Top 6 Things You May Not Know About Fume Hoods
1. Working in around 1900, Thomas Edison seems to have been one of the first scientists concerned about laboratory ventilation. Edison used the fireplace chimney in his lab to exhaust noxious fumes and odors from his experiments into heated rubber compounds, using the natural draft of the chimney to expel the gases.
2. In 1923, one of the first recognizable fume hoods in the modern sense of the word was in use at the University of Leeds. This unit consisted of a large cupboard standing at working height and incorporated vertical rising sashes arranged like parallel windows.
3. Considerable advances in fume hood technology were made during the Second World War in response to the fear of exposure to highly toxic chemicals and radioactive materials. Against this catastrophic backdrop, significant progress in safety, ventilation, and fume hood design was made.
4. In 1943, John Weber, Jr. working at the Ames Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, developed the concept of a constant face velocity, variable exhaust flow fume hood control. This design was applied to a vertical rising sash hood served by a dedicated hood exhaust fan. The concept eventually became a standard feature employed on many fume hoods at that time in atomic laboratories, especially where ventilation containment within the hood was critical.
5. In the early 1950s, John Turner, working in the Engineering Department at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), suggested replacing vertical rising sashes with horizontal sliding sashes in order to reduce energy consumption. He also introduced the use of a mechanical damper that worked off the imbalance between external and internal hood pressures.
6. The greatest innovation enjoyed during the 1970s was the development of auxiliary air fume hoods, which conserved energy by introducing outside air into the hood, reducing the loss of tempered air from the laboratory. This type of fume hood requires the use of two duct and blower systems.
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Recently Released Fume Hoods
Protector XStream High Performance Fume Hood
- Performs very well at low air volumes
- Doesn't rely on restricted sash openings, airflow sensors and electronic control, mechanical components, or additional fans
- Uses patented features that work together to significantly reduce the concentrations of contaminants in areas behind the sash opening and near the user’s breathing zone
- Operating the Protector XStream at 60 fpm consumes only 690 CFM
Labconco
www.labconco.com
Purair Eco Ductless Fume Hood
- Designed for both chemical and particulate protection over a broad range of laboratory and industrial applications
- Available with a choice of controllers including the company’s new ECOair™ touchpad control with color display interface
- Optional BACnet network interface connects all cabinet control, monitoring and alarm functions to an open-source facility monitoring system
- Five standard sizes available
Air Science USA
www.airscience.com
NU-156 Fume Hood Bench Module Cabinet
- Is a single piece construction of all stress-relieved, fully seam-welded 100% white polypropylene that can be used where product and personnel protection are required
- Areas of use include chemical research, microelectronics, and high acid / trace metal analysis use, semi-conductor design / development and/or production assembly processes
- Available in four sizes: 4, 5, 6, and 8 foot widths
NuAire
www.nuaire.com
UniFlow Fume Hoods
- Available in special sizes from 30” to 96” wide in bench top and floor mount models, custom sizes can be easily addressed to suit special needs
- Feature a unitized construction entirely of chemical resistant, fire resistant self-extinguishing, nonmetallic composite resin materials
- Fume chamber is molded one piece seamless with all corners coved for easy cleaning & light reflectivity
HEMCO
www.hemcocorp.com
