Coiled condenser

Spiral Tube Technology for Maximum Heat Exchange Efficiency

Coiled condensers are the workhorses you'll reach for when you need serious cooling power in a compact package. The inner spiral tube snakes through the outer jacket, creating way more surface area than your standard straight-tube setup—think of it like comparing a mountain road to a highway, you're getting more contact with the cooling water at every turn.

You'll notice the difference immediately when you're running reflux reactions or distilling volatile solvents. The coiled design keeps vapors in contact with cold surfaces longer, which means better condensation rates and less product loss. It's why many labs prefer these over a Bulb Allihn condenser when working with particularly stubborn low-boiling compounds.

Compact Design with Extended Cooling Length

Here's what makes these things practical for crowded benchtops:

• Vertical footprint that won't hog your workspace like some setups do
• Borosilicate glass construction handles thermal shock without cracking
• Standard ground glass joints (14/20 through 29/32) connect directly to your existing glassware
• Dual water ports work with standard lab taps and cooling lines
• Available in 200mm to 600mm lengths depending on your cooling needs

You'll want to pair these with proper nozzles, adapters, taps for your coolant lines—leaky connections are a pain nobody needs when you're three hours into a distillation.

Ideal Operating Conditions and Temperature Ranges

These condensers handle -80°C to +500°C, which covers pretty much everything except the most extreme cryogenic work. For best results, keep your coolant flow steady—not a trickle, not a fire hose, just consistent circulation. Cold tap water works fine for most applications, but if you're recovering super-volatile solvents, consider chilled water or a recirculating system.

Pro tip: different glass products in your setup expand at different rates, so let everything equilibrate before cranking up the heat. A stopcock on your coolant line gives you flow control when you need to dial things in precisely.

Installation Guidelines for Optimal Performance

• Connect coolant inlet at the bottom port, outlet at top—gravity's your friend here
• Use appropriate adapters if your joint sizes don't match perfectly
• Secure with clamps at multiple points, especially for longer units
• Check for stress points where the condenser meets other glassware
• Position vertically for optimal vapor flow and drainage

If you're comparing options, Bulb Allihn condenser and GL14 joints offer different advantages for specific applications, but coiled designs generally give you more cooling capacity in less space.