IKA equipment

About IKA

IKA is a German manufacturer of laboratory, analytical, and process technology equipment, founded on January 1, 1910 in Cologne by businessman Curt Janke and pharmacist Max Kunkel as a supplier of goods to pharmacies, laboratories, and hospitals. The company is privately held and family-run under the Stiegelmann family, with headquarters in Staufen im Breisgau, Germany. Its catalogue centres on mixing, grinding, and process technology: magnetic stirrers, overhead stirrers, dispersers and homogenizers, shakers, mills and grinders, rotary evaporators, laboratory reactors, calorimeters, centrifuges, and temperature control equipment. These classes sit at the sample-preparation and reaction stages of the bench rather than at the measurement end. Dispersers and homogenizers do sample preparation for cell culture and protein purification, breaking tissue and lysing cells ahead of downstream work. Overhead stirrers and laboratory reactors also serve bioprocessing and bioprocess development, where controlled mixing of viscous or multiphase media is the task. Mills and grinders prepare dry and frozen samples for genomics and proteomics, reducing material to a workable particle size before extraction.

IKA product lines on Questpair

The Questpair catalogue for this maker runs across the full breadth of its mixing and process range. Magnetic stirrers and hotplate stirrers form the routine core, the units that sit on almost every wet bench. Overhead stirrers step up to higher torque and larger volumes, where magnetic coupling no longer carries the load. Dispersers and homogenizers, including the Ultra-Turrax line the company is known for, handle emulsification and cell disruption, and these are the pieces most tied to life sciences work: tissue homogenisation ahead of molecular biology and immunoassay protocols, and cell lysis for protein purification runs.

Mills and grinders cover analytical and batch sample reduction, from cutting to impact grinding, feeding gravimetric and extraction workflows. Rotary evaporators handle solvent removal and distillation, a fixture in organic synthesis and formulation. Laboratory reactors and the company's process equipment extend toward scaled reaction and bioprocess work. Shakers, temperature control units, and calorimeters round out the catalogue. Across these families the referring buyer should filter by function first, since the range spans simple benchtop units through configured process systems, and the two ends share little beyond the maker's name.

How condition and price break down on Questpair

73 percent of the listings are used. That share is what makes the catalogue reachable at a range of budgets, since proven equipment is listed below the cost of new. Simple classes such as magnetic stirrers and shakers carry low inspection risk, while dispersers, mills, and rotary evaporators reward a closer look at drive, seal, and glassware condition before buying.

Prices run from EUR 26 to EUR 44.677. The average sits at EUR 1.642, which reflects the mid-range stirrers, homogenizers, and evaporators that make up the working bulk of the catalogue rather than the extremes. The listings come from 16 verified suppliers and distributors across 7 countries, which means the same model often appears more than once and condition can be judged against price directly.

For documentation, a buyer can contact Questpair and specialists respond within one hour. Parts can be sourced via Questpair. A warranty is often possible and is arranged in consultation for the specific listing, so the terms on a used disperser or reactor are settled per unit rather than set across the catalogue.

Questpair review of IKA

Our take based on listings data and supplier feedback

IKA occupies a specific place in the laboratory equipment market: it is a mixing, grinding, and process specialist rather than an instrument generalist, and the Questpair catalogue reflects that focