Reflux:

Reflux is a commonly used lab technique. It is used when you do not want to lose any of your solvent or product. The product is dissolved in a solvent, which it will not react with, within a flask. Then the reflux condenser is set up and the solution is heated. The solvent boils, evaporates, condenses and then runs back into the flask. To condense the solvent water is run through the reflux condenser. The complete setup is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 12: The setup of a reflux condenser.