[lark08]

I'm a graduate student and am shopping around for a new rotary evaporator for our lab. Does anybody have any recommendations for a good brand/model to be used for organic solvents? I know that Buchi is popular, is there anything better?

Thanks for your time!

[Two00proof]

In my opinion, there's nothing better than a Buchi.  As far as which model number is best, it all depends on how fancy you want it to be.  All the models work essentially the same, they just have varying amount of bells and whistles.

[enahs]

Yeah, we have like 12 Buchi.
Most of the time I end up on the 25 year old one, and it still works beautifully.

Just take good care of it and it will take good care of you.

 

[Mitch]

When in doubt, make your own.

[kiwi]

anything with a vertical condenser is awesome - you won't believe the amount of space you save. you don't need anything fancy like a vacuum controller or anything, as long as it holds a good vacuum and spins.

[gfunk]

My lab uses Buchi and Heidolph.  Buchis are quite expensive, but they're worth it.  One of our Heidolphs is broken, and the other is probably heading there.

I second kiwi's post.  Vertical condensers rock :-).  And a lot of the accessories Buchi sells isn't necessary.  They're very, very cool, but unnecessary.  Solvent vacuum/temperature programs, auto water bath refilling, vapour temperature probes... those are all fluff.  And the plastic+glass thing collects dust like no tomorrow and looks nasty.  But the Buchi works like a dream :-).

[Squirmy]

A Buchi rep came by about a year or so ago. We have all of one rotavap that's almost 20 years. I was impressed by his honesty...I asked about cooling water and he suggested going to Home Depot to get a fountain pump and put in a bucket of ice water... rather than spending a bunch of money on their cooling system.

He admitted the difficulty of selling for Buchi is the longevity of their rotavaps, and I believe him. Even if you get an older model, I think they are THE company to buy from.

[romzulu]

my lab 3 Buchi and 1 Heidolph only problem with buchi is not with rotavap but some time with chiller. i fournd buchi is far batter, long lasting and less vacume leaking problems.

[gedftsnd]

We had Buchi's in our lab for about 10 years and kept having issues with vacuum. The warranty had expired quickly so we could not get service which was fine since we are chemists and it wasn't that hard to maneuver. Howver we borrowed a Heidolph and did a vacuum tightness comparison and the Heidolph model held a much tighter vacuum. We have since purchased all Heidolphs and have had much more consistent results. Their design is a bit more chemically resistand and more durable. I know Heidolph used to make motors for Buchi until Heidolph developed their own rotary evaporators (according to the sales rep). The Buchi now outsources their manufacturing of parts and motors to China and India even though tey are originally a swedish company. Buchi is good but I would definitely go witrh Heidolph if you want more reliability and more consistent results..

[kriggy]

We have buchi and they work well. Ofc, sometimes people "do bad stuff" but usualy, changing the membrane in pump works well (and we can do it ourselves).
Vertical condensers are great, if you can get one with cold finger its good as well but just cold water works. I can also second the idea of getting a fountain pump and ice water bucket

[BobfromNC]

If you want to save money, buy a used Buchi off Ebay or other site, rather than buy a cheap imitation.  The r-114 model will still be working ni 20 years if you just replace the vacuum seal every year or two.    Other ones are fine, but the old ones are simple and don't ever break.   If you want to buy a vacuum pump, there are planty of them that work well, Welch, VWR, Buchi, etc, they are all similar, so don;t waste money on the Buchi there, unless you get a deal like Fisher had recently for a free vacuum pump with the Buchi rotovap.

[Reddart]

My last lab had a Buchi and a Heidolph. I much preferred using the Buchi, though the Heidolph was a larger system and was useful for large evaporations.