Medical refrigerator

If the refrigerator at your home breaks down, what gets spoiled is some food supplies; it’s a lot of inconvenience especially if you are about to make yourself some sandwich at 2 AM. But what happens when a medical refrigerator breaks down at a nearby hospital? It leads to a loss of some valuable medications or even patients’ lab samples. So we are talking about a much bigger problem when we say that the medical refrigerator broke down.

If you are going to have a medical refrigerator, it necessary that you know what makes it better than the rest. There are dozens of factors that you have to take into consideration before making a final verdict about getting a medical refrigerator.

Your top-most priority would be that your medical refrigerator does the job that it’s bought for. This means getting a medical fridge that’s consistent and durable and have all the features that could ensure the safety of the stored items. A medical refrigerator is capable of pulling of those extra tasks and equipped with a few features that the kitchen refrigerators lack, like:

1. Medical refrigerators are very consistent when it about maintaining a specific temperature.
2. A visible and clear temperature display that’s easy to read by the medical professionals without having to get very close.
3. If there is some sort of breakdown, temperature alarm alerts you right away.
4. Features like a door lock that would keep others from opening the refrigerator too often, ensuring that the refrigerator temperature wouldn’t go down. A clear door could also help as it could allow people to check what’s inside without having to open the door.

These are just a few of the many features that you should be expecting out of your medical refrigerator, but sadly, many medical refrigerators don’t even offer the minimum required to qualify as more than just an average medical refrigerator.

Types of medical refrigerators

1. Countertop Medical Refrigerators

These medical refrigerators are minimalist and offer the basic storage solution. They are usually of small size and can fit onto any countertop or table. Then, there is no installation required; you just have to plug them into an outlet to start using them. If you have some spare countertop space available and don’t want to expend too many resources on a medical refrigerator, a countertop medical refrigerator could suffice; just make sure that you your storage needs are low as they can’t accommodate too many samples.

2. Under Counter Medical Refrigerators

These refrigerators provide similar features to a countertop medical refrigerators as they are also very compact. However, they come up with an added advantage of getting adjusted under a counter; a space that’s not usually being utilized already. The difference that the under counter medical refrigerator could be installed in a semi-enclosed space is what makes them a better deal over their countertop counterparts. However, it’s the installation process that makes under counter refrigerators costlier. The vents have to be installed on the front to ensure proper heat dissemination. But once you have got yourself one of these under counter medical refrigerators for your medical office or research labs, you are going to thank yourself for making such decision.

3. Fire- And Explosion-Proof Medical Refrigerators

If you know that there are samples in your refrigerator that are prone to flame or explosion, then don’t take your chances. An explosion-proof medical refrigerator is designed to provide the extra safety that maybe required for products or samples that are vulnerable to explosion. These refrigerators would ensure that those products rest safely even in sensitive locations. Fire- and explosion-proof medical refrigerators are built out of sturdy materials that could take on hazardous chemicals and high temperatures. If you want to get a medical refrigerator of this kind, make sure that it’s NFPA and OSHA compliant.

4. Large Capacity Medical Refrigerators

For some research labs and hospitals, the aforementioned medical refrigerators don’t suffice, at all. For them, there is another class of medical refrigerators that could accommodate lots of items, and that too of large size. Large capacity medical refrigerators are available in different sizes and models, but they usually cost more than the rest. Also, these large medical fridges are upright most of the time, so you won’t be comprising a lot of space for them.

5. Specific Medical Refrigerators

If you are looking for some medical refrigerators with particular features in mind, you could also try these specially designed medical fridges:

• Vaccine medical refrigerators.
• Blood bank medical refrigerators.
• Chromatography medical refrigerators.
• Pharmacy medical refrigerators.
• Laboratory medical refrigerators.

Remember that these specific models aren’t just designed for a specific use only, so you don’t have to sift them away if you are looking for some other functions. But if you know that your medical needs are very specific, it’s better that you pick the right category.

Not sure what to consider before buying a medical refrigerator? Ask yourself these questions.

Which Medical Fridge Size Is Right for Me?

As aforementioned already that larger medical refrigerators cost more than the countertop or under counter medical fridges, so if you are careful with making a choice, you could save considerable amount of resources. Nowadays, you can literally find a fridge of any size. On the other hand, if you require to store a lot of samples or products, then resorting to a few smaller refrigerators over a large one would simply mean spending more for no reason.

And then you can’t only consider your storage needs for making a decision. The availability of space is in fact another equally important factor. For instance, if you don’t have the space to fit in a large capacity fridge, you might want to consider getting a few smaller-sized models. If you have space-related constraints, your best bet would be to go with an under counter medical refrigerator. Lastly, you might also want to consider anticipating your future storage needs.

