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Kuhner Technology

Humidity control

Humidity control - to significantly reduce evaporation

Controlled humidity is an important factor when working with microtiter plates or when cultivating in shake flasks for longer periods (e.g., cell culture processes). With controlled humidification, the evaporation of cultivation medium can be markedly reduced.

The humidity control of Kuhner incubator shakers works bi-directional, i.e., humidifying and also dehumidifying is possible, guaranteeing an exact humidity control during your cultivation. The adjustable range of relative humidity depends on which of the three Kuhner technology options is used in the shaking incubator: Kuhner’s EcoDew® technology, our compressor option, or our Peltier element option. The largest range can be realized with Peltier elements, which offer a humidity range of 50-85 %rh for a temperature of 25-55 °C.

Digital PID control, incorporating a microprocessor, ensures exact regulation of the humidity. Kuhner incubator shakers are humidified by means of an electrically heated water bath with automatic water refill. The condensing water is also returned to the basin – which allows that we close our control loop in a bi-directional manner. The relative humidity is measured by a capacitive sensor.

Verdunsterwanne

Door heaters

Condensation on the door window is avoided by heating the door frames and windows.


Calibration of the humidity controller

Calibration is simple and can also be performed by the customer. The calibration procedure requires either a certified moisture meter or the following equipment:

  • Type ER-15 calibration device for a 15 mm sensor
  • Rotronic humidity standard (lithium chloride solution) e.g., for 80 % humidity
  • Shaker serial interface and personal computer with the installed Kuhner Insight software

The system is checked by producing a known humidity in a small chamber which is mounted on the sensor element. Unsaturated lithium chloride solutions are used as humidity standards. Different solutions are available for various humidity values. These solutions can be supplied by Kuhner.


EcoDew®

EcoDew

The EcoDew®-Technology provides precise humidity control without requiring a cooling compressor unit. Developed with sustainability in mind, this eco-friendly cooling system is elegant, simple, and maintenance-free. This system was developed especially for processes with long cultivation periods (e.g., cell culture) or small filling volumes (e.g., microtiter plates) which are running at temperatures of more than 10 °C above ambient to significantly reduce the evaporation of cultivation medium.

The EcoDew® option is available for ISF1-Z and LT-X incubator shakers. A simple retrofitting of existing incubator shakers is also possible.


Advantages:

  • eco-friendly (less power consumption, no cooling unit required)
  • silent operation
  • easy to clean
  • retrofittable
  • maintenance-free
Range of Humidity Control with ISF1-Z(C) Kuhner EcoDew

Peltier elements

The innovative ISF1-Z Peltier uses long life Peltier elements not only for precise heating and cooling but also for humidity control. This eco-friendly concept makes coolants or compressors unnecessary. The humidity control of the ISF1-Z Peltier is able to humidify and dehumidify between 50-85 %rh for a large temperature range of 25-55 °C. Due to the large control range, specifically defined evaporation rates in shake flasks can also be adjusted in order to investigate the influence of evaporation in more detail (evaporation and ventilation, among other things, are important factors in scale-up).

Peltier
Range of humidity control with ISf1-Z(C) Peltier

Compressor machine

ISF1-Z Compressor

The ISF1-Z Compressor was designed for customers requiring a large temperature range (3-80 °C) for their processes and the possibility to quickly cool down or heat up the incubator chamber. Moreover, with the humidity option, the compressor machine can also humidify and dehumidify in a range of approx. 70-85 %rh (up to a temperature of 40 °C).

Range of humidity control with ISf1-Z(C) Compressor

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