I would like to say thanks to "hypo" for realizing that building a ketene lamp is easy, "rhodium" for making this place possible, and "chromic" for the idea of using a dimmer, "uemura" for posting the picture from hypo and Organic Synthesis for mentioning this method.
The production of heroin requires acetic anhydride and getting my hands on it has always seemed either too risky or nearly impossible until that message (not that I would ever make it, but that a FOAF is interested). So I went out and got:
- nichrome wire from a hobby store ($2) (~1.2m?, ~32swg?)
- multimeter from the automotive section in a department store ($10)
- 600W dimmer from a hardware store ($4)
- detachable "bullet" connectors from electronics store ($4)
- #5 rubber stopper, four screws, piece of wood, one two wire extension cord, one three wire extension cord, some glass / heating equipment / clamps.
I tested the wire with the multimeter, 26 ohms. That looked fine to me. Two screws were put through the #5 stopper. The screw tips are attached to the ends of the nichrome wire that was formed into a spiralling loop by carefully wrapping it around a glass rod. The ends of the screws are attached to the two-wire extension cord. The ends of that cord are crimped with the connectors, as are all the other connections. This is done so the whole thing can be easily taken apart, updated or whatever. One side is attached to a dimmer, the other to the 3-wire extension cord. The other contact of the dimmer is attached to the extension cord. The ground of the dimmer is attached to the ground of the extension cord. The dimmer is screwed onto the hunk of wood. This completes the pyrolysis thingy.
Everything else is set up like hypo described. Acetone is boiling in a flask on a water bath. Pyrolysis thingy in the central neck of a Claisen. Condenser on the other neck. Gas outlet adapter to some tubing going into the solvent, the excess fumes going out the window.
I learned the following:
1) it really was TRULY a COMPLETELY UNNERVING EXPERIENCE turning on the power to pyrolyze the acetone. But it lit up no problem and ran smoothly. I was FREAKING OUT for no reason.
2) The gas generation is easily controlled by the dimmer.
3) for the test run I was just bubbling it through water for a few minutes... well, disconnecting it I noticed two scents, one was of acetic acid the other was of something burning. The apparatus works, which is awesome. Not so awesome is that the black rubber laboratory stopper was starting to crack and there's sort of a brownish-black tar area on the claisen adapter just below the stopper that built up as the ketene lamp ran.
For reasons of safety, I might never pursue this. It was unnerving, but the method sure does work.
improving the bowel movements of cats & dogs everywhere...