Laboratory Flasks Manufacturer, Suppliers and Exporter in Africa

Lss Africa is leading Laboratory Flasks Manufacturer,and supplier and Exporter in Africa, Algeria (Algiers), Angola (Luanda), Argentina (Buenos Aires), Armenia (Yerevan), Australia(Canberra), Austria (Vienna), Bahrain (Manama), Bangladesh (Dhaka), Bhutan (Thimphu), Bolivia (Sucre), Botswana (Gaborone), Brazil (Brasília), Brunei (Bandar Seri Begawan), Montenegro (Podgorica), Morocco (Rabat), Mozambique (Maputo), Myanmar (Naypyidaw), Namibia (Windhoek), Nepal (Kathmandu), New Zealand (Wellington), Nigeria (Abuja), Oman (Muscat), Palestine (Ramallah), Panama (Panama City), Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby), Paraguay (Asunción), Peru (Lima), Philippines (Manila)¸ Portugal (Lisbon), Qatar (Doha), Rwanda (Kigali), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh), Senegal (Dakar), Serbia (Belgrade), Sierra Leone (Freetown), Slovakia (Bratislava), South Africa (Cape Town) (Pretoria) (Bloemfontein), South Sudan (Juba), Spain (Madrid), Sri Lanka (Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte) (Colombo), Sudan (Khartoum), Syria (Damascus), Tanzania (Dodoma), Thailand (Bangkok), Togo (Lomé), Tonga (Nuku'alofa), Trinidad and Tobago (Port of Spain), Tunisia (Tunis), Turkey (Ankara), Turkmenistan (Ashgabat), Uganda (Kampala), United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), United Kingdom (London), United States (Washington, D.C.)

Laboratory flask is a container having a large body but small neck and is mainly used for storing, heating, mixing, distillation, growing or digesting liquids. Laboratory flasks are classified on the basis of their capacity which can vary from 10 milliliters to 10 liters. Laboratory flasks can be constructed of glass which includes borosilicate or soda-lime or plastics which include polypropylene, PMP, polycarbonate and PTFE and can be provided with ground-glass joints, glass or plastic stoppers, screw caps or simple rims.

Three physical characteristics determine the functionality of laboratory flasks: the shape of their bottom, their neck’s width and number, and closure. A fourth question is whether it is general glassware or made for one named method. This category holds fifteen lines covering conical, round-bottom, pear-shape, filtering, reaction, culture, Kjeldahl, iodine and dissolution flasks. LSS Africa supplies the range to schools, universities, TVET colleges, research institutes, clinical and industrial laboratories across Africa, from its registered address in Pretoria, South Africa.

How do you choose a laboratory flask?

Read four fields in order: Bottom, Neck, Closure, Class. The bottom decides whether the flask stands unaided and how evenly it heats. The neck decides how easily it fills, how much it evaporates and what can be inserted. The closure decides what it connects to. The class decides whether you are buying general glassware or apparatus for one named method.

Get those four right and capacity is the only remaining variable. Get them wrong and the flask is unusable regardless of size — a round-bottom flask will not stand on a bench, a plain-rim flask will not join a distillation train, and a conical flask must never be put under vacuum.

The lines in this category divide cleanly on the fourth field: nine are general laboratory flasks, and six are made for a specific method — filtration, digestion, iodine determination, culture or dissolution testing.

What is the difference between a flat-bottom and a round-bottom flask?

A flat-bottom flask stands unsupported on a bench. A round-bottom flask does not, and must be held in a clamp, ring or cork ring at all times, including when full and hot. In exchange, the round bottom distributes heat evenly and has no corner to concentrate thermal stress, which is why it is the standard vessel for heating, boiling and reflux.

Two round-bottom lines are stocked. The Narrow Neck line publishes a base diameter of 166 mm and a neck diameter of 50 mm in borosilicate glass. The Wide Neck line has a beaded rim and is described for mixing, heating and boiling of chemicals.

Cork rings and flask stands are not listed in this catalogue. Confirm support and clamping separately with your enquiry — a round-bottom flask supplied without them cannot safely be set down.

Which flask do you use for distillation?

Distillation needs a flask that heats evenly and connects to a condenser, which in practice means a round or pear-shaped bottom and a defined neck arrangement. Five lines in this category suit distillation work.

The Distillation Flask is described for separating liquid mixtures by distillation. The Pear Shape Single Neck line is stated as ideal for semi-micro distillations — the tapering body concentrates a small residue into a narrow base, so less product is lost to the walls. The Pear Shape with Two Neck line adds a side neck at 25° in borosilicate glass, which allows a thermometer or an addition funnel alongside the still head.

Both round-bottom lines serve as boiling flasks in a larger assembly. None of the five publishes a capacity or a ground-joint size; both are needed before a flask can be matched to an existing condenser.

Why can a conical flask not be used for vacuum filtration?

A conical flask is not designed to hold a vacuum and can implode under one. Vacuum filtration requires a filtering flask: heavy-walled, with a side arm for the vacuum line. The Flask Filter line here is described as made from heavy wall to withstand high vacuum and supplied with a glass connector.

