The freezer section of the lab refrigerator has a lower temperature when compared to the main cooling unit of the refrigerator. This difference is very important especially in lab refrigerators where a large volume of expensive chemicals and biological material are stored. Temperature maintenance is of prime importance in all laboratories. The thermostat in the refrigerator aids the process of temperature control. If you notice that sometimes your lab refrigerator reaches the temperature that the freezer is usually maintained at, this signals a major technical problem.
Good quality lab refrigerators promise two important thing-humidity control and reliable temperature maintenance. However, sometimes, due to various factors temperature control in the lab refrigerator breaks down completely. Chart recorders, alarm systems, etc must be used to maintain thorough logs and records in the lab. All these systems that are put in place allow the lab personnel help maintain the stability of the drugs and antibodies stored in the lab refrigerator.
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Ideally, the temperature of the freezer is maintained at 4 degrees Celsius and that of the refrigerator stays within a temperature range of 2-10 degrees Celsius. Any departure from this set temperature can result in extensive losses. The shelf life of vaccines, cell cultures, media, antibodies, drugs, enzymes, etc depends a lot on the temperature conditions. If the refrigerator in which they are placed freezes, it can cause a lot of damage due to the resultant inactivity of these biological entities. Therefore, care must be taken to insure that lab refrigerators are maintained at the correct and chosen temperature all the time.
The make and the model of the thermostat should be noted down for each and every refrigerator installed in the lab. It is also helpful to make a list of stores that stock the specific parts your refrigerator might need. Many stores give you an online inventory too. However, understanding the cause of the problem of refrigerator freezing is also very important. Sometimes, the condenser fan stops working. Another factor is the coils may also be covered with a layer of dust. As a result of these two problems, the built-in heat exchanger system goes wrong and the refrigerator starts freezing.
Another probable cause is the auto-defrost option. Sometimes, during this process of automatic defrosting of the refrigerator, the drain line that gets rid of all the water gets frozen and causes the system to behave abnormally. This, in turn, results in the air vents that connect to the freezer getting blocked. Auto-defrost setting causes temperature cycles that increase the temperature to a small degree. However, this small spike in temperature can cause things to go wrong. The resultant temperature at which the lab refrigerator is to be maintained also goes awry.
In this situation, the best option would be to manually switch off the refrigerator and clean the condenser coils. The thermostat must be scrutinized by a professional and checked for any problems. This kind of troubleshooting will lessen and maybe even prevent potential refrigerator freezing problems in the future.
Troubleshooting a Freezing Refrigerator Compartment in Your Lab Fridge
Dr. Bob Sandor is a Director at Tovatech, a leading North American supplier of laboratory refrigerator units. When not busy running his company, he writes articles exploring his fascination with the many aspects of various scientific & industrial devices. For more details on the above you can reach him through the lab and industrial refrigerator section of his website.
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