Everything You Need To Know About A Refrigerator And Freezer For The Lab

If you are planning to get a refrigerator or freezer, there are some factors that you need to consider.

Whether you need a refrigerator or freezer for your lab, a research facility, or a doctor’s office, these factors should be in your mind to ensure that you get the ideal cold storage unit.

Picking the perfect cold storage unit can be a bit of an overwhelming task, as there are too many options to choose from.

However, our team of professional refrigeration specialists has compiled this list to guide you to pick the right cold storage unit that matches your needs.

Below are the things to consider:

What Product Do You Intend To Store?

When buying a cold storage unit, the first thing that matters is the kind of product you want to store in the freezer or Laboratory refrigerator.

For example, if you want to store vaccines, you will need a cold storage environment compared to the regular refrigerator or reagents. If not, you won’t achieve the correct storage condition for the vaccines, and they may become impotent and ineffective for patients.

Similarly, flammable materials should only be stored in specially designed cold storage units that are flammable/fireproof. Otherwise, they could be hazardous to you/your workspace or environment.

It is important to be clear on what kind of products will be stored in the refrigerator or freezer unit to buy the ideal cold storage units for the product.

This way, you will prevent any possible hazard due to using the wrong cold storage unit for your products. You will also save yourself time and money in the long run.

What Is Ideal For You, Auto Or Manual Defrost?

We are looking at an auto defrost and manual defrost freezer or refrigerator here. Either of which can be suitable for you or not, depending on the product you are storing.

An auto defrost freezer goes through two cycles; a warm cycle to melt the ice and a cold cycle to freeze the products. This is typically fine for many lab products or home freezers – where you are not dealing with temperature-sensitive products.

But it becomes a problem when storing products like vaccines and enzymes.

The ideal cold storage unit for vaccines has to maintain a stable temperature at all times. This means that it shouldn’t be going from warm to cold; it should remain cold since that’s the required temperature for shooting such a product.

This implies that a manual defrost freezer is more ideal for storing vaccines and enzymes. This is simply because you can manually thaw ice from the freezer while storing the products elsewhere.

Consider The Required Temperature For Your Products

Typically, laboratory refrigerators reach +4°C on average, while laboratory freezers average between -20°C and -30°C.

You have to consider the required temperature for the products you intend to store in the refrigerator or freezer.

For example, if you intend to store blood products, blood, plasma, etc., the ideal cold storage unit you should get should reach -80°C.

So, you must know the products you are storing and the ideal temperature for storing them to ensure safe and effective storage.

The Quantity Of Product/Sample That You Have /Need

It would help to consider how many products or samples you are storing in the freezer or refrigerator to ensure that you are not short on storage space.

While considering this, you can get a freezer or refrigerator unit that is of the perfect size for the quantity of your product.

The freezer or refrigerator should not be small to ensure that you have enough storage space. It should also not be too big, as that may cause the unit to operate inefficiently, which is costly, plus there’s the risk of overloading the freezer compressor.

Click this link to learn about under-counter and freestanding units.

The General Size Of The Unit

This is particularly about the size of the space you will place the freezer or refrigerator. Consider the size of the refrigerator or freezer in respect to the loading dock, front door, elevators, passageway, and actual space.

Conclusion:

Lab works are pretty sensitive. When dealing with chemical-based products and for the bio labs, maintenance of the temperature is crucial. This is the reason when you are planning to purchase the lab refrigerator. It is better to check all the details and specifications then choose the products based on your requirements.

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