This matters most in teaching laboratories, where a Buchner funnel and an ordinary conical flask look like a workable pair and are not. If your order includes Buchner funnels from theLaboratory funnel range, the filtering flask is a required companion item, not an accessory.

Vacuum tubing, filter papers and vacuum sources are not listed in this catalogue. A related filtering flask specified as borosilicate thick and toughened glass with heat-safe graduations also appears inGlassware & Plasticware.

What are Kjeldahl, iodine and dissolution flasks for?

These are method-specific flasks: their shape is dictated by a published procedure, so a general flask cannot substitute. Two Kjeldahl flasks are stocked, both stated as borosilicate and both for the determination of nitrogen — the long neck contains the spray and fumes of a hot acid digestion. One line is specified as being without a joint; the other does not state whether it has one.

The Iodine Flask is described as all-glass with thick uniform wall and white enamel printing. It is used where volatile halogen must be contained during a determination rather than lost to the air.

Two dissolution flasks are stocked for pharmaceutical dissolution apparatus, both in heat-resistant, low-expansion borosilicate: Flasks-D and Flasks-E in amber. Both are described as being without a side cut. Confirm the apparatus they are intended to fit before ordering.

Which flasks can be heated or autoclaved?

Borosilicate glass is stated on seven lines in this category, and it is the material that takes thermal shock. The Baffled Culture Flask is the only line with a published temperature: borosilicate heat-resistant glass suitable for repeated autoclave cycles at 121 °C. Its baffled base increases aeration during shaking, which is what distinguishes it from a plain conical flask in microbiology work.

The Flask Erlenmeyer with Screw Cap has a polyethylene screw cap stated as autoclavable. Note that the cap and the flask are separate questions — a cap rated for the autoclave does not make an unrated flask heat-safe, and any closed vessel must be loosened before a cycle.

Material is not stated on the remaining eight lines. Ask for the glass designation in writing before putting any of them on a heat source.

What should a flask quotation state?

Five fields make flask quotations comparable: capacity, bottom shape, neck arrangement, closure or joint size, and glass designation. Product codes on this page run LSK-LF-10417 to LSK-LF-10431.

Capacity is published on only one of the fifteen lines — the Reaction Flask, at 50 mL and 250 mL. For every other line you must state the volumes you need in your enquiry and have them confirmed on the quotation.

Joint size is published on the same single line, as socket 14/20 and 24/40. Any flask intended to join a condenser, still head or addition funnel needs its joint designation stated, or it will not fit the apparatus already in the laboratory.

Glass designation matters as much: ask whether each line is borosilicate or soda-lime, and request the specific grade where a method or tender calls for it.

Product types in this category

Selection criteria

Related categories

• Glassware & Plasticware
• Laboratory funnel
• Glassware Beaker
• Glassware Burette
• All product categories
• Tenders / OEM
• Frequently Asked Questions
• About LSS Africa

Frequently asked questions

What is a laboratory flask used for?

Laboratory flasks contain, heat, mix, distill, culture or digest liquid materials. They have a large body and a small or smaller neck and are defined by their capacity, which is usually from about 10 mL to 10 L. Their shape at the bottom, configuration of their necks and closure define what functions such a flask can perform.

What is the difference between a conical flask and an Erlenmeyer flask?

They are the same shape — a flat-bottomed cone with a narrow neck — under two names. This category lists both a Conical Flask and a Flask Erlenmeyer with Screw Cap; the difference between those two lines is the closure, not the shape. The screw-cap version has a polyethylene cap stated as autoclavable.

Can a round-bottom flask stand on the bench?

No. A round-bottom flask must be supported in a clamp, ring or cork ring at all times, including when full and hot. Its advantage is even heat distribution with no corner to concentrate thermal stress, which makes it the standard vessel for boiling and reflux. Cork rings are not listed in this catalogue — order support separately.

Which flask is used for vacuum filtration?

The filtering flask, which is heavy-walled with a side arm for the vacuum line. An ordinary conical flask must never be evacuated, as it can implode. The Flask Filter line here is described as made from heavy wall to withstand high vacuum and supplied with a glass connector.

What is a Kjeldahl flask for?

Kjeldahl flasks are used for the determination of nitrogen. The long neck contains the spray and fumes generated during a hot acid digestion. Two lines are stocked, both stated as borosilicate glass; one is specified as being without a joint. Confirm which version fits your digestion rack before ordering.

Are these flasks borosilicate?

Borosilicate glass is stated on seven of the fifteen lines, including both Kjeldahl flasks, the culture flask, both dissolution flasks, the two-neck pear-shape flask and the narrow-neck round-bottom flask. Material is not stated on the remaining lines — request the glass designation in writing, particularly for anything that will be heated.

What capacities are available?

Capacity is published for one line only, the Reaction Flask, at 50 mL and 250 mL with socket sizes 14/20 and 24/40. For all other lines, state the volumes you require in your enquiry and have them confirmed on the written quotation, together with joint size and glass designation.

Request a quotation

Send your flask list — type, capacity, neck and joint arrangement, and quantity — and LSS Africa will return a written quotation. Institutional, tender and bulk enquiries are handled through the same route.

Request a Quote ·Request the Tender / OEM Catalogue