Retort stand

A retort stand, sometimes called a ring stand, is a piece of scientific equipment, to which clamps can be attached to hold test tubes and other equipment such as burettes which are most often used in titration experiments.

It is used for carrying out distillation experiments which includes distillation of acids.

It is also used in filtering.

The sits are usually made of a chemically impervious metal and may be covered with aluminium foil to further protect the base, on which may sit a hot plate, magnetic stirrer, heating mantle, or some other apparatus.

The rod itself, to which clamps may be attached with bosses, is typically 1.5 m high and is therefore sufficient for most experiments and to fit inside fume hoods and glove boxes. If a taller rod is required, the solid base is usually replaced by three metal legs for stability when supporting larger apparatus, such as extremely large tubes, bulk chemical bottles etc. The height can be adjusted by moving the attached point of the stand and the test tube. The base is heavy so that the centre of gravity is reduced and there is more stability.