Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!uunet!bionet!news.cs.indiana.edu!ariel.unm.edu!KIM@m44.unm.edu
From: kim@m44.unm.edu
Newsgroups: bionet.molbio.methds-reagnts
Subject: recirculation pumps
Message-ID: <009472AE.74C635C0@m44.unm.edu>
Date: 15 Apr 91 19:30:16 GMT
Reply-To: kim@m44.unm.edu
Organization: UNM Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM
Lines: 18

Dear Group:

I was looking at the EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CATALOG ("Nerds 'R' Us) :), and I
noticed a small impeller-driven pump for less than $3.00.  I forget the actual
price, but *cheap*.  This pump is advertised to run for about a day on a
"D"-cell battery.  I was thinking that peristaltic pumps often cost quite a
lot, and even the cheapie stripped-down ones that you have to splice in a piece
of extension cord cost over $20.00, so I was wondering if this little pump
would be a good, inexpensive alternative for non-critical pumping tasks such as
recirculating gels.  They can push water up to a foot in a small fountain, so I
imagine they can rcirculate quite a large volume of buffer through a gel box.

The shaft of the impeller seems to be stainless steel, with a plastic impeller. 
The outlet of the pump is designed to take a 1/4 inch diameter tygon-style
tube.  Would there be any real problems to using such a pump to recirculate
gels?  At such a low price, I could use up batteries and still be ahead.

Daniel Kim