Used and refurbished laboratory equipment

Laboratory equipment covers centrifuges and their rotors, microscopes, incubators and CO2 incubators, chemistry and hematology analyzers, biological safety cabinets and fume hoods, laboratory refrigeration and freezers including ultra-low temperature units, water purification systems, shakers, mixers, balances, autoclaves and glassware washers.

The category has an unusual profile on the secondary market. Laboratory equipment is engineered to run continuously for years without intervention, which means most of it arrives on the used market with a great deal of life left. Equipment surfaces when a laboratory changes methods, consolidates, retires a line of work or upgrades a platform — not because the equipment wore out. The exception is the instruments tied to a consumable supply, where the platform's usefulness ends when the reagents do.

What varies most between two units that look identical

On centrifuges, the rotors. A centrifuge without the right rotor cannot do the work you bought it for. Rotors are model-specific, they are a substantial fraction of what the machine costs, and they are the item most often absent from a used unit. Get every included rotor named by part number, along with the buckets, adapters and lids that go with it. Rotors also have a service life: many carry a rated cycle count or a date-based retirement, and some manufacturers require retirement regardless of appearance. Ask for the rotor's age and cycle history, not just its condition.

On analyzers, the reagent and consumable supply. This is the question that decides whether an analyzer is a purchase or a paperweight. Confirm the platform is still supported by its manufacturer, that reagents and consumables are still in production, that they can be supplied to your setting, and what a reagent commitment involves. A single-source analyzer whose reagents are being discontinued has a known and short remaining useful life whatever its condition.

On biological safety cabinets, certification. A safety cabinet has to be recertified after it is relocated — every time, without exception. That is a normal and expected cost of buying one used and it should be in the budget from the beginning rather than discovered afterwards. Confirm the cabinet class and type, since class II type A2 and type B2 differ in whether they must be hard-ducted to the outside, which is a building question rather than an equipment one. Confirm also the filter age and whether filters are included.

On incubators, the sensor and the chamber. CO2 incubators depend on a sensor that drifts and eventually needs replacing, and the sensor type — infrared or thermal conductivity — determines the calibration routine. Confirm sensor type and age, confirm the shelving is complete, and confirm the chamber has no corrosion from prolonged high humidity.

On refrigeration, the compressor and the alarm. Compressor running hours and condition are the whole purchase on ultra-low freezers, and the alarm and monitoring system is what protects everything you store in it. Confirm both, confirm the temperature is stable across the whole chamber rather than at the probe, and confirm the shelving and racking are included.

What to confirm before buying

• Every rotor, bucket, adapter and lid named by part number, with age and cycle history
• On analyzers, that reagents and consumables remain manufactured and can be supplied to you
• On safety cabinets, class and type, filter age, and that recertification after the move is budgeted
• On CO2 incubators, sensor type and age, shelving completeness and chamber condition
• On refrigeration, compressor hours, temperature stability, alarms and racking
• On microscopes, optical condition through the instrument, which objectives are included and illumination condition
• Electrical service, and whether any unit needs a dedicated circuit or a different voltage
• Water quality, supply and drainage requirements where applicable
• Ventilation and ducting requirements, especially on hoods and cabinets
• Whether the manufacturer will support the platform under a new owner

Freight, delivery and installation

Laboratory equipment mostly ships well. Centrifuges, incubators, microscopes and small instruments crate and palletise straightforwardly. Rotors should ship separately in their own packaging — a rotor damaged in transit is both expensive and, more seriously, unsafe to spin.

Refrigeration and freezers are the awkward items. They are heavy, they must travel upright, and the compressor needs to settle before the unit is powered on after a move — usually a full day. Ultra-low freezers in particular should be commissioned and run empty to temperature, with the alarm tested, before anything is stored in them.

Biological safety cabinets and fume hoods are the ones to plan around. They are heavy and awkward to move through a building, hard-ducted models need duct work at the destination, and every cabinet needs certification after relocation before it protects anyone. Confirm before purchase that the room has the ventilation the cabinet requires, since a type B2 cabinet in a room with no duct is not a usable cabinet.

Water purification systems need a feed, a drain and a plan for the consumable cartridges. Confirm which cartridges the system takes, that they are still manufactured, and what the first set costs, because a purification system always arrives needing one.