With a nod to National Safety Month, Cole-Parmer spotlights the latest innovations in eye/face wash products and showers for better safety solutions.
According to Nate Kogler, Division Product Manager for the Bradley Corporation, the new technologies provide enhanced washdown coverage and improved cleanliness. For an eye-opening article describing this next generation of products, read more.
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Posted by bdumey
With barbeques and picnics on the menu for the next few months, food safety becomes top of mind. Grilled meats, potato salad soaked in mayonnaise, macaroni salad. . .some of summer’s favorites can make us sick if they are not handled properly.
Keep in mind that temperature measurement is essential for proper food storage, cooking, and serving. Quick checks with a thermometer can ensure safety and a non-contact thermometer can remove the hazard of cross-contamination.
Oakton® Food Safety Infrared Thermometer
Check critical food temperatures with handheld infrared food thermometers. The Oakton® Food TempTestr Basic Infrared Thermometer provides safe, non-contact readings in a half-second. With easy one-handed operation, the thermometer also features laser sighting to pinpoint your exact target, selectable degrees (F/C) display, steam interference filter, and a hold function that freezes display for seven seconds after button release. The Oakton® Food Safety Infrared Thermometer is a combination contact/noncontact thermometer for all food applications. Its LED rapidly indicates if food temperature is in the bacterial growth safety zone. Green lights indicate safe temperatures below 40°F (4°C) and above 140°F (60°C). Red light indicates the HACCP danger zone between 40 to 140°F (4 to 60°C). The Raytek Infrared Thermometer is specifically designed for use in food applications. As a contact thermometer, it measures surfaces within ±2°F of the critical temperature zone of 32 to 150°F- the range where harmful bacteria grows most rapidly.
Leave a Comment » | Cool Tools, Eats and Drinks | Tagged: barbeque, food safety, Oakton® Food Safety Infrared Thermometer, Oakton® Food TempTestr Basic Infrared Thermometer, picnic, Raytek Infrared Thermometer, temperature measurement | Permalink
Posted by bdumey
Along with spring allergy season comes the question of air quality in general. In addition to pollen and other airborne allergens, air pollution can pose health risks. According to State of the Air 2011, in the U.S, two types of air pollution are predominant. “Ozone and particle pollution. They aren’t the only serious air pollutants: others include carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, as well as scores of toxins such as mercury, arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, and acid gases. However, ozone and particle pollution are the most widespread pollutants.”Indoors, air quality can be monitored for hazardous levels. In schools, office buildings, hospitals, greenhouses, and anywhere that high levels of carbon dioxide are generated, the Extech Portable Indoor Air Quality CO2 Meter is a good option for checking air quality. For personal monitoring badges, the TraceAir® Personal Organic Solvent Panel/Indoor Air Quality Badge is a high sampling rate monitor to use when organic vapors are suspected to be the cause of indoor air quality concerns. The Organic Solvent Panel (OSP) badge includes analysis by GC/FID for 25 common organic vapors.
To clean air, Cloud 9® Air Cleaner with HEPA-Filter is EPA-registered and traps particles to 0.3µm. To rid your lab, office, or waiting room of dust, pollen, viruses, bacteria, mold spores, and smoke particles with a portable air cleaner, choose the Compact Air Cleaner with HEPA-Filter and Optional VOC Filter. This unit even removes gases associated with sick building syndrome.
2 Comments | Cool Tools, Latest and Greatest | Tagged: Air Quality Meters, Cloud 9® Air Cleaner with HEPA-Filter, Compact Air Cleaner with HEPA-Filter and Optional VOC Filter., Extech Portable Indoor Air Quality CO2 Meter, TraceAir® Personal Organic Solvent Panel/Indoor Air Quality Badge | Permalink
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Redesigned and updated. The Cole-Parmer® Polystat® line of circulating baths and immersion circulators offer excellent temperature stability for a range of laboratory applications.
