Thermo Revco UxF series ultra-low freezers

Refurbished Thermo Revco UxF freezers available from American Instrument Exchange. Click HERE for more details.

In an ideal world, we would hardly think about ultra-low freezers: we would load our samples, close the door and go to lunch. And 99% of the time that’s the case, especially with well-designed units like the Thermo Revco UxF series ultra-low freezers. But being the pragmatists that we are we recognize that the real world is not always ideal and problems can happen, and in the case of ultra-low and cryogenic storage we want to prevent those problems from endangering our critical samples. The Thermo Revco UxF series freezers make it easy for users to monitor current status, diagnose cause of any malfunctions, and get back up and running again quickly.

Revco ultra-low freezer have been around since World War II. After being acquired by Kendro Laboratory Products, Revco ultimately became part of the Thermo Electron Corporation in 2005. At first customers feared a fall off in quality when Thermo began to redesign the classic Revco ULT series freezers but after a few early hiccups the quality of the products was apparent once more. Thermo continued to manufacture the Revco ULT ultra-low models as well as similar Thermo Forma ultra-low models. The Thermo Revco UxF series represents another iteration of these dependable machines featuring increased energy efficiency, enhanced controllers and user interface, and datalogging capability.

First off, the energy efficiency: the UxF controls allow for an energy savings mode. When in this mode the freezers may take more time to initially drop all the way to -86°C but once at temp they are able to maintain steadily with much less power draw that most other ultra-lows. Because of the relatively long time it takes for the unit to regain the temp setting after the exterior door has been opened the energy savings mode is a great option for labs in which the stored samples either won’t be accessed very often. The high-performance mode definitely uses more energy but delivers better recovery time and tighter temp control. Getting into some of the more technical, nerdy details, you’ll find that the UxF freezers have a brazed heat exchanger as well as brazed joints both of which allow for more efficient heat transfer and reduced leak potential. The heated door gasket on the exterior door also helps reduce heat loss, as do the five polystyrene insulated inner doors. Environmentally friendly, CFC and HCFC-free refrigerants are also a plus environmentally.

Second, the touch-screen, door-mounted control panel: Thermo touts this feature as the highlight of the UxF series design. This panel is bright, responsive, and frankly a pleasure to use. The menu icons are clear and descriptive and allow users to control temperature and security settings, monitor the freezers health and diagnose function problems. We are also impressed with the detailed event logs and the memory storage capacity: these machines can store up 15 years of temperature and event data and the embedded USB port allows for the exchange/export of data. Hopefully the longevity of the data storage is a reflection of Thermo’s confidence in the long-term viability of the UxF freezers.

One concern we have with this screen is the potential for damage – general rule of thumb is the more complicated the control system, the more than can go wrong, right? Unfortunately that’s true here, too. The fancy screens can be damaged both by impact (say, opening the door and allowing the screen to hit the corner/side of another piece of equipment) or through something more innocuous like cleaning solution: when cleaning one of these machines we noticed that fluid can drip behind the plastic that holds the display in place and damage the display and control boards. While a bit of good news is that if the screen is damaged it is easily replaced, the bad news is that the replacement screens from Thermo cost about $1,000, depending on the exact model of freezer.

All in all the we have found that the UxF series freezers are a good value. Only time will tell whether they are as durable, reliable, and have the longevity of the classic Revco ULT units.

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