Air Science Safefume Hoods

[Mark]

Anyone out there have any comments on the Air Science Safefume cyanoacrylate hoods, both good and bad, that they'd be willing to share? Feel free to contact me privately if you wish at markmills@ongov.net.

Thanks,
Mark

[RM1023]

We have one in our lab. It works very well, but I have nothing to compare it to other than manual aquarium style chambers. It's all automatic with a humidifier and hot plate so while you can almost just "set it and forget it." Every so often there may be a glitch in the program (cause unknown as of now) that will restart the timer or restart the fuming cycle after it's finished, so you need to check up on it periodically to make sure it's working properly. Make sure you get the right size for your needs i.e. rifles take up a lot of space.

[SConner]

Don't know if it's exactly the same problem that RM has observed but occasionally we've seen the humidity fluctuate somewhat wildly above and below the set point for starting the hot plate. For example, our hot plate is set to click on once the humidity reaches 80%. Sometimes the humidity level has fluctuated below 80% and we think that if it stays below that 80% threshold long enough (unknown exactly how long is long enough) either the hot plate clicks off, it restarts the fuming cycle, or it does something strange at any rate. It happens very infrequently and nobody has stood there watching it at the right time to figure out what it is. Best WAG is that it's a humidity sensor that is faulty but who knows.

The only other thing that you have to watch out for on the Airscience chambers is making sure that the seal is tight enough to hold the red button in on the door frame. If the foam or rubber gasket material gets old or is too soft it doesn't hold the button in sometimes which then registers an open door causing the chamber to vent, provided that it's already started fuming, of course.

[RM1023]

SConner, you might want to replace your humidifier. We just bought a similar one at Target (I think they do sell the identical one that came with the system too) when ours stopped working and now it works fine. Those small humidifiers are not really designed to maintain a steady humidity and I think it even said in the manual that it is expected to see the percentage become higher or lower than what you set when the hot plate is on. But if it is going more than 2-3 % above and below, you might want to consider trying a different humidifier. And like you said, no one has actually stood there the entire time watching the display when a glitch occurs so we don't know the exact problem either.