In a laboratory it is crucial that you put the most crucial equipment because it is an environment where a lot of random experimenting will be going on and where you would need to ensure that there is safety and security at all times. While there are a number of essential equipment which you need to install in your lab, the prime focus should be in keeping a downflow hood. These are crucial safety equipment which can help in providing more security to your lab and also protect your experiments and other equipment from getting damaged. This small article will help you to learn more about these downflow hoods.
The Downflow hoods are basically a type of ductless and Benchtop unit which has been created with an inbuilt blower as the module. As a result of the design there is a negative pressure which gets created inside the hoods. This negative pressure inside the system will help in protecting the operators from all types of hazardous fumes, dangerous vapors, toxic powders and any other form of harmful substances in the laboratory environment. The mode of function is that it extracts the toxic substances right from the working zone through a specially designed perforated working surface.
These downflow hoods are all ductless which ensures far more efficiency of the systems. They are also as a result of this more portable. These hoods are available in the market in various sizes and dimensions and you can easily get one which will suit your specific requirements. Of course this will be dependent on the size of the working area, the size of your working surface, the type of experiments that are going on, and so on. You will be getting these hoods in widths of twenty four inches, Thirty two inches and thirty six inches. These downflow hoods are created from polypropylene which is a highly sought after element for making lab equipment because it is resistant to corrosion.
It has an open framed design and this will allow a more easy movement of air and the side frames will let you place several units along each other side by side in order to work together when the working area is wider.
All of the models will be including a work surface made from stainless steel. There would be a pre-filter which is washable and which would limit the larger particles from getting passed through. You shall also get optional HEPA and ULPA enhancements added to it if you want to use it for any applications which require a lot of powders and dry particulate matter. If you are doing applications which only use chemicals and some solvents, then you can use the filters made from charcoal carbon.
You can use downflow hoods for:
- Solvent or chemical preparations
- Stationing Hot Plates
- Microscopic Stations
- Chemically Latent Print’s Development
- Histology
- Weighing samples and powder in experiments
- Handling of the Pharmacy Drugs &other Medicines
Conclusion
This is why the downflow hoods are so useful.