While the name bead bath might sound like a joke along the lines of “dehydrated water”, it is actually a revolutionary piece of laboratory equipment.
Bead baths don’t actually bathe anything. They are used for heating, thawing and incubating solutions at a precise temperature for a period of time.
Generations of laboratory scientists have used water baths to accomplish the same task, but water baths have some notorious issues which make them troublesome and potentially harmful to experiments.
Water baths need to be kept clean to prevent bacteria from growing. The water in a water bath must be changed frequently, something that becomes more difficult over time as rust begins to form and cake on the surface.
Water baths must also be monitored to prevent the heating element from burning out should the water evaporate.
A bead bath is a clean, low-maintenance device that is easy to use
A bead bath replaces the medium of water with specially milled aluminum “beads” which conduct thermal energy quite well.
The elimination of water significantly reduces the concerns for bacterial contamination and eliminates the possibility of evaporation.
In order to deliver accurate and uniform temperature, a bead bath is constructed with heating elements beneath the bottom and all walls of the bath. By heating from multiple sides, the likelihood of a cold-spot or temperature variability is reduced.
Bead baths come in different sizes and with different capabilities.
Lab Armor invented the bead bath and remains the only manufacturer of milled aluminum beads for these baths.
Lab Armor bead baths are available in three sizes: 6L, 14L and 20L.
These baths are used for heating and thawing only; they do not have the ability to cool or refrigerate.
Relatively new entries to the marketplace are a 2L and 10L bath from Benchmark Scientific which can be operated either as a water or bead bath depending on the mode selected.
Both Benchmark and Lab Armor baths come with gabled lids to contain warmth and produce a more efficient heating experience, but only Lab Armor provides beads included in the sale.
A good rule to remember is to fill the bead bath with about two liters less beads than the total volume of the bath in order to allow for displacement when bottles and tubes are inserted.
In the last two years Lab Armor expanded their line to include Peltier cooled models with the ability to heat or cool from 2 to 70C which makes them useful for industries beyond the life-sciences.
What makes buying a bead bath from Stellar Scientific different?
Scientists who have never purchased a bead bath before are only aware of two basic questions to qualify their decision:
- How big is the footprint?
- What is the hottest it can get?
Stellar Scientific has worked with customers in multiple industries and gained valuable experience advising on the proper use and care of laboratory bead baths.
Our trained sales team help their customers achieve temperature uniformity and maintain the use and function of their beads through proper, regular cleaning.
If your lab is making the switch from water to bead bath, Stellar Scientific has the knowledge and experience to make the leap with ease.