The convection arising in a cylindrical container, heated from the ends and designed for a measurement of Soret coefficient, is examined. A three‐dimensional method using a pseudostationary scheme with a finite differences technique is used. Attention is focused on a horizontal cylinder with an aspect ratio of 6, a Prandtl number of 0.6, and a Schmidt number of 60. The influence of convection on the separation and on the mass fraction profiles is examined for moderate Grashof numbers (0.01≤GrH≤10) and realistic Soret parameters (−0.75≤S≤1). A domain is found where the flow has no influence on the separation, corresponding to a ‘‘separation’’ regime. Extensions of the results to different Prandtl and Schmidt numbers and to larger aspect ratios are proposed.