High-stability Polystat Heating Immersion Circulators provide temperature control up to 200°C and inlet/outlet connections for circulation to external open- or closed-loops. They feature PID control with an easy-to-use LCD (0.01° resolution) and programmability in three languages and up to five temperature set points. Choose from units with clamp for side-tank attachment or with a bridge to span the tank.
Open Heating Circulating Baths offer an economical alternative to stainless steel baths. Operated by a two-speed pump with adjustable nozzle, they contain plumbed inlet/outlet connections for external loops. Their bright digital display enables more precise control and their high-temperature cutoff protects samples and equipment. Select from acrylic or PPO tank styles, in volumes up to 21 liters.
For more demanding applications, choose the rugged Polystat Stainless Steel Heating Circulating Baths. They offer performance while remaining budget-friendly. Easy to use, they feature a moisture-tight LCD, which measures in Celsius, Fahrenheit, or Kelvin scales. Driven by a two-speed pump, these units are available in standard or advanced models. The advanced model includes a force/suction pump with up to 21-liter capacity. Both types include safety features such as high-temperature cutoff and acoustic alarms.
For broad temperature ranges from -35 to 200°C, Polystat Cooling/Heating Circulating Baths include a powerful refrigeration system. They provide exceptional heat load removal across a range of operating temperatures. Their two-speed industrial-grade circulating pump runs up to 21 L/min flow and delivers extra pressure for more efficient heat exchange, better temperature uniformity, and enhanced reservoir agitation. These baths are available in standard digital or advanced digital models.
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Posted by bdumey
Are you concerned about fluoride in your tap water? Some people believe fluoride in drinking water is harmful, others believe it is safe and actually beneficial in maintaining dental hygiene.
Either way, you can test your fluoride level with the pocket fluoride tester from Extech, available through Cole-Parmer. The Extech fluoride pocket tester is handheld and easy to use. Anyone can use it to measure the concentration of fluoride in household tap water.
The Extech Waterproof FL700 Pocket Fluoride Tester is IP57-rated and designed for quick and accurate measurement of fluoride ions in drinking water and other aqueous samples. Also, here’s a helpful video to illustrate how to calibrate the pocket fluoride tester and how to perform a quick test of fluoride ions in your water sample.
Let us know what you think. Do you believe fluoride in tap water is harmful, or beneficial in reducing cavities?
Extech Waterproof FL700 Pocket Fluoride tester
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Posted by Scott
Pharmaceutical, biotech, and general-purpose laboratories now have a new high-performance, high-purity tubing to use with their pump systems. The Puri-Flex™ Pump Tubing, a Masterflex® exclusive, is non-DEHP and contains no animal-derived components. It offers ultralow extractables or leachables, low spallation, and low protein-binding.
Contains no DEHP phthalates, halogen plasticizers, or animal-derived components for high-purity applications
At the same time, the long-life tubing is more durable than other flexible tubing. Users can autoclave multiple times at the new higher 135ºC standard or sterilize by ethylene oxide or gamma irradiation to 45 kGy. The tubing material is soft and flexible, and ideal for long-lasting use in Masterflex® peristaltic pumps. It handles a temperature range of 50 to 135°C (-58 to 275ºF) and offers good chemical resistance.
View it in person at INTERPHEX NY at booth #2977, on March 29-30. Staff will be available to answer any questions. See you there!
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Posted by bdumey
Imagine an easy-to-hold pipettor that does not overrotate the wrist or hand and minimizes pressure. It’s here! The Ovation line of ergonomic pipettors from Cole-Parmer offers an enhanced design that reduces discomfort, fatigue, and injuries. These new pipettors provide relief for laboratory workers who experience repetitive stress injuries caused or exacerbated by traditional pipetting.
Users ranging from Enrico Fermi Scholars to research microbiologists to lab technicians have trumpeted the natural feel and comfort of this design. As the only pipettors that keep the hand in the neutral position (as recommended by ergonomic experts), the pipettors encourage correct posture. In addition, only Ovation pipettors stand upright, allowing for convenient pickup―no racks or stands required.
Choose from several models in the Ovation line, including the Adjustable-Volume Pipettors which allow five frequently used volumes to be stored, Electronic Pipettors for higher throughput testing environments, and the Macrovolume Electronic Pipettor for maximum efficiency during large-volume liquid handling. Left-handed models are also available.
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Posted by bdumey
picoSpin™ Benchtop NMR Spectrometer from Cole-Parmer
Introducing the picoSpin™ Benchtop NMR Spectrometer from Cole-Parmer―a true breakthrough in chemical instrumentation! Researchers and educators now have access to a revolutionary benchtop NMR spectrometer.
The 45-MHz picoSpin spectrometer resolves proton chemical shifts with a resolution of 100 parts per billion using a very small sample volume of less than 20 microliters. Liquid samples are simply injected into an internal capillary via front-panel fittings.
“We have engineered an innovative and disruptive technology that changes the NMR spectroscopy landscape. With its low price, compact footprint and true spectroscopic capability, the picoSpin-45 spectrometer enables applications that could not be considered in the past,” said John Price, Ph.D., president and chief scientist of picoSpin, LLC.
The picoSpin-45 NMR Spectrometer is a finalist in the Science & Medical – Diagnostic Aids category, one of twelve categories honored by the Edison Awards.
The complete liquid-phase proton NMR system includes permanent magnet, transmitter, receiver, data acquisition, programmable pulse sequencer, Ethernet interface, and intuitive web-based control software.
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Posted by bdumey
All new! The Masterflex® L/S® Precision Variable-Speed Console Drive features a digital display that ensures accuracy and repeatability in fluid metering applications. This new model will be displayed at the Cole-Parmer® booth at PITTCON, March 13–March 18.
The drive offers precise speed control and digital display of rpm to confirm speed setting at a glance. A reversible motor enables users to purge tubing before or after pumping; LED indicators confirm motor direction. Users achieve flow rates of 0.6 to 3400 mL/min with Masterflex L/S pump tubing. A powerful motor will drive two or four pump heads for increased flow rates and for multichannel applications. The membrane keypad offers easy up-front control of speed, direction, and start/stop. Drives also offer remote control capability via 4 to 20 mA or 0 to 10 V input signal.
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Posted by bdumey
Emissivity:
Emissivity is a term representing a material’s ability to emit thermal radiation. Each material has a different emissivity. A material’s emissivity can range from a theoretical 0.00 (completely not-emitting) to an equally-theoretical 1.00 (completely emitting); the emissivity often varies with temperature. Silver is an example of a substance with low emissivity (emissivity coefficient of .02), whereas asphalt has a high emissivity coefficient of 0.98.
To take a temperature measurement of an object, the thermographer will refer to the emissivity table to choose the emissivity value of the object, which is then entered into the camera. The camera’s algorithm will correct the temperature by using the emissivity to calculate a temperature that more closely matches the actual contact temperature of the object.
Flir i3 Entry Level Thermal Imager
Thermal imagers are ideal for use in applications where a visual indication of temperature variation may be helpful, such as troubleshooting electrical systems and machinery or doing a home energy audit. Thermal imaging is a non-contact technology that measures infrared wavelengths to determine temperatures from a safe distance. A thermal imager displays an image using different colors to represent different temperatures. Extech and Flir thermal imagers are fully radiometric which means they measure and store temperatures at every point in the image.The data can then be analyzed. With the highest accuracy for this class of thermal imagers at 2%, these imagers are perfect for identifying hot spots or a rise in temperature which often indicates that a problem exists or a failure could be imminent.
Cole-Parmer offers a wide assortment of thermal imaging cameras with a variety of features depending on your particular application or budget.
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Posted by Scott
Although Infrared thermography, or thermal imaging use has increased recently within commercial and industrial applications, it has a long history beginning in the 1800s when Sir William Herschel discovered infrared.
Flir i3 Entry Level Thermal Imagers
Timeline:
How it works:
Thermal imaging cameras convert the energy in the infrared wavelength (9,000 to 14,000 nanometers) into a visible light display, making it possible to view the environment without visible illumination. The thermal imaging camera performs a series of mathematical algorithms and builds a visible picture, usually in a JPG format. The image shows the viewer an approximation of the temperature at which the object is operating rather than detecting the actual temperature.
All objects above absolute zero emit thermal infrared energy, so thermal cameras can passively see all objects, regardless of ambient light. However, most thermal cameras only see objects warmer than -50°C. The amount of radiation emitted by an object increases with temperature; therefore, thermography allows one to see variations in temperature.
If the object is radiating at a higher temperature than its surroundings, then power transfer will be taking place and power will be radiating from warm to cold following the principle stated in the Second Law of Thermodynamics. So if there is a cool area in the thermogram, that object will be absorbing the radiation emitted by the warm object. The ability of both objects to emit or absorb this radiation is called emissivity.
Thermal imagers are ideal for use in applications where a visual indication of temperature variation may be helpful, such as troubleshooting electrical systems and machinery or doing a home energy audit. Thermal imaging is a non-contact technology that measures infrared wavelengths to determine temperatures from a safe distance. A thermal imager displays an image using different colors to represent different temperatures. Extech and Flir thermal imagers are fully radiometric which means they measure and store temperatures at every point in the image.The data can then be analyzed. With the highest accuracy for this class of thermal imagers at 2%, these imagers are perfect for identifying hot spots or a rise in temperature which often indicates that a problem exists or a failure could be imminent.
Cole-Parmer offers a wide assortment of thermal imaging cameras with a variety of features depending on your particular application or budget.
To be continued…
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Posted by Scott
Reduce the time it takes to get up to speed and receive results! The Shimadzu UV/Visible Scanning Spectrophotometers feature large displays to quickly read graphical results as well as screen prompts to easily guide users. They offer full-range scanning in an overall smaller size. Scan over a range of 190 to 1100 nm.
Shimadzu UV/Visible Scanning Spectrophotometers are available in several models. The UV mini-1240 offers functionality from simple concentration measurements to sophisticated quantitative calibration curves. The BioSpec-mini is preprogrammed for nucleic acid quantitation and protein assays and analysis. The UV-1800 supplies data input/output and PC control via USB connectivity.
Optional accessories for the UV mini-1240 model include DNA/Protein Program Pack Software, Multiwavelength Program Pack Software, Kinetics Program Pack Software, UV Data Manager Software, and Thermal Printer Kit.
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Posted by bdumey
With a nod to January as National Eye Care month, we are devoting today’s blog to solutions that protect your eyes. If you are at risk of accidental exposure to corrosive or caustic materials, you may need to have an eyewash station nearby. Several options are available. Here are a few of our favorites:
Fend-all Personal Eyewash Wall Stations
Emergency eyewash stations hold one or two bottles of flushing solution and affix easily to any wall with peel-off self-adhesive backing or mounting screws (included). Eyewash bottles have smaller openings to provide extended flow. Sealed solution bottles have a 36-month shelf life. Expiration date is printed on each bottle.
Goes anywhere to provide onsite emergency relief for eyes and face. Yellow, reinforced thermoplastic drench hose (8-ft) is designed to supply supplemental water to face and body. Stainless steel tank features tire filler valve and 0-100 psi air gauge. Pressure relief valve prevents accidental over-pressurization.
Bradley® On-Site Portable Gravity-Fed Eyewash
The highly visible Bradley On-Site transparent polycarbonate yellow tank lets you view when it’s time to refill or clean. Refillable—mix one 8 oz. bottle of water preservative with seven gallons of potable water to prevent growth in tank for up to six months. Solution can be tested monthly or when protocol dictates. The removable tank is inverted onto pedestal, piercing a liner. Water flow is activated when arm is pulled down.
1 Comment | Cool Tools, Promos, Public Service Announcement, Safety Tips | Tagged: Bradley® On-Site Portable Gravity-Fed Eyewash, emergency relief, eye care, eyewash station, Fend-all Personal Eyewash Wall Stations, portable eyewash | Permalink
Posted by bdumey
In recognition of December 17 as Maple Syrup Day, Cole-Parmer shares the story of Rascher’s Sugar House and its process enhancements with the Masterflex® B/T® Variable-Speed Pump.
Three miles from the Vermont border, Rascher’s Sugar House resides as a beacon to maple syrup lovers. Owner Steve Rascher is sweet on quality and the syrup he produces is a testament to his efforts. Rascher is an international award-winner in contests judging density, clarity, color, foreign materials, and, especially, taste of the smooth amber liquid.
The sap for his syrup is drawn from more than 5,000 trees. In business since 1945, Rascher constantly monitors the variables of weather, time, temperature, and evaporation residency to enhance the quality of the syrup he produces, as well as the efficiency of his process.
Yet even Rascher was surprised to learn he could improve his process. Rascher ordered a Masterflex® B/T® Variable-Speed Pump from Cole-Parmer. The washdown pump is designed to handle the toughest process applications and achieves high flow rates of up to 9.8 gallons per minute. Rascher bought the pump to supplement the veteran double-bellows device he uses for about half of his grove.
Masterflex® B/T® Variable-Speed Pump
Once he installed the pump, Rascher immediately noticed efficiencies. “The Masterflex B/T pump has marvelously improved my operation,” he said. “It has reduced my labor more than half and eliminated trucking from remote collection tanks. It pumps the sap from about 3,000 trees into a stainless steel tank.”
Rascher installed seven miles of food-grade plastic tubing running from his trees across the road into the building housing the pumping system. With this setup, he no longer has to haul sap from remote tanks, load it into his truck, and unload it at the Sugar House. Plus, the sap never touches the air, retaining its purity. It goes directly from the tree to the tank, is concentrated through evaporation, and then heated to make syrup. In addition to enhancing his process and saving time, Rascher is pleased that even the quality of his already-stellar product was elevated.
“In 2010, for the first time, Rascher Sugar House has been recognized as Federally Certified Organic,” said Rascher. “At this point, we are the only private enterprise maple syrup producer in the state of New York to be able to make that claim.”
1 Comment | Cool Tools, Eats and Drinks | Tagged: high flow rates, Maple Syrup, Maple Syrup Producer, Masterflex, Masterflex® B/T® Variable-Speed Pump, sap, washdown pump | Permalink
Posted by bdumey
Radiation Alert Analog Detectors
Did you know Monday, November 8, was X-ray Day? The X-ray was discovered in 1895, purely by accident. Wilhelm Röntgen, a German physicist, was experimenting with electron beams on a gas discharge tube. When the electron beam was on, a nearby fluorescent screen started to glow. Thus began the journey of a technology that is used in medical imaging, dentistry, astronomy, research, and even laser bursts.
Because X-rays pass through muscles and other soft tissue and stop at dense materials, doctors can identify broken bones and cancers growing in the body. Electromagnetic radiation is also used in communication systems and in neutron activation analysis, allowing the identification of elements in a material.
While radiation provides many benefits to the scientific world, high levels of radiation in the environment and in food handling can be hazardous. Cole-Parmer offers Radiation Alert Analog Detectors to monitor radiation. These general-purpose detectors are available with uncompensated halogen-quenched sensors for measuring alpha, beta, gamma, and X-ray radiation; select meters have energy-compensated sensors for increased sensitivity to gamma and X-ray radiation.
All models are factory-calibrated to pulse generator and can be calibrated to ANSI standards by any certified lab. Anti-saturation circuit is good to at least 100 times the maximum reading in the highest range. No special probes are required.
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