Stir rods are long cylinders made of glass. They come in many sizes or shapes: if you do not like the one in your drawer, feel free to exchange it with one from the cart in the front of the stockroom.
Glass stir rods are used for a lot of manipulations other than just "stirring". You can use them to induce crystallization in a stubborn recrystallization procedure. They can be used to help decant the liquid from a container while retaining a solid in the original flask. In an extraction, they can help break up an emulsion.
Location: Student lab drawer equipment. Feel free to replace a broken one or exchange for a different size; spare glass stir rods are kept on the cart in the front of the organic chemistry stockroom.
Cost: Always free.
