When it comes to maintaining and safeguarding scientific or medical material, refrigerators and freezers are essential pieces of laboratory equipment. It is crucial to have the right freezer or refrigerator when considering sample storage. Variations in temperature pose a very high risk of harm, for instance, to immunizations.
The study of tissues, plasma and blood products, vaccines and other medical supplies, and pharmaceutical supplies all make use of refrigerators and freezers. Freezers and refrigerators must be dependable and hygienic in contrast to those used for domestic reasons (such as in the home or restaurant). Separate compartments in laboratory freezers and refrigerators segregate samples to avoid cross-contamination. Wondering how to find the right appliance for your home from some of the best refrigerator brands in the country? Keep reading to find out more.
Refrigerator types
Depending on the model, laboratory refrigerators can function between 2 and 10 degrees Celsius, and the temperature can be shown and adjusted using a smart LED or knob. Refrigerators come in four different basic categories:
– Explosion proof: Refrigerators that are explosion-proof can hold flammable liquids. The purpose of this equipment is to stop combustion in the storage area.
– Simple laboratory refrigerators: capable of maintaining temperatures and allowing for digital temperature control. They are all-purpose pieces of equipment that are utilised for sample cooling and preservation.
– Refrigerators for blood banks: It takes skill to preserve blood and/or its constituent parts. The proper measurements, structure, cooling system, and control system must all be present. This makes this kind of refrigerator essential. Additionally, the blood bank refrigerator contains various chambers for storing various sample kinds.
– Chromatography refrigerators: are developed for a variety of applications and research experiments. They make the best refrigerators for laboratories that need to store precise medical samples and perform precise medical operations. Additionally, they have complete access to chromatographic equipment.
There are three different types of freezers used in laboratories:
– All-purpose freezer: pre-set temperatures range from -20 to -30 degrees Celsius.
– Low temperature freezer: set to a temperature between -30 and -45 °C.
– Deep freezer: with preset temperatures ranging from -45 to -86°C.
How to pick the ideal refrigerator or freezer
When purchasing a refrigerator or freezer, keep in mind the following fundamental features:
- There are two fundamental options when it comes to settings:
– Positioned vertically. They benefit from having superior visualisation. In comparison to the chest, freezers and refrigerators offer more storage, and larger models also have extra space in the door. There are small, under-counter variants that are perfect for keeping items that a user frequently needs nearby close at hand. The temperature is where the horizontal model falls short. The temperature increases when the door is opened, and it becomes challenging to maintain and restore it. Samples may be impacted by temperature fluctuations.
– Horizontal position: This form of freezer has the drawback of being difficult to organise; for instance, if the user requires anything from below, he must transfer something from above. However, this kind of freezer can store larger items, and controlling the temperature is considerably simpler.
- combination of a refrigerator and a freezer. The benefit of these models is that they employ the area of a unit that has dual functions despite having separate doors. These are especially designed for small labs.
- Size: Models come in a variety of depths, widths, and heights. Everything is dependent on the user’s capacity requirements and the available area.
- Temperature: When selecting the ideal freezer or refrigerator, researchers must keep in mind that some samples have exact temperature requirements.
- External alarm: It’s crucial that the equipment include an external alert to notify of malfunctions or temperature changes that could harm the samples in order to avert a potential failure.
- Defrost: There are two different kinds of defrost, manual and automated.
– Manual defrosting: In this situation, it is important to remove the samples from the freezer and keep them in a different location to maintain the temperature while the defrosting process is taking place.
– Automatic defrost: This system is very helpful since it modifies the freezer’s temperature to melt the ice that has formed on the walls, but the contents of the freezer could be in danger. While keeping samples in place is desirable, this kind of thawing technology uses more energy than human thawing.
- Material visibility: There are refrigerated versions with glass doors that make it easier to see inside and locate what is there.
- Side tip: Since 1987, the use of the CFC refrigerant Freon gas R22 (CH-CI-F2), which is used in refrigeration systems, has been prohibited to protect the ozone layer.
How may energy be saved while using a refrigerator?
There are some feasible recommendations to make energy savings:
– Keep heat sources far from the refrigerator or freezer.
– Let air flow through the refrigerator, especially at the back of the appliance.
– Keep dust and debris away from the coils and door seal behind the refrigerator.
– Label objects to make finding them easier and prevent temperature changes.
The significance of temperature sensors
A data logging sensor is required to collect data for any study in the area because it is critical to record the temperature for validation in some fields, such as the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
In terms of freezers and refrigerators many modern refrigerators provide a wide choice of storage alternatives. In our catalogue, you may find a variety of cooling systems.
