In any chemistry laboratory, the proper functioning of equipment is crucial for conducting accurate experiments and ensuring the safety of everyone involved. However, malfunctions can happen, often due to improper use, maintenance lapses, or wear and tear. Understanding these common issues and knowing how to prevent them can save time, resources, and even prevent accidents. In this blog, we’ll discuss five of the most common chemistry laboratory equipment malfunctions, how they occur, and what you can do to prevent them. And we will also seek a reliable and trustworthy Chemistry Laboratory Equipment Manufacturer and Supplier in India in order to prevent malfunction in a laboratory.

Chemistry Laboratory Equipment Malfunctions And Solutions

Beaker: Cracking or Breaking

Definition and Use

A beaker is a glass or plastic cylinder container that is used for simple mixing and heating of liquids and solutions. Every chemistry laboratory has this implement, as it is very versatile.

According to Wikipedia, Beakers are often composed of glass, most commonly borosilicate glass these days, but they can also be made of metal, such aluminum or stainless steel, or some polymers, like PTFE, polythene, and polypropylene. Polypropylene beakers are frequently used for gamma spectrum investigation of both liquid and solid materials.

Common Malfunction

Even so, beakers can still crack or break, such events being especially common during frequent thermal cycles or if the containers are handled carelessly.

How to Prevent It

Beakers should always be heated slowly in order to minimize thermal shock. In order to avoid burn wounds, heat-proof gloves should be used while holding hot beakers. Do not use a beaker that has a crack in it as this will risk the user with the possibility of the beaker further shattering to pieces after some use. Beakers should not be haphazardly kept and, therefore, stacked in ways that put stress on glass.

Burette: Leakage and Blockage

Definition and Use

A burette is a slender, graduated glass tube furnished with a valve at one end and used to release exact amounts of a liquid mostly in titrations.

Common Malfunction

Leakages are common on the burette stopcocks while dissolving liquids into the vertical tubes often blocks the liquid outways making them less accurate.

How to Prevent It

Occasionally, inspect the stopcock to ensure that it is dry and there are no apparent signs of leaked rubber. In that case, you should change the rubber. After every use of the Burette, rinsing should be done to prevent any residues of chemicals from drying. Stand the Burette in an upright position, with the upper part full of distilled water so as to prevent the stopcock from becoming dry.

Pipette: Serving the Wrong Purpose

Definition and Use

The pipette is a compact tool for a laboratory used for transferring and measuring a specific amount of liquid from one vessel to the other. They are instrumental in preventing errors in the experiments.

Common Malfunction

Pipettes may malfunction by delivering less or more than the required volume due to short calipers, after some time clogged tips, or using the device improperly.

How to Prevent It

Use of delivering provisions should be adhered to for all pipettes for proper volume delivery because such provisions are destroyed for those in PCA. Do not use the pipette in a manner that creates suction or pushes the air with great force out of the plunger. Follow the cleaning procedure in the SOPs for pipette tips.

Conical Flask (Erlenmeyer Flask): Incorrect Mixing or Spillage

Definition and Use

A conical flask (Erlenmeyer flask) is made in such a way that the lower portion is broadened while the upper forms a thin neck avoiding spillage in the process.

Common Malfunction

The conical flasks are less fragile compared to beakers, still, they can have the problem of improper mixing of the contents because they are used without a cover.

How to Prevent It

Cover the flasks with stoppers or seals which fit tightly and are not cracked. Rather than tapping, mix the contents by swirling the flask in a circle. Periodically carry out maintenance checks to replace or repair cracked flasks or the neck region that holds the seal.

Bunsen Burner : Irregular Flame or Gas Leaks

Definition & Major Usage

A Bunsen burner is a device that consists of a gas burner that is utilized for heating items that may be used in different items during any laboratory investigative processes. This provides a controlled flame that is used for heating, sterilizing and burning purposes.

Common Malfunction

Bunsen burners will emit flames that are not smooth and creative out combustion mainly scraps in the gastric line untimely. This may also happen in hardware which leads to dangerous situations.

How to Prevent it

Look after every usage of the burner and hose for signs of wear, damage and blockage. Lastly, derive air intake into a feature’s operating necessity blue and constant flame which is an indicator of full combustion. Once a month replace the hoses that transfer gas that appears worn out or distressed.

Why Choose Jlab India as a Chemistry Laboratory Equipment Manufacturer?

Setting up a Chemistry laboratory requires you to consider many things and surely one of them is sourcing one of the chemistry laboratory equipment manufacturers. Jlab India is the leading chemistry laboratory equipment manufacturer and supplier in India, we strive and succeed at offering a vast range of products that conform to set high standards of quality.