All sorts of lab work, particularly in industrial labs, require the regular handling of all manner of dangerous substances. It’s here that exhaust hoods shine and show their almost incalculable value.

Did you know… RDM Industrial Products has been manufacturing quality-designed lab furniture, tools, and laboratory equipment for more than 40 years. Laboratory exhaust fume hoods are one of the centerpieces of our business. Here, we’ll tell you a bit about what these incredible devices are. As well as what they can do, and why they are so important. We’ll also share the different types of fume hoods that we manufacture and the many benefits that you can reap from having them at your disposal.

What Do Fume Hoods Do, and Why Does Your Lab Need Them?

RDM Laboratory Fume Hoods & Casework shown with Recessed Pulls and Sliding, Frameless Glass Door Upper Wall Cabinets.

Although chemical fume hoods come in a variety of different types and styles and can have functions that differ from one another in some important ways, they all serve the same basic purpose: to remove harmful gases from the laboratory environment.

Therefore, the most basic reason to have them in your lab is to ensure lab worker safety. If you plan to conduct experiments and trigger chemical reactions in your lab that give off harmful gases as by-products, these exhaust hoods are absolutely essential.

With that, let’s have a look at some of the different types of factory-direct exhaust hoods that RDM can build for your lab.

Classifications of Laboratory Exhaust Fume Hoods, & How They Work!

In essence, a laboratory fume hood is a device that creates an enclosure around a certain work area. A chemical reaction which releases toxic fumes can then be triggered within that work area. Because the enclosure is air-tight, when properly used, the fumes don’t escape its confines. Rather, they are taken up by a ventilation or filtration system and neutralized in any of a few different ways. That is the basic way in which these devices manage and control fumes.

However, depending on the type used, the exact way in which this happens can vary. From a strictly functional perspective, here are the two basic types of chemical fume hoods:

• Ducted: A ducted hood takes air in from the front side of its enclosure and passes the air through a series of ventilation ducts. If the air is contaminated with toxic fumes, this means that those fumes will pass through the ducts until they are totally removed from the laboratory environment and expelled outside. To do this, the fume hood must be properly connected to the ventilation system that already exists in your lab. The hood can be set up to either offer filtration or not.
• Ductless: Ductless hoods, by contrast, take in contaminated air, pass it through a series of filters that remove its dangerous contaminants, and then recirculate that air right back into your lab. They don’t have to be integrated into your ventilation system and therefore are typically easier and cheaper to install.

Besides this classification based on function and fume management, hoods also vary according to a few other designs and style criteria.

Important Design Types of Fume Hoods Manufactured by RDM :

• Bench Top or Standard: As the name suggests, under this design, the hood encloses a workbench, typically with glass or a similar material. Experiments are performed through the sash and within the enclosed workstation, allowing released fumes to be filtered or otherwise removed. Below the bench is a series of chemicals where you can store important materials.
• Walk-in: Walk-in hoods encompass big enough areas that a lab worker can walk into them to do all necessary work. This style of fume hood is particularly useful in situations where cross-contamination between different workspaces must be avoided at all costs. They’re also preferred as spaces in which to trigger larger reactions in which greater volumes of toxic gases may be expelled.
• Thin Wall Economy: As the name suggests, this type of hood has especially thin walls. They serve the purpose of slightly increasing the work area that’s allowed to you. You should keep in mind, however, that their thin walls make these hoods ineffective for dealing with poisonous gases. They can still remove fumes the same way that other hoods can. However, they are not meant for totally segregating poisonous gases from the rest of the lab environment. Thus, they should not be used for that purpose. Other than that, they basically look the same as benchtop hoods. They enclose a laboratory bench and come with a set of cabinets beneath. Because of their thinner walls, however, they are typically less expensive and may therefore be useful to labs that are on a budget.
• Variable Air Volume: Variable Air Volume hoods put more power into the hands of the user. When integrated with exhaust control systems, they give you the power to control the exact rate at which the hood expels and/or filters the air. They also allow you to adjust the volume of air that the hood exhausts. Depending on the position of the sash, which can make the hood more efficient.

To see the full selection of laboratory exhaust fume hoods that RDM manufactures to help you with your airflow and exhaust needs, as well as some of their accessories and specialize features, click here.

Industries That Use Exhaust Fume Hoods:

Lastly, let us give you a brief survey of some of the many different kinds of industries that have found uses for exhaust fume hoods. Just some include:

• industrial labs and engineering firms or factories where combustible elements may be common
• scientific and university laboratories specializing in pure chemical research
• medical and pharmaceutical labs – especially where gases can be expelled as a result of chemical synthesis

Conclusion

All of RDM’s fume hoods are proudly manufactured in the USA. We are also happy to custom design them to suit your specific needs. Let RDM put its manufacturing expertise to work for you. They’ll help you keep your lab workers safe and your projects chugging along smoothly.

The post Laboratory Exhaust Fume Hoods – Manage Your Fume Control Needs appeared first on RDM Industrial Products.

Thus, from both a safety and financial angle, the decision to purchase laboratory exhaust fume hoods is a critically important one for lab managers.

