Receiver Adapter, Bent With Multiple Connection

Quick Answer: A receiver adapter with multiple connection is a bent glass fitting that takes the outlet of a distillation condenser and carries more than the usual pair of joints. The extra connections let one bend serve a side tube, a second receiver or a vent, depending on the pattern supplied.

What Multiple Connection Means on a Bend

An ordinary receiver bend has two ends: a joint that takes the condenser outlet and a delivery end that enters the receiving flask. This listing describes a bend with multiple connection, meaning additional joints or tubes are built onto it. In glassware catalogues the name is used both for bends that add a side tube for vacuum or venting next to the delivery joint, and for bends that split the distillate path towards more than one receiver.

The title does not list the connections, so the exact layout (how many outlets, which are ground joints and which are hose olives) should be agreed before ordering. That is the one detail this page cannot state with certainty.

Whatever the layout, the principle is the same. Condensate runs down the inside of the bend under gravity, and every extra opening must be connected, deliberately vented or closed with a stopper so the distillate goes where it is meant to. An opening left open by mistake lets a volatile distillate evaporate; one closed by mistake can seal a heated apparatus.

Applications

• Collecting two or more fractions from one distillation without dismantling the condenser end
• Distilling with a side connection used for a vent, a drying tube or a vacuum line beside the delivery joint
• Showing students how a distillation train is completed after the condenser
• Replacing a broken bend in an existing set-up with the same connection pattern

Specifications

Care & Handling

• Support each receiving flask from below with a cork ring or lab jack; a bend with several receivers on it carries far more weight than one flask.
• Before heating, trace every connection and make sure the intended route to the air or to the vacuum line is open.
• Clean narrow side limbs with a pipe-cleaner-type brush and a solvent rinse so no residue carries into the next fraction.
• Close unused openings with a matching glass stopper rather than tape or foil.

Why Choose LabEquip

Colleges running organic preparation practicals and quality-control labs that separate fractions tend to order this bend together with matching receivers. LabEquip lists it in the chemistry lab equipment range alongside the multi-limb vacuum receiver adapter used when fractions must be changed under reduced pressure; describe the connections you need on the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a receiver adapter with multiple connection used for?

It completes a distillation set after the condenser when more than one outlet is needed, for example a delivery joint plus a side tube for venting or vacuum, or delivery towards more than one receiver. It saves adding separate adapters in series.

Can this adapter be used under vacuum?

Only if its pattern includes a side tube for vacuum tubing and every joint is greased and clipped. Use round-bottomed receivers, because flat-bottomed and conical flasks are not built to be evacuated.

When should I switch to the next receiver?

Watch the thermometer at the still head. A steady reading means one fraction is coming over; when it starts to climb, move the delivery to a fresh receiver for the next fraction.

How do I close an outlet I am not using?

Fit a glass stopper of the same joint size, or a short length of tubing with a clip on a hose olive. Check that at least one opening to the air remains if you are distilling at normal pressure.

Do the receivers need their own support?

Yes. Rest each flask on a cork ring or lab jack and fit joint clips. The bend should guide the distillate, not hold the weight of filled flasks.

What should I specify when ordering?

Give the joint size of your condenser outlet and receivers, the number of outlets you need and whether any should be hose connections for vacuum or venting. That lets the right pattern be matched to your apparatus.

Last Updated: September 2026