FAQ
The word ‘walk-in fume hood’ is misleading. Many of us think that a person can walk-in to
this kind of fume hood and work. In fact, the hood must never be entered during the
experiment or fume generation inside the enclosure so far, the safety precaution is
concerned. The right word for ‘walk-in fume hood’ is ‘Floor Mounted fume hood’. In this fume
hood, the floor of the room itself is used as a work surface. Then why is the name ‘walk-in’
popular? Floor mounted fume hood can be entered for setting up tall assemblies or large
apparatus prior to experiment starts therefore in this context, the name ‘walk-in’ became
popular.
Answer of this basic question defers person to person. Some users say that sash of the fume
hood should not be open more than 450mm vertically from the work surface when others say
that it should not be opened more than 300mm. The fact is, height of the person working at
fume hood varies. So logically safe opening height of the sash also varies. The thumb rule
is: SAFE OPENING HEIGHT (vertically) of the fume hood front fascia should be below breathing
zone of the user. The hood user should never allow his head inside the running hood as this
will cause contaminated air to pass through the breathing zone. Raise the sash to fully open
position for set-up purpose only.
- Always work at least six inches away the plane of the sash. It is better to work keeping ourselves as much away as we can.
- Keep the apparatus as deep as possible inside the hood.
- Avoid rapid withdrawal from the hood.
- Always keep the sash in close condition when hood is running.
- Close horizontal panels on combination sashes before opening the sash vertically.
- Elevate contaminants and equipment above the working surface of the hood to enabling the flow beneath and around the obstructions.
- Do not store any equipment that restricts the closing of the sash or blocks the bottom slot of the baffle directly in front of the user.
- Minimize the movement in front of the hood to avoid air turbulence.
- Keep motion in the lab minimum while working in the hood. Traffic past the hood can generate considerable cross draft.
- Ensure head and upper body part remains outside the plane of hood opening at all times.
- Open and close the sash slowly.