An ordinary incubator is generally based
on ambient temperature for growth bacteria. It can have some basic heating
arrangements. Bacteriological incubators are used to provide temperature range
of 30-35°C for the growth of bacteria. Bacteriological incubators works at
ambient temperature and it contains only heating mechanism. In these
bacteriological incubators, if set temperature is in range of 30-35°C then they
can only maintain their set temperature if surrounding environment temperature
is below or in a range of 30-35°C. If surrounding temperature is higher then
the incubator set temperature then there would be rise in display temperature
of incubator because of high temperature of surrounding air and that air is
used for the circulation in the chamber. Bacteriological incubator has no
cooling mechanism to lower the display temperature. It fails in cold weather.
If the room where it is stationed has right ambient temperature, it can still
work.
BOD incubator:
Bod incubator has full control over the
temperature as it is provided with both heating and cooling arrangements and
provided +/- 0.5 0 C variation over the set temperature. It does not provide
control over relative humudity. The environmental chamber provides control over
temperature and relative humudity. BOD incubators are used to provide low
temperature in range of 20-25°C for the growth of fungus and bacteria. BOD
incubators have heating as well as cooling mechanism and they work independent
of surrounding temperature. BOD incubators contains heating coils as we as
compressor for cooling process. If incubator set at temperature of 20-25°C and
surrounding temperature is higher than this set temperature then BOD incubator maintain
the set temperature with the help of cooling mechanism and if surrounding
temperature is low as compare to set temperature then heating would be
generated with the help of heating coils. BOD incubators are also called low
temperature incubators. These BOD incubators could be used as bacteriological
incubator by changing the incubation set temperature requirements.
Mr. Khadga Bikram Angbuhang
Faculty: Microbilogy,
GoldenGate International College, Nepal
Research officer: LEAD Nepal
Past: Microbiologist, Chaudhary Group
Nepal