How Much Is It Going to Cost Me?

Take medical refrigerator as an investment. And when you are going to buy a medical fridge, remember that it’s going to cost you more than a comparably sized refrigerator at your home. And if you are going to pick a medical refrigerator that’s more specific, the one that accommodates more sensitive uses, be ready to pay more. For instance, a fire-proof medical fridge is going to cost more than the one that doesn’t offer that functionality.

And while it’s a possibility that you might want to skimp a few features, we suggest you to not compromise when it comes to necessary features, the ones that are pertinent for your research laboratory requirements and medical practice.

What’s My Primary Use?

A medical fridge that’s used to store vaccines will be different to the one used for storing blood samples. While there are different refrigerators that you could put to varying laboratory, medical or pharmaceutical uses, having a specialized medical fridge would just make storing your items easy.

How Much Do I Care About the Temperature Consistency?

We aforementioned that the temperature consistency on medical refrigerators is what makes them stand out from household refrigerators. A change in temperature inside a medical fridge could mean loss of valuable blood donations or rare vaccines, or even ruined research and hard work of years.

There are different medical fridges available that provide different features, making them truly reliable when it comes to temperature consistency. For instance, locks on the doors could ensure that the refrigerator isn’t frequently used. Having an external temperature display is a must-have as it could allow you to give the refrigerator temperature a quick look. A temperature alarm is a necessity if temperature consistency is your priority.

What Are the Benefits Of Compliance?

It’s a normality for the medical practitioners to ignore the importance of compliance. If your priority is an ecstatically gorgeous medical refrigerator, just like you have at home, then you might be risking your valuable earnings. Alternatively, if you do care, make sure that you get a medical refrigerator that is American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) compliant, and Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) compliant. It’s better to get a refrigerator that’s compliant by one of the aforementioned standards to avoid risking anything.

Now comes the question: What brands can I try for my Medical refrigerator? We have picked a few popular medical fridges brands that offer the best medical refrigerators available to date.

The Best Medical Refrigerator Brands

1. Nor-Lake

Nor-Lake is a decades-old trusted medical products brand that offers only high-end products. The medical refrigerators provided by Nor-Lake are more commonly used for flammable storage or blood bank storage. Nor-Lake may not have many reviews online, but their consideration for a careful design and reliable products is what makes them an excellent choice for a medical refrigerator.

2. American BioTech Supply

American BioTech Supply offers a more diverse, yet reliable and high-quality medical refrigerators. The company offer some very high performance medical refrigerators that could easily last for years to come. The sturdy built quality, consistency with temperatures, door locks and LED lights is what makes them a valuable choice for your research lab or hospital.

3. Summit

Summit is the undisputed name in the compact medical refrigerators. Their medical fridges are available in varying options and offer some of the most valuable features like temperature display, automatic defrost, and temperature alarms. If you don’t have requirements for large capacity medical fridges, Summit is the only option that you need to take into consideration.

4. EdgeStar

EdgeStar is another renowned brand providing high-grade medical products. If you are looking for some strong reputation when it comes to getting a medical refrigerator. EdgeStar won’t disappoint because its reliable medical fridges can effectively maintain a consistent temperature.

5. So-Low

If you are looking for some high-end medical fridges, So-Low manufactures a lot of them so you could get one that perfectly suits your needs. Their famous medical refrigerators are the ones for blood or lab samples. They offer hefty features, epitomizing on the quality that medical practitioners and professional can count on.

The Lowdown

If you are going to get a medical refrigerator, make sure you know what exactly you want as it could be one-off investment that will pay off in the long run. Apart from the aforementioned, make sure that you remember the following features before ordering one:

1. Automatic Defrost

If your medical fridge isn’t offering an automatic defrost, it could take some time to manually defrost it which could be lot of inconvenience and waste of time. Automatic defrost is a valuable feature, so don’t forget considering it before buying a medical refrigerator.

2. Temperature Alarm

If there is no temperature alarm, there is no way for you to find out if something anomalous is taking place. If your samples are sensitive to temperature changes, having a temperature alarm could save you the trouble.

3. Lock

With a lock on your medical fridge, the temperature inside it would stay stable. Then, a lock also provides some added security that can keep your samples safe. Also, locks are helpful with keeping the air away inside the fridge.

4. Clean Door

A see-through door would keep you from checking what’s inside. This is essential, especially when you want to keep optimum temperature inside the refrigerator.

5. Temperature Display

We have already talked about it time and again throughout this read that external displays are very useful and help you check the temperature without having to open the fridge.