Top 5 Questions You Should Ask When Buying a Lab Oven
- What temperature range do you require? (Does the product have reserve temperature capacity?)
- What accuracy and uniformity does the product have? (Will my sample be damaged or will my experiment only function in one “sweet spot”?)
- Are interior chamber space / weight of my sample and floor space in the lab a match to application and lab?
- Do I need any computer interfaces, alarms or safety devices on my oven?
- Are accessories like data loggers, viewing windows and modifications like access ports available from the manufacturer to suit my specific needs?
Types of lab ovens used by survey respondents:
| General Purpose Oven | 72% |
| Mechanical Convection Oven | 33% |
| Microwave Oven | 33% |
| Vacuum Oven | 17% |
| Gravity Convection Oven | 15% |
| Safety Oven | 2% |
| Other | 4% |
Main applications respondents use their lab ovens for:
| Heating and drying | 76% |
| Temperature-linked experiments | 42% |
| Evaporating | 37% |
| Baking | 17% |
| Sterilization | 12% |
| Other | 7% |
| Annealing | 6% |
| De-gassing samples | 5% |
| Distilling | 2% |
Nearly 24% of respondents are engaged in purchasing a new lab oven. The reasons for these purchases are as follows:
 | Replacement of an aging system | 66% |  |
 | Addition to existing systems | 21% | |
 | Setting up a new lab | 7% | |
 | First time purchase | 3% | |
 | Other | 3% |
Top 10 features/factors respondents look for when purchasing a lab oven:
| Safety | 83% |
| Ease of use | 75% |
| Low maintenance/operating costs | 74% |
| Price | 59% |
| Temperature ranges ambient +40°C to 200°C / 250°C | 52% |
| Service and support | 45% |
| Warranty | 44% |
| Controlled airflow to provide uniform temperature | 41% |
| Ease of installation | 40% |
| Smallest footprint possible with a large interior | 33% |
For more information on lab ovens, including useful articles and a list of manufacturers, visit www.labmanager.com/lab-ovens
