Cheap Supplies
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Rene Riedelbauch
Dec 1, 2017, 7:57:18 AM12/1/17
to DIYbio
I was wondering if anyone knew where to get parafilm cheaply?
Also if anyone has links to cheap resources or ideas for budget lab equipment and how to's i thought we could share them here.
The Odin is obviously great, so is alibaba.com and aliexpress if you can wait awhile.
This guy's gel box seems simple and sweet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPqADxHMY-I
he also made a great laminar flow hood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wty8uuIYNSo
please redirect if there is a thread like this already
InstantLife
Dec 1, 2017, 11:45:29 AM12/1/17
to DIYbio
Ebay will be your best friend for certain supplies. Chemical reagents, PCR Machine, Centrifuge, Parafilm, etc.
As for that laminar flow hood that filter he used isn't that great for our uses. My first flow hood I built similar to this with cheap replacement air filters for in home HEPA devices and a fan I had lying around. It was so frustrating because I could never get the flow right and all my cultures would get contaminated. So I splurged and bought some real stuff that DIY mycologists have used before. I got an 11.5 inch deep HEPA Filter and a powerful blower fan both on Amazon with free shipping. The filter was cheaper when I bought it so I ended up with a very big nice laminar flow hood/box for under $350 expect to spend 300-500 for a good homemade one. I made the flow box style which is having a wall of sterile air to work in front of instead of a hood full of sterile air. Here is a guide that I followed to make mine. I am going to be making a youtube video on how I built mine soon, but basically I built a box around the filter (using the filter as one of the boxes faces) deep enough for my fan to have enough space to attach behind the filter face. put an inlet hole in the top of the box for the fan and screwed it to the outlet of the blower, I wired the fan to its slow setting and wanted it to be slower so I added some extra prefilter material between the box and the fan (probably not necessary since my filter was 24x24 so having it a little turbulent instead of laminar really wouldn't affect things inches away from the filter face). Basically its hard to test laminar flow. The best way I have found is by feel comparing with actual flow hoods. Basically put lab nitrile gloves on and you shouldn't be able to feel much airflow at all but if you spray them with isopropyl alcohol you can feel the flow and your hands will be slightly cold due to it.
As for that laminar flow hood that filter he used isn't that great for our uses. My first flow hood I built similar to this with cheap replacement air filters for in home HEPA devices and a fan I had lying around. It was so frustrating because I could never get the flow right and all my cultures would get contaminated. So I splurged and bought some real stuff that DIY mycologists have used before. I got an 11.5 inch deep HEPA Filter and a powerful blower fan both on Amazon with free shipping. The filter was cheaper when I bought it so I ended up with a very big nice laminar flow hood/box for under $350 expect to spend 300-500 for a good homemade one. I made the flow box style which is having a wall of sterile air to work in front of instead of a hood full of sterile air. Here is a guide that I followed to make mine. I am going to be making a youtube video on how I built mine soon, but basically I built a box around the filter (using the filter as one of the boxes faces) deep enough for my fan to have enough space to attach behind the filter face. put an inlet hole in the top of the box for the fan and screwed it to the outlet of the blower, I wired the fan to its slow setting and wanted it to be slower so I added some extra prefilter material between the box and the fan (probably not necessary since my filter was 24x24 so having it a little turbulent instead of laminar really wouldn't affect things inches away from the filter face). Basically its hard to test laminar flow. The best way I have found is by feel comparing with actual flow hoods. Basically put lab nitrile gloves on and you shouldn't be able to feel much airflow at all but if you spray them with isopropyl alcohol you can feel the flow and your hands will be slightly cold due to it.
Rene Riedelbauch
Dec 6, 2017, 11:47:36 PM12/6/17
to DIYbio
Sweet, thanks so much. What sort of stuff do you get up to?
InstantLife
Dec 7, 2017, 10:54:25 PM12/7/17
to DIYbio
What stuff do I get up to in my home lab? Mostly learning right now. I do mushroom cultivation, bacterial modification, make youtube videos, raise edible insects, and breed/modify plants.
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