Tablet press

[RosalieL]

Random Friday morning thought... Has anyone ever considered using a tablet press to make your own "alka-seltzer" tablets for pracs? So instead of spending a small fortune each year on tablets (we've recently discovered the help@hand electrolyte tablets work well which are a bit cheaper) and then crushing them, is it worth buying the powder on its own (eg eno antacid powder, or even mixing bicarb soda and citric acid) and making it into tablet form? Could there be other uses as well? I haven't even looked it up other than a quick search on Amazon had one for around $50 at the top of the search.

[PeterK]

Think that will move you up the watchlist. We buy all the precursors and then we are suddenly buying a tablet press.

[RosalieL]

I hadn't thought about it that way !! I might just stick to purchasing

[bigmack]

Think that will move you up the watchlist. We buy all the precursors and then we are suddenly buying a tablet press.

[Marama T]

We use effervescent denture cleaning tablets instead of Alka-Seltzer. Much cheaper.

[RosalieL]

We use effervescent denture cleaning tablets instead of Alka-Seltzer. Much cheaper.

I tried that and the teachers said the end point was too hard to see

[Marama T]

End point? We just use them in the film canisters to show expansion as gas is produced. No end point required. What do you use them for?

[RosalieL]

We use them for rates of reaction - surface area. So they do one whole, one in quarters, one completely crushed and they time how long each one takes to dissolve.

[Marama T]

Oh gotcha. We do that one too, now that you mention it. Next time I'll send out both kinds of tablets and see what the teachers say.