| A lab freezer is not just a bigger freezer than the one | | | | For the storage of flammable materials, a lab freezer |
| people use in their own homes, it's a specific device | | | | is a must. There are freezers specially designed for |
| used to keep critical materials, many of them | | | | the safe storage of volatile materials that have CFC |
| dangerous, at a constant, regulated temperature. They | | | | free, foamed-in-place insulation and hermetically sealed |
| can be small enough to fit beneath a counter, the size | | | | compressors. These products meet OSHA standards, |
| of a normal upright freezer, or even as large as walk | | | | but you should still make certain to have alarms, |
| in freezers. While most household freezers are kept | | | | monitors, and backup performance features if you are |
| between zero and -10 degrees Celsius, a lab freezer | | | | freezing critical biologicals or high-value life science |
| can get as low as -85 degrees Celsius. | | | | materials. |
| These freezers are used for a variety of purposes, | | | | An important freezer product is the blood bank |
| such as storing serums and tissue samples, bacteria | | | | freezer, used for storing blood and plasma. An ordinary |
| strains, samples of RNA and DNA, and protein | | | | refrigeration unit is not able to properly maintain the |
| extracts. In hospitals they can be used to preserve | | | | delicate balance of temperature, especially during the |
| organs and blood, and in pharmacies to keep | | | | intervals when a door may be opened. Blood bank |
| medicines. As many of these specimens can degrade | | | | freezers must be durable and, due to their importance |
| over time, it is important to keep them preserved and | | | | in saving lives, require very little maintenance as blood |
| stable. | | | | has a very brief shelf life. These freezers, as with |
| A general purpose laboratory freezer can look very | | | | many lab freezers, come with both monitoring |
| similar to a home refrigeration unit. Much like a home | | | | systems and automatic warning systems. |
| refrigerator, they have shelves both in the unit and in | | | | There are many varieties of lab freezers available, |
| the door, as well as rubber gaskets to prevent the | | | | including liquid nitrogen freezers that can reach |
| cold from escaping. However, these freezers keep the | | | | temperatures as low as -190 to -196 degrees Celsius. |
| temperature between -15 to -25 degrees Celsius. | | | | You can also find mini-room walk-in freezers which |
| They can be locked, and come with an LCD | | | | allow for almost 1,000 cubic feet of storage, though |
| temperature display to allow you to keep an eye on | | | | they do not generally reach the same extremes in |
| the temperature without having to open the lab | | | | temperature. |
| freezer to check. | | | | When looking at lab freezers, you should consider |
| Low temperature freezers, such as the Harris Super | | | | what you will be keeping inside. The more delicate or |
| Insulated freezer, can store 31.4 cubit feet, and allow | | | | dangerous the sample, the more attention it will need. |
| almost 70,000 samples in 35 inventory racks, and can | | | | You can find lab freezer accessories such as |
| reach temperatures as low as -86 degrees Celsius. | | | | recorders, CO2 and LN2 backup systems, |
| There are also super low lab freezers, such as the | | | | thermometers and alarm systems to help you keep |
| Thermo Scientific cold storage freezer, which can | | | | track of the temperatures. A laboratory freezer is a |
| reach astonishing cryogenic temperatures of -150 | | | | vital part of any science lab, and if taken care of will |
| degrees Celsius without having to utilize liquid nitrogen. | | | | last for years. |