Clever Ideas to Repair the Minor Glitches of the Benchtop Fume Hood
If your laboratory deals with hazardous chemicals then a benchtop fume hood is essential equipment. This machine contains toxic gases and fumes and prevents any type of mishap or toxic leakage. But a Laboratory Fume Hood is a machine. So, there is a high possibility than this machine will face glitches at certain times. Usually, lab workers stop working if they feel that the machine is not working properly. This is a safety precaution that can save a life. But, if there is a minor glitch then you do not need to wait for the technician to arrive. You can easily troubleshoot these minor glitches by yourself. It will save your time and will also allow the lab to return to their ongoing work without any problem. But please remember that you need to cut all the electric supplies to the machine before staring inspection or repairing. It is a must.
Here are some clever ideas to repair the glitches-
- What to do when there is not enough airflow inside the fume hood: A fume hood needs a constant supply of airflow to function properly. It can start to behave strangely if there is not enough airflow inside the machine. So, if the machine is not working properly and there not enough airflow, you can follow these steps to solve this minor problem.
- A benchtop fume hood comes with a special Airflow velocity meter. There can be insufficient air if this velocity meter is working improperly.
- Please check if the velocity meter is calibrated or not. If it is not then a simple recalibration process can restore the airflow to normal.
- Also, check the battery of the velocity meter. A faulty or old battery can cause problems in air circulation. If the battery is old then you need to replace it with a new one.
iii. If you have another velocity meter handy then use this meter to check the airflow.
- Insufficient airflow is often caused by obstacles. So, you may need to check if the machine has any obstacles that are preventing the normal airflow. The baffle filters should have enough spaces to regulate the flow and should not be blocked by any large machine or equipment. Therefore, if there is any obstacle. Remove it immediately top prevent more damage to the fume hood.
- Often a benchtop fume may behave irregularly if the opening of this machine is blocked or filled with obstacles. So, try to stay away from the space in front or near the fume, hood opening to make it work without any problem.
- 2. Check the Make-up Air condition: Make-up air is used to describe the system of air replacement through the ventilation. A fume hood channels the fresh air from outside through its ventilator and replaces it with the toxic air inside its chamber. This is called make-air. It is crucial to allow a benchtop fume hood to work properly.
- Always check if there is enough available air so that the make air rate is constant and ideal for the machine.
- Check if the pressure is right. If your laboratory works with hazardous chemicals then it is better to operate the machine in negative pressure.
- Check the position of the exhaust component of the fume hood
A fume hood depends greatly on its exhaustion system. So, if the exhaust system is not functioning properly, then you may need to check the exhaust unit.
- A careful inspection of the exhaust duct is necessary in this case. It can often help you to solve the problem and erratic behavior of the machine.
- The blower needs to be examined properly. You can check if it is working in its full capacity or not. If the blower cannot work in full velocity then the face velocity of the benchtop fume hood would be erratic and it will prevent the machine to work properly.
- Check the blower’s position. If you want your fume hood to work in its ideals stage, then make sure to place the exhaustion duct in a place that does not connect or overlap with the exhaustion system of any other machine or a room. Often fume hoods behave abnormally if the exhaustion system gets interconnected with any other system.
These are some problems and the solutions that you can prevent or solve the problems. If the problem persists then you can call the technician for further support. Globalsupply.com is a renowned company which supplies a different type of laboratory apparatus or equipment to laboratories around the world at a reasonable price. They have a wide range of different types of benchtop fume hoods on their website. If you want to buy fume hoods and want to know more about the particulars of it, you can contact us anytime. Our experts are always there to serve you.