Low-temperature laboratory freezers will achieve temperatures of -40°C to -85°C, much lower than their kitchen-based counterparts. When selecting a freezer or refrigerator for your lab, it is important to know what specific storage requirements you’ll need, such as the temperature range or space available
Top 6 Questions You Should Ask When Buying a Low-Temp Freezer
1. How long does it take to get to -80°C after set-up / install (cool down time)?
2. If there is a power failure, how long will it take to get to -60°C (holdover time)?
3. How often do the compressors have to run (compressor run time)?
4. What is the max and min temp variation from set-point across the chamber (temperature variation)?
5. What is the capacity, how many racks and 2” / 3” boxes can it store (sample storage)?
6. What are the optimal voltage/wiring conditions for running the ULT? If your building is older, will low voltage or voltage fluctuations affect the performance of the freezer?
Types of freezers our readers are currently using or planning to purchase for their labs, based on our latest freezers survey:
| Currently Using | Planning to Purchase | |
| Blood bank and plasma | 94% | 6% |
| Explosion-proof | 94% | 6% |
| Flammable materials storage | 89% | 11% |
| Upright general purpose lab freezers | 91% | 9% |
| Under-counter general purpose lab freezers | 94% | 6% |
| Low temperature chest lab freezers | 86% | 14% |
| Low temperature upright lab freezers | 88% | 12% |
| Upright ultra-low temperature freezers | 89% | 11% |
| Chest ultra-low temperature freezers | 82% | 18% |
| Other | 50% | 50% |
Most of our readers who were planning to purchase a new lab freezer were interested in an ultra-low freezer.
| Considering an ultra-low freezer | 62% |
| Not considering an ultra-low freezer | 38% |
Reasons our readers were planning to buy a low-temp freezer included:
Recently Released Low-Temp Freezers SmartFreezer RURO HEF Series Eppendorf Select™ Series Nor-Lake MDF-U76V PHC Corporation of North America
Low-Temp Freezer Manufacturers
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