Hickman (Steps 5-9)

Hickman Apparatus Assembly

Hickman Apparatus Assembly, Steps 5-8
Step 5:		Insert thermometer into Claisen head as shown. Note the small O-ring below the cap. Use the thermometer that goes with the kit - the one in the lockers is too thick.
Step 6:		Insert Claisen head with thermometer into Hickman still head. •No grease necessary on joint. •As in macroscale (normal) distillation, the thermometer position is important. All the mercury in the bulb should be below the level of the inner edge of the annulus in which the distillate accumulates. This is evident in the photos below......
Step 7:		Final Hickman Apparatus setup. •Note clamp position. •Obviously, in Experiment F the vial is not empty as in the photo.
Step 8:	©2001,2002 Daniel A. Straus	Insert in preheated sand bath (requires about 30 minutes to heat up when Thermowell set at "3"). •Move from side-to-side to bury the vial part way into the sand. Clamp in place. •Within several minutes, distillate will begin to condense on the cool walls of the still head and drip down into the annulus where it accumulates. •If nothing happens in 10 minutes: --try burying the vial deeper in the sand, and/or --place aluminum foil over the Thermowell and sand around the vial, but not over the cap which would melt if too hot.