Among the indispensable tools for every laboratory, there is the thermostatic bath.
If you are reading this article, however, you will have heard that there are different models of thermostatic baths, intended for different uses.
Below we will explain the main differences between the water and oil models, but first, let's see the generalities common to each thermostatic bath.
What is a Laboratory Thermostatic Bath?
The thermostatic bath is a laboratory instrument consisting of a tank filled with a liquid that can be heated up to certain temperatures.
The tanks are usually built with stainless steel and the thermostatic bath is equipped with an external control system allowing the operator to program different cycles and automate the process.
Thermostatic baths are used to heat certain substances, usually as an intermediate and necessary step of a larger test. For these reasons, thermostatic baths are indispensable tools in many laboratories that use them within the most diverse procedures.
Thermostatic Bath
Learn more about the functions of the FDM Thermostat Bath
What is a Thermostatic Water Bath used for?
The thermostatic water bath is the most popular model. It can reach a temperature of 100° (99.99° to be precise) although for most uses a temperature of 80° is sufficient.
The thermostatic water bath is used to heat and/or keep samples of substances at a certain temperature.
For example, the thermostatic water bath is commonly used in chemical and biochemical laboratories to heat cell culture media, but also within heat-shock protocols for the transformation of bacteria.
What is a Thermostatic Oil Bath used for?
All procedures that require temperatures above 100° need another liquid inside the thermostatic bath tank.
In most cases, silicone oil is used reaching about 200°, but it is not uncommon to use mineral oil, cottonseed oil and even phosphoric acid.
The sector that more than any other makes use of thermostatic oil baths is the mechanical one.
In the past, thermostatic oil baths were in fact used to filter particulates out of air inside the engines of cars and tractors, a practice that fell into disuse due to modern paper filters but still implemented in small engines.
Today, one of the most frequent uses of the thermostatic oil bath is to heat bearings so they expand before installing them on shafts of aircraft engines and tractors.
The FDM Water and Oil Thermostatic Bath.
FDM - Environment Makers proposes its thermostatic water bath consisting of a fully electro-welded tank, which guarantees high resistance to corrosive agents and in AISI 304 or 316 stainless steel. The temperature is managed by a simple and intuitive external interface, analogic or digital, depending on your preferences.
For special needs, or the need to reach temperatures above 99.9 °, FDM - Environment Makers can design a custom-made thermostatic oil bath.
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