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 | 41% |
Microwave Oven | 17% |
Mechanical Convection Oven | 16% |
Vacuum Oven | 10% |
Gravity Convection Oven | 8% |
Other | 4% |
Safety Oven | 3% |
Oven-related applications performed by survey respondents:
Heating and drying | 56% |
Temperature-linked experiments | 18% |
Evaporating | 12% |
Other | 5% |
Baking | 3% |
Nearly 30% of respondents plan on purchasing a lab oven in the next year. The reasons for these purchases are as follows:
| Replacement of aging lab oven | |
| Addition to existing systems, increase capacity |
| Setting up a new lab |
| First time purchase of a lab oven |
Top 10 features/factors respondents look for when purchasing a lab oven:
Ease of use | 92% |
Low maintenance / operating costs | 90% |
Price | 90% |
Safety | 89% |
Service and support | 87% |
Warranty | 68% |
Temperature ranges ambient +40°C to 200°C / 250°C | 86% |
Energy efficient | 84% |
Ease of installation | 84% |
Power requirements | 84% |
Completed Surveys: 264
For more information on lab ovens, including useful articles and a list of manufacturers, visit www.labmanager.com/ovens
See the most recent survey results here