A fume hood is a huge piece of equipment that is used to house certain devices to minimize exposure to dangerous or hazardous fumes, dusts and vapors. In most cases, walk-in fume hoods are normally set back against a wall and then covered with in fills to prevent any gases from getting in. Since they are enclosed, they are always dim and thus internal lights are often fitted in.
The main uses of floor-mounted fume hoods include:
- Protecting the user from gulping toxic and harmful gases.
- Protecting the product being housed
- Explosion protection
- Protecting the environment
Depending on the size of your laboratory equipment, you can have your walk-in fume hoods designed to your taste and preference. Nevertheless, the standard fume hoods design is as follows:
- Two independently vertical rising girdles.
- Audible LOC500 airflow monitor usually for safety purposes.
- Counterbalance provides one finger set-up.
- Average “Resin-Chem” Liner with access panels that can be removed
- Detachable peripheral side panels.
- Removable exterior side panels.
- Attached lights on a sealed glass panel to keep toxic vapors isolated.
- Tube lights that are easily replaced.
Customizing floor-mounted fume hoods
If you feel that the standard type is not enough to house your devices, you can have customized ones. Customizing a walk in fume hood is not that expensive especially if you are dealing with experts that can give you cost saving solutions. Some of the common customized fume hoods include:
- Chemical Fume Hoods
- Variable Air Volume Fume Hoods
- Benchtop Fume Hoods
- Double-Faced Fume Hoods
- Low Air Flow Fume Hoods
- Portable Fume Hoods
- Built-In Blower Fume Hoods
- By-Pass Fume Hoods
- ADA Compliant Fume Hoods
- Ductless Fume Hoods
You can customize it to your own choice. Having one that can house even the largest equipment is cost saving, efficient and highly reliable.
Designing
When designing, the first thing you should put in mind is the floor because it is always at the same level with the entrance to the hood. Therefore, you should put into consideration things like air leakages, air flow and ricocheted currents. To combat these problems, the back baffle slats should be adjusted appropriately. And for a good floor sweep, make sure the bottom baffle remains open through.
As for sashes, walk-in fume hoods can have either horizontal or vertical rising panels. However, horizontal sashes are more preferable since they move more easily. Additionally, horizontal rising panels are not susceptible to air currents in the room, making them a good choice when customizing your fume hoods.
Finally, when customizing your fume hoods, you should consider factors like physical barrier controls, materials used and floor drains among others. For more information on having your floor- mounted fume hoods customized, please visit various websites and make sure you get the best laboratory furniture company.
