Heated cabinets or systems which are used to dry vessels instruments and biological material or other materials used in medical laboratory. It can sometimes be used for other laboratory required purposes.

Tips for Buying a Laboratory Oven

1. When comparing laboratory ovens/heaters, facilities should consider whether the unit is bench or floor standing and its external dimensions relative to the space that is available and ease of its accessibility.

2. Facilities should also check the number of shelves provided in the laboratory oven and number of possible shelf positions; the option for additional shelves should also be available if they are required.

3. The interior of the contrast media warmer unit should be stainless steel or aluminum clad.

4. The control and display type that is required (analogue or digital) should be determined. Analogue: control is normally achieved by a numbered dial; a thermometer displays the actual temperature. Control is usually hydrostatic and may need time before stabilizing on the set temperature. Digital: temperature is set and displayed via a digital LCD controller. It is more accurate as it adjusts the rate of heating down gradually, and avoids temperature overshoot.

5. Facilities should inquire whether the laboratory oven is programmable or has a timer.

6. When temperature uniformity is important, fan forced circulation gives better temperature uniformity in the contrast media warmer cabinet than gravity - this can be especially important in larger laboratory ovens.

7. The laboratory oven should at least have an independent, manually adjustable high temperature cut-out dial, so that if the cabinet overheats it will cut out at the cut-out temperature, rather than hitting the maximum temperature. Some laboratory ovens have high/low temperature alarms; other can be connected to an external alarm system.

8. Facilities should verify the lowest temperature that the laboratory oven may be used at.

9. It is better to check the contrast media warmer's internal dimensions (W x D x H) rather than relying on the manufacturer's listed capacity of the laboratory oven's internal volume, as different manufacturers describe the internal liter capacity differently, which can be misleading; some specify the total internal volume, while others state the theoretical available volume, which may not include distance from the sides (space for air convection).

10. Vents enable any fumes to be emitted outside the chamber and room.