Laboratory Equipment

Laboratory convection ovens play an important role in various scientific applications. Unfortunately, no one oven is a one-size-fits-all.

There is a wide selection of convection ovens to choose from each designed to meet different requirements. The convection oven that should be included in your inventory of lab instruments depends on the application.

Before choosing a convection oven, it’s important to understand what lab ovens are used for and how the different types of ovens work.

What Are Laboratory Ovens Used For?

Laboratory ovens are generally used for maintaining uniform temperatures during procedures that require heat. While ovens were once used for just drying, they are now used for annealing, sterilizing, baking, and drying. Ovens are designed differently depending on how it is intended to be used. The three different types of ovens include gravity convection, vacuum, and mechanical convection ovens. They vary in their heat distribution properties and temperature uniformity.

What is a Forced Convection Oven?

A forced convection oven is an example of a mechanical convection oven. It is designed with a motorized fan that distributes heat more evenly and has a faster drying time. The fan forces the air across the samples. This type of oven is ideal for samples with high moisture levels, multiple samples, accuracy, and precise temperature uniformity.

What are the Disadvantages of a Forced Convection Oven?

Even though a forced convection oven is preferable to a natural oven, there are a few disadvantages to the forced convection oven. Improperly loading or putting too many trays in a forced convection oven can affect the airflow because it can restrict or reduce the flow in certain areas of the chamber. This restriction or reduction affects the uniformity of temperature throughout the chamber.

Another disadvantage is what sets it apart from other ovens. The motorized fan consumes more energy than natural ovens.

What is a Gravity Convection Oven?

Gravity convection ovens use the circulation of natural air to heat samples. Gentle movements of air keep the temperature uniform. This oven is ideal for simple heating such as curing, aging, pre-heating, conditioning, and baking.

Is a Forced Convection Oven or a Gravity Convection Oven Better?

A forced convection oven has a few advantages over a gravity convection oven. Forced convection ovens provide a more even distribution of heat than natural ovens. A forced convection oven also dries samples at a much faster rate, which is important if you work in an environment that requires processing samples quickly. If you work in an environment where the samples have a high moisture content, a forced convection oven with its heat capabilities will ensure complete evaporation of the moisture from the samples. Forced convection ovens have been proven effective in almost every lab industry.

Things to Consider When Purchasing a Convection Oven

There are several factors to consider when purchasing a convection oven. Think about the type of airflow you need. Do you need horizontal airflow for multiple trays placed in the chamber? Or do you need vertical airflow for samples in a low turbulence environment? You can also get an oven with a mix of airflows.

The temperature range is another factor to consider. Think about the absolute minimum and maximum temperature your application requires and then match that up with a convection oven.

The size and volume that your application requires will also affect the convection oven you choose. This also will depend on the space in your lab. You can buy a large oven or stack smaller ones.

You should also consider the design of the oven and the features it comes with. Some of the features include safety, reliability, energy consumption, efficiency, timer, maintenance, cleaning, additional shelves, and data logging capabilities. In most cases, you probably just need some of these features and not all of them.

Where to Buy a Laboratory Convection Oven?

Lab Pro offers a large variety of chemicals and laboratory supplies. For over 40 years, Lab Pro Inc. has been committed to delivering the highest quality laboratory convection ovens, microscopes, chemicals, tweezers, hard-wire cutters, lab supplies, and cleanroom PPE apparel to medical device and electronic manufacturing companies and laboratories worldwide. To learn more, visit the biggest Lab Supply showroom in California, or contact us online at 888-452-2776.