Find out readers’ purchasing plans and more from the latest lab ovens user survey results

Key features to avoid fires and fumes in the lab

Find out readers’ ten preferred lab oven features and more from the results of our latest product survey

One of the most common pieces of equipment in any lab is the laboratory oven.

Learn the most common applications and more from our latest lab oven survey results.

Labs are increasingly concerned about the energy efficiency of constant temperature equipment, and how its efficiency is affected over the equipment’s life

When you need to heat things up in the lab, a lab oven is often the way to go. But where to start when purchasing?

Laboratory ovens are common instruments in most laboratories and are used across most scientific disciplines. Lab ovens are most commonly less than 12 cu.ft. in volume, although a great variety of sizes are available in benchtop, stackable, and floor-standing models. Over 25% of survey respondents reported using larger ovens in their labs. While lab ovens are most commonly used for heating and drying (75.6% of respondents), they find a variety of other uses including temperature-linked experimentation (41.7%), evaporating (37.0%), baking (16.5%) and sterilization (11.8%).

Nearly every lab or production facility of any sort needs an oven. Moreover, those ovens get used in a wide range of ways. As Uwe Ross, president at Binder in Great River, New York, says, “Oven applications range from prep work to curing to treating to testing.” He adds, “We really find lab ovens in applications from biotech and pharma to heavy-duty material testing.”

Get fun facts about lab ovens, a list of questions to ask when buying ovens, the most recent lab oven releases, and an updated oven manufacturer's list in this section.

Common laboratory ovens maintain temperatures ranging from just above ambient to about 300°C and are ubiquitous in chemistry, biology, pharmaceutical, forensics, and environmental labs. Units operating at temperatures above 300°C are normally dedicated to specialized applications in physics, engineering, electronics, and materials processing. Typical lab ovens use four to six cubic feet of space and are located on benchtops or stacked atop another oven; other units may be much larger.

The market for high-temperature ovens, operating between around 400ºC and 600ºC, is heating up, says Scott Miller, marketing manager at Carbolite (Watertown, WI).