Erlab equipment

About Erlab

Erlab is a French laboratory air filtration and safety equipment manufacturer founded in 1968, with its French legal entity Erlab DFS SAS registered in 1972. The company invented the ductless fume hood in 1968 and has since concentrated on air filtration solutions for laboratory personnel protection. Its European headquarters is in Val-de-Reuil, France, and its US headquarters is in Rowley, Massachusetts. The product range covers ductless fume hoods, laboratory air filtration systems, filtered chemical storage cabinets, PCR workstations, ceiling air purification units, and weighing enclosures. The best-known product lines are Captair, Halo, and Chemtrap. On Questpair, these units are listed by verified suppliers and distributors rather than through the maker.

Ductless fume hoods and filtered enclosures are the equipment that protects a lab worker from the fumes and particulates thrown off by chemical and biological procedures, and air filtration is the field the whole range serves. Erlab's PCR workstations do molecular biology: they give a clean, enclosed space for setting up polymerase chain reactions without airborne contamination entering the sample, which is a routine step in genomics and molecular diagnostics work. Weighing enclosures from the same catalogue protect both the operator and the sample during gravimetric analysis of fine or hazardous powders, a task that recurs across cell culture media preparation and reagent formulation. These enclosures are also used for compound handling in protein purification and immunoassay workflows, where small quantities of sensitive material must be manipulated in filtered air.

Captair, Halo and Chemtrap

Captair is the line most buyers associate with the brand, covering the ductless fume hoods and the filtered PCR and weighing enclosures. A Captair unit draws air across the work surface and through carbon or particulate filter media before returning it to the room, which is what lets it stand in a lab with no connection to building extraction. Chemtrap addresses filtered chemical storage, capturing solvent and acid vapour inside the cabinet rather than venting it, so flammable and corrosive stock can be held in a space without dedicated ducting. Halo covers the ceiling and room air purification side of the catalogue, treating the air across a space rather than at a single bench. Across these lines the common thread is the filter: the housing and blower are durable, and the media is a planned consumable renewed on a schedule tied to the chemicals in use.

What is listed on Questpair?

The Questpair catalogue holds 52 Erlab listings from 10 verified suppliers and distributors across 6 countries. 98 percent of the listings are used. Prices run from EUR 296 to EUR 4.999. The average sits around EUR 1.573, and the breadth of the range reflects the breadth of the category, from compact enclosures and accessories at the lower end to full hoods and storage cabinets at the top.

A used Erlab unit is assessed mainly on the condition of its housing and blower, since the filter media is the element most buyers plan to replace on installation regardless of the unit's history. Documentation for a specific model can be requested through Questpair, where specialists respond within the hour, and replacement parts can be sourced via Questpair as well. A warranty is often possible and is arranged in consultation for the individual listing. Used and new units are both present in the catalogue, with the used examples priced below new; which suits a given lab depends on the model and the condition described in each listing.

Questpair review of Erlab

Our take based on listings data and supplier feedback

Erlab occupies a narrow but well-defined position in laboratory safety. Where most fume hood makers extract contaminated air through ducting to a building's exhaust, Erlab built its reputation on filtering that air at the point of use. The 1968 ductless design the company introduced is still the organising idea behind its current catalogue, and that focus shows in how the equipment is bought and valued.

The first thing to understand about an Erlab unit is the filter. A ductless enclosure draws air across the work surface, passes it through activated carbon or particulate media, and returns cleaned air to the room. The Captair line applies this to open-fronted hoods and PCR workstations; Chemtrap covers filtered chemical storage, where solvent vapour is captured rather than vented. The practical consequence for a buyer is that an Erlab enclosure can be placed where no ductwork exists, which matters in a leased building, a shared space, or a lab that was not designed around a central extraction system. The filter media is a consumable, so the lifetime cost of a ductless unit sits partly in replacement cartridges rather than entirely in installation.

The marketplace data reflects a mature product line rather than a volatile one. 98 percent of the listings are used. That proportion is worth dwelling on, because it tells you the Erlab enclosures reaching the second-hand market are being retired and resold rather than scrapped, which is consistent with equipment built around a replaceable filter and a serviceable housing. A buyer inspecting a used Captair hood is mostly assessing the structure and the blower; the filter itself is the element most likely to be renewed on arrival regardless of the unit's age.

Price spread is the third point. Listings run from EUR 296 to EUR 4.999, with an average around EUR 1.573. That range is wide because the category it covers is wide: a compact PCR workstation and a large filtered storage cabinet are different machines serving different work, and the lower end of the range reaches enclosures and accessories well below the cost of a full hood. For a lab weighing a used Erlab unit against a new ducted installation, the comparison is not only the sticker price but the avoided cost of installing and running ducting, which a filtered design removes entirely.

Across 10 verified suppliers and distributors in 6 countries, the Erlab listings form a usable cross-section of the brand's core output. The equipment is specialised, the second-hand supply is steady, and the filtration-first design means a used purchase is judged largely on housing condition and blower function, with the consumable filter a known and separate line item.

**Invented the ductless fume hood**

Erlab created the first ductless fume hood in 1968, and its Captair line remains built around the filtration principle it originated rather than a competitor's ducted design.

**Filtration as the core discipline**

The company builds ductless fume hoods, filtered storage cabinets, and PCR workstations around carbon and particulate filter media, which lets a unit run without connection to a building's extraction ducting.

**A used-heavy listing pool**

98 percent of the listings are used, so the Captair and Chemtrap units on Questpair sit well below the price of new equipment, with the full range running from EUR 296 to EUR 4.999.