sillysyban Posted June 14, 2019 Hey good peoples, Anyone have a review of these flowhoods? Was thinking of building one but these seem like a decent price to save the extra effort. Cheers. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Laminar-Flow-Hood-Air-Flow-60CM-Wide-Professional-VD650-Hot/113754317555?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190212102350%26meid%3D551e6b04208b4f2cb384825914e9aa64%26pid%3D100012%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D281074433715%26itm%3D113754317555&_trksid=p2047675.c100012.m1985#shpCntId Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darklight Posted June 17, 2019 Yeah nah, I wouldn't. Says it's a vertical flow cabinet- so clean air is pushed from the top of the cabinet to the bottom Best flow cabinets for general contamination free cultures IMO are horizontal flow. Clean air is pushed from the back of the cabinet towards you, so if any contaminants are inadvertently transferred during work they will be blown away from the work surface towards the user Anyone here ever used a vertical flow cabinet for routine sterile culture transfer work? This link says it's possible, but I've not seen it in practice ever https://www.thermofisher.com/nl/en/home/references/gibco-cell-culture-basics/cell-culture-equipment/laminar-flow-hood.html 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sillysyban Posted June 19, 2019 Cheers Darklight. I have been doing a bit of research and think I will look at the filters and pump from aussimushrooms. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maximt Posted July 26, 2019 Hi Sillysyban, wondering how you went. I think why most mush cultivators use horizontal is because its cost effective. i.e. you can DIY - find a filter, a pump and some ply and away you go, and you can set up a 3-4 meter wall of these for relatively cheap. And if you are doing mass inoculation it makes sense and saves time, you can line up all your bags on the desk, clean them all at once and just go through inoculating. Vertical flow hoods are generally something that is used in laboratories i medical research facilities. The save space, as the filter and pump don't take up desk space. They are generally enclosed from all sides but 1, and have positive pressure to push air out through the bottom of the table and the 1 opening. But if you need a lot of these, i.e. 3-4 meters, becomes very expensive, especially if they have to be custom built. Added bonuses are they are enclosed from all sides, hence less chance for contams to get in, just 1 opening, and take up less desk space. I would suggests thinking about the size, what are you going to work with, i.e. petri dishesh, jars, bags, and the space that you need for them. I would say the one on that page is fairly small and you could only really effectively do petri dishes/small jars. Otherwise yeah either aussiemushrooms, or try contacting some hepa filter manufacturers, I found they generally do good deals as well. MT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darklight Posted July 28, 2019 On 26/07/2019 at 7:28 PM, Maximt said: I think why most mush cultivators use horizontal is because its cost effective. i.e. you can DIY - find a filter, a pump and some ply and away you go, and you can set up a 3-4 meter wall of these for relatively cheap. And if you are doing mass inoculation it makes sense and saves time, you can line up all your bags on the desk, clean them all at once and just go through inoculating. Not IME. Horizontal airflow pushes sterile air towards you so if anything falls off your hands or tools while you're working, it is blown forward, away from any media or tools which might be contaminated by falling spore. Cost effectiveness isn't much to do with your choice, you want horizontal flow so as not to contaminate your work while you're working on it. Cheap HEPA flow units can be great for most people doing myco work and spending more won't necessarily guarantee success if your technique is poor or your existing unit has issues. On 26/07/2019 at 7:28 PM, Maximt said: Vertical flow hoods are generally something that is used in laboratories i medical research facilities. The save space, as the filter and pump don't take up desk space. They are generally enclosed from all sides but 1, and have positive pressure to push air out through the bottom of the table and the 1 opening. But if you need a lot of these, i.e. 3-4 meters, becomes very expensive, especially if they have to be custom built. Added bonuses are they are enclosed from all sides, hence less chance for contams to get in, just 1 opening, and take up less desk space. Nup, not IME. Vertical flows are used where there is a danger to the operator or environment from pathogens, and they're often used- routinely used- in medical/ clinical laboratories where they are testing or researching organisms which can cause disease. Pathology labs, working with blood- or air-borne viruses, Zika, HIV, infected tissue of any kind. Biosecurity labs where they may be testing imported plant tissue for bacteria etc, or extracting DNA/ RNA for further tests. At least one of the Biosafety cabinet classes does both kinds, for work which is required to be sterile and where the operator and environment both require protection. Air is first pushed through a HEPA filter at the back- then rather than being pushed forwards towards the operator, a second air current near the front of the cabinet works like an air curtain and forces the air downwards before it gets to the operator. I've worked in one for Biosecurity purposes, it's not my normal cabinet, but they've gotten a lot more specific on classes and subclasses of cabinets these days so the changes over time haven't registered on my radar. I do know I've rarely worked in a Class I cabinet ( fume hood type ) and never in a Class III cabinet ( glove box type ) Happy to be proven wrong, I'm out of touch these days Read this again: https://www.thermofisher.com/nl/en/home/references/gibco-cell-culture-basics/cell-culture-equipment/laminar-flow-hood.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
