Reliable Lab Equipment Testing: Ensuring Accurate Results

Testing lab equipment can be essential to making sure experiment results are correct. If a piece of equipment has not been checked, it can alter the results obtained and possibly lead an investigator down a rabbit hole. Whenever someone suspects odd results or receives new equipment, it is always advisable to check out the equipment and make sure it is working properly. The best way to do this is to compare samples from the equipment in question to samples correctly analyzed by a different machine.

Instructions

• 1

  Make sure the old sample and the fresh sample are prepared the same way, with the same materials if possible.

  Prepare or pull a sample that has already been tested by different equipment than the equipment in question. Note the way the sample looks and the results. Next, prepare a fresh sample identical to the sample already analyzed or pulled.

• 2

  Make sure the settings on the equipment in question are the same as or match up to the old equipment settings.

  Place the sample in the equipment, using the same settings as the previous sample tested. Some newer models may have different settings than older editions, so check the equipment manual to determine whether the old settings correspond to different settings in the new equipment. Once that is settled, let the equipment in question run.

• 3

  Sometimes the appearance of a sample can give an indication whether something is off.

  Compare the equipment analysis of the new sample to the older analysis. Also check for visual characteristics between the samples to make sure both were treated the same. When testing a centrifuge, you should look at the samples to confirm that the materials were spun down properly. If the new sample's results are off, go back to the equipment manual and read the section on calibration. If this section does not help, go to the troubleshooting section.