RDM Industrial Products, with its over 40+ years of experience in manufacturing the finest laboratory hardware, stands at the ready to assist you and supply your needs.

But before you embark on your quest for laboratory exhaust fume hoods, here is some of what you need to know about these crucial machines and about how RDM designs them.

Fume Hood Styles

Fume hoods can be classified in a number of different ways. The first is by their functionality and the ways in which they treat the air that is sucked up into their systems. In this regard, there there are two types of fume hoods:

• Ducted:
  Ducted fume hoods draw in air from the front side of the cabinet or workstation where scientists and lab technicians do their work. It then simply expels that air not only from the laboratory environment, but from the building more generally. In this way, any dangerous fumes that are expelled over the course of your lab work will be swiftly removed from the room. Protecting both you and any other researches or lab personnel from exposure. To do this, ducted fume hoods will need to be connected to the ventilation system that already exists in your facilities. RDM Industrial Products offers a number of factory-direct, industrial-quality ducted fume hoods, like the popular SB-MAX. Many of these can be built according to your personal size specifications and outfitted with a number of optional additional features.
• Ductless (Recirculating):
  By contrast, a ductless or recirculating fume hood works differently. It takes the potentially noxious or toxic gases that have been released into its system, runs them through a filtration mechanism until they are no longer harmful. And then releases the filtered air back into the laboratory room. As with ducted fume hoods, RDM manufactures a diverse selection of ductless models as well. Including the SB-MAX-A, which filters and recirculates your air while also bringing in more air from the outside. As with ducted models, all ductless fume hoods from RDM are manufactured direct. And if needed, they can be built according to your size specifications. It is also important to remember that ductless fume hoods typically have lower initial costs. And, depending on the environment, can provide greater benefits in the form of higher efficiency. As such, they are an excellent option for lab managers seeking to lower long-term costs.

In addition to this functional classification, fume hoods also vary by things like size and overall design style. Here, the major categories sold by RDM are as follows:

• Bench Top Hoods:
  Bench top fume hoods are the most common, and therefore the standard, fume hood design style. In this case, the fume hood is attached to and surrounds a work counter, below which are storage cabinets that allow you to keep various laboratory chemicals close at hand.
• Walk-In Hoods:
  Walk-in fume hoods are typically large enough to allow a person to fit into them. They are generally separated into multiple compartments with an internal bypass that adjusts as the sash is either raised or lowered. Walk-in fume hoods are useful for laboratories which expect to have to deal with large volumes of toxic gases. RDM’s standard model here is the WB-MAX.
• HEPA Workstations:
  HEPA workstations are much like bench top fume hoods, except that they are generally smaller and more portable. Also, the come attached to a HEPA air filter which continuously bathes the surrounding work environment with freshly filtered air.

All RDM fume hoods are proudly manufactured in the USA. We encourage you to take a look at our many fume hood models and styles and choose the one(s) that are best fitted to your lab’s peculiar needs. Custom designs are available upon request.

Exhaust Fume Hood Options

Laboratory exhaust fume hoods – of all the types and styles mentioned above – come with a number of different optional design features. If there’s a feature you’d like to add, a member of the RDM Team would be happy to see if it fits in with your design. Many of these options concern the design and construction of the storage cabinets that come attached to certain fume hoods.

Typically, cabinets, associated workstations and fume hoods themselves are made of stainless steel. Though RDM can custom-design cabinets using other materials like laminated wood and melamine wood. We can also make the cabinets and overall fume hood flame resistant and/or chemical resistant. Which is an especially important feature for labs that are stocked with flammable or corrosive substances. Trespass base cabinets, which are also chemical-resistant, are available as well.

RDM can also build exhaust fume hoods in a wide variety of sizes. Generally ranging from 35 inches wide on the smaller end to as much as 96 inches wide on the larger end. The specific size options available will vary depending on the model that you have your eye on, however, so be sure to check out all of our industrial-quality fume hood models. Design options for base cabinet construction will also vary depending on the types of chemicals that you intend to store and use in your lab.

Fume Hood Accessories

RDM fume hoods also can come with a diverse set of technical accessories. Allowing you expand their capabilities and put them to laboratory-specific uses. RDM’s customization features only augment your power of choice and help you to assemble a better and more multi-purpose lab. Accessories, broadly speaking, fall into the following categories:

• Compatibility With Room Fixtures:
  Depending on the nature of the room and ventilation system with which you’ll be using your fume hood, various accessories may be necessary. Fume hoods can be set up to work with standard air systems, with chilled water, natural gas, argon or other arrangements, as required.
• Ventilation Control Styles:
  RDM offers both analog and digital ventilation control systems with its variable air volume fume hoods. Digital systems generally offer more fine-grained control over air flow and air volume, but analog knobs are also available. Such hoods also come with alarms which go off if air flow is not kept within certain pre-set parameters. Moreover, we can build custom-made fume hoods which remove toxic gases by creating a vacuum. Sashes made of safety glass.

We encourage you to browse through the full range of our quality-designed fume hoods. Then give RDM Industrial Products a call at 1-877-483-5733. Let us build one for you that will let you push your lab to new heights.

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