Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Bench Epoxy? What to use?

dermolotov - 20-12-2015 at 13:35

New Lab setup time!
What is a good laminate to use on the newly build benches? I'm not about to spend $1000 on a new bench set up so I'm just gonna go build a bench.

Any recommendations.

Magpie - 20-12-2015 at 13:39

Formica makes a black laminate especially formulated for lab benches. I looked into this a few years back. They sent me a sample.

[Edited on 20-12-2015 by Magpie]

dermolotov - 20-12-2015 at 14:24

Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
Formica makes a black laminate especially formulated for lab benches. I looked into this a few years back. They sent me a sample.

[Edited on 20-12-2015 by Magpie]

Nice! Just got a sample.

I also wonder if I could cheap out on the fume hoods here by building a plexiglass shielded area with an industrial rangehood that extracts into a charcoal filter.
Any idea, Magpie? Also, are you in the Great White North?

Magpie - 20-12-2015 at 15:27

If I wanted to build a cheap hood I would construct the frame of wood, say 2x4's. Then I would make the walls of sheetrock or backerboard. Placing ceramic tile against these walls would make a deluxe version.

I wouldn't make it any smaller than the one I have or cut back on the airflow (4-500 cfm).

I would run the exhaust (≥8") directly outside with the outlet as high as possible. Any kind of filter is going to be a severe restriction to flow which would be unacceptable to me.

I don't know what you mean by Great White North. I do not live in Alaska.

dermolotov - 20-12-2015 at 23:46

Quote: Originally posted by Magpie  
If I wanted to build a cheap hood I would construct the frame of wood, say 2x4's. Then I would make the walls of sheetrock or backerboard. Placing ceramic tile against these walls would make a deluxe version.

I wouldn't make it any smaller than the one I have or cut back on the airflow (4-500 cfm).

I would run the exhaust (≥8") directly outside with the outlet as high as possible. Any kind of filter is going to be a severe restriction to flow which would be unacceptable to me.

Canada, friend. That's what my New York / North Carolina call us for some reason. I just acknowledged your profile mentions USA. Well that solves that.

I digress. At home, I have a few layers of plexiglass and it's worked pretty well for simple reactions. The problem is that I'm actually setting it up in an industrial zoned area so we will unfortunately have to abide by (the Ontario version of the-)EPA's guidelines or risk a fine. That doesn't happen on residential property, actually... But when it comes to manufacturing and R&D, it's a bit more strict, unfortunately.

Regarding the restriction to the flow, that is what I assumed. At home, I currently use one of my old range hoods and it can remove every trace of smoke in the lab in under a minute (if I let a cigar burn for a bit in my lab. I love smoking in my lab, btw). But I feel like it would need to be a bit more turbo-drived if a filter were placed.
Sheetrock is a terrific idea. I was going to use stainless steel as I have at home but that would be much better in terms of corrosion resistance. I will probably put the two sides as plexiglass just in case, though.

Worst comes to worst, I may just spend the extra $1500 and buy a ductless fumehood... But with the CAD this low, I'll have to find somewhere that deals in CAD. Hm.
Thanks for your help, sire.

[Edited on 21-12-2015 by dermolotov]