A fume hood is used to control and filter harmful gasses and vapors in a laboratory. These machines filter the toxic gases so that the employees and the environment remain safe. There are different types of fumes hoods. In some models, the workers work under the hoods and wear safety gear. Other models have a compact design and come with a small enclosed chamber to place different types of equipment with materials during experimenting.
Here is information about some types of fume hoods-
Ducted fume hoods
This is the most basic and common style of the fume hood. The ducted fume hoods are also called ducted exhaust hoods. This machine has five enclosed sides and comes with a duct that has either HEPA or ULPA filters for filtering the air. The ducted fume hoods are used in those laboratories where conventional filtration processes can be used or air cannot be recirculated. It also has a powerful fan to keep the recirculation of air going on.
Chemical Fume hoods
These fume hoods are specially designed for chemical laboratories. It is a worktable with an enclosed chamber that allows the employees to conduct their experiments in a safe place without being exposed to harmful chemicals or gases. These are made with stainless steel. Chemical fume hoods have high powered HEPA or ULPA filters that filter the toxic air and keeps the experiment under control. The chemical fume hoods come with a transparent panel sash which allows the workers to view their experiments.
Ductless fume hoods
These fume hoods are compact and do not have a duct on their backside. It generally has a highly efficient carbon filter that filters the toxic gases and fumes. This fume hood is eco-friendly and does not harm the worker or even the environment. The biggest benefit of ductless fume hood is that it does not release the filtered air in the atmosphere. Rather, it filters the air and releases the pure air in the laboratory. These models are often preferred by lab workers because they consume less energy and electricity and are also reasonable. Some models of ductless fume hoods have an automatic monitoring unit to check if the carbon filtering unit is working properly or not.
Perchloric Acid Fume hoods
Perchloric acid fume hoods are another variant of fume hoods. It uses perchloric acid that prevents the formation of perchlorate slats during any experiments. It is a benchtop style fume hood and takes less space. The employers can place their apparatus with the chemical and reagents inside this fume hood and experiment safely. You can buy perchloric acid fume hood in different sizes according to your preference, available space, and budget. This machine is made with high-quality steel that can protect the workers from perchloric acid.
ADA fume hoods
It is a special variant of the fume hood that is made according to the ADA guidelines. It ensures all the employers in a laboratory gets to work in a safe and non-toxic environment. This benchtop lab fume hood comes with a small workstation, lights, switches, and digital airflow monitor. ADA fume hoods are made with durable and resistant stainless steel. The steel body is coated with epoxy resin for added protection. Some modes come with fixed glass panels and other have safety glass sash so that workers can view things without any problem.
Canopy fume hoods
Canopy fume hoods are designed to remove odor and heat steam. It is a type of ventilator machine that is used with autoclaves or ovens. These fume hoods are placed over the ovens or heat steamers so that they can directly filter the air to remove any remaining smell. Canopy fume hoods are often wall mounted for better performance. You can choose customized sizes according to your requirement.
Low flow fume hoods
These fume hoods are space-efficient and energy-efficient. They can easily save nearly half the amount of electricity bill compared to a regular fume hood model. These fume hoods filter air and release the amount of conditioned air in a room. This way these machines require less amount of energy to operate.
Variable air fume hoods
Variable air fume hood controls the velocity of the air and maintains the constant velocity during filtration. So, it takes less energy and maintains proper air condition inside the lab. These machines also come with a transparent sash to allow the workers to view things.
These are some of the common types of fume hoods that are used in laboratories. You can contact Global Lab supply or visit their website to choose a fume hood among their large collection.