browse their store and check for chlorine lowering chemicals.

Peter Schrager · May 31, 2011

ralph-try City Chemical in west haven cT...they stock over 10,000 chemicals
tell Shawn I sent you
Best, Peter

RalphLambrecht · May 31, 2011

Murray Kelly said:
I bought 5kg of the sodium salt for about $36 from a pool supply store. ...

I'm looking for ammonium thiosulfate.

RalphLambrecht · May 31, 2011

Peter Schrager said:
ralph-try City Chemical in west haven cT...they stock over 10,000 chemicals
tell Shawn I sent you
Best, Peter

$118 for 2.5 kg: not affordable

I'm currently paying $19 / kg.

BetterSense · May 31, 2011

I doubt there is much in B&W photography that you CAN'T get at the local chemical supply house.

Sorry but posts like this really annoy me.

What is this "local chemical supply house" of which you speak? Is there actually such a place? Because I don't think they exist. Maybe it's a Canadian thing; do they have those in Canada on the corners right next to the coffee shop? Because I have lived in Ohio and in Texas, and in Montana, and I have never found a single place, even in the entire Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex, where a regular person can actually go to and buy chemicals off the shelf. I have never seen a chemistry store. I have called lots of chemical companies, but unless you are a business looking for a supply of chemicals for some industrial application, they basically hang up on you. It would be great if there were stores like that; if there are, by all means point me to them. But it really annoys me to read on the internet when people say "Oh, just trot down to your nearest Acme Chemicals To Go and buy a 25 pound pail of ammonium thiosulfate" as if it was that easy all over the world.

RalphLambrecht · May 31, 2011

I lived in Michigan and never tried to buy chemical at the time. However, I was surprised to be able to go to the local drugstore in England and Germany (chemist, Apotheke) and get pretty much what I wanted (at a price). Not necessarily off-the-shelf, but they could order almost everything. In Germany, you have to sign a contract now, which apparently is filed by the government, and it helps if you are able to come across as a responsible individual, because I think, the chemist ultimately may be liable for selling it to you otherwise.

I'll be back in Florida this Thursday and will try some of the major drugstore chains. It would already help if they could point me into the right direction or order it for me.

Ken Nadvornick · May 31, 2011

Once upon a time, every self-respecting retail photography store had bulk chemical sections as large as their new camera sections. One-pound yellow-and-red labeled brown glass bottles of photo-grade chemicals were ubiquitous. Sulfites, bisulfites, and thiosulfates. You name it. And the stores were so numerous as to sometimes be located only walking distance away from one another.

The biggest problem with all of that glass packaging came when the buildings shook as the larger dinosaurs trundled past on the street outside...

Ken

RalphLambrecht · May 31, 2011

I'm going to The Villages in central Florida, just an hour north of Orlando.

ASC wants $447 for 2.5 kg, but all these places make a point out of selling 'purified' ammonium thiosulfate. I guess, we photographers don't need it purified?

jeffreyg · May 31, 2011

Ralph,

I don't have a source but you may try calling Carolina 1-800-334-5551. If they don't carry it they might be able to direct you to a source. Anyways, they have many interesting products such as storage bottles and pipets. Their catalog is 1091 pages. I buy pipetting supplies for measuring pt/pd solutions. most of their stuff is biological but they may be helpful.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

jeffreyg · May 31, 2011

Ralph,

I don't have a source but you may try calling Carolina 1-800-334-5551. If they don't carry it they might be able to direct you to a source. Anyways, they have many interesting products such as storage bottles and pipets. Their catalog is 1091 pages. I buy pipetting supplies for measuring pt/pd solutions. most of their stuff is biological but they may be helpful.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

c6h6o3 · May 31, 2011

Try Dead Link Removed, Ralph.

Nicholas Lindan · May 31, 2011

Am. Thiosulfate is almost always sold as a 60% solution. I understand the solid form is unstable as it decomposes rapidly with slight heat and absorbs water like crazy. I imagine the solid form is normally sold as a reagent grade 'speciality chemical', as your pricing seems to indicate.

FWIW:
http://www.chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/inorganic/AMMONIUM%20THIOSULFATE.htm
60% Am. Thio. is about $700 / tonne if you are willing to buy a rail-car of the stuff ($0.70 or so a kilo / $0.32 a lb) and the bog-standard stuff seems to be quite pure...

wogster · May 31, 2011

BetterSense said:
Sorry but posts like this really annoy me.

What is this "local chemical supply house" of which you speak? Is there actually such a place? Because I don't think they exist. Maybe it's a Canadian thing; do they have those in Canada on the corners right next to the coffee shop? Because I have lived in Ohio and in Texas, and in Montana, and I have never found a single place, even in the entire Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex, where a regular person can actually go to and buy chemicals off the shelf. I have never seen a chemistry store. I have called lots of chemical companies, but unless you are a business looking for a supply of chemicals for some industrial application, they basically hang up on you. It would be great if there were stores like that; if there are, by all means point me to them. But it really annoys me to read on the internet when people say "Oh, just trot down to your nearest Acme Chemicals To Go and buy a 25 pound pail of ammonium thiosulfate" as if it was that easy all over the world.

Maybe it's that you live in the US, where anyone looking for anything personally is thought of as a terrorist or running a drug lab. I know of at least 2 in Toronto that will deal with individuals looking for smaller quantities.

RalphLambrecht · May 31, 2011

Nicholas Lindan said:
Am. Thiosulfate is almost always sold as a 60% solution. I understand the solid form is unstable as it decomposes rapidly with slight heat and absorbs water like crazy. I imagine the solid form is normally sold as a reagent grade 'speciality chemical', as your pricing seems to indicate. ...

Nicholas

I think those reports are heavily exaggerated. It's not just sold as a 60% solution. You can find the crystalline form at many places, but I don't need to pay extra for purified. The crystalline form is just fine if properly stored. Yes, it's hygroscopic and it absorbs water but not 'like crazy', and you can account for it. It's also not unstable, I use my shipment for a year now, and the clip test works as well as it did the first day.

I'm trying to get away from liquid chemical as much as possible.

RalphLambrecht · May 31, 2011

wogster said:
Maybe it's that you live in the US, where anyone looking for anything personally is thought of as a terrorist or running a drug lab. I know of at least 2 in Toronto that will deal with individuals looking for smaller quantities.

We may have to send you to a diversity class.

Prices for Raw Chemicals at ScienceLab

Advertiser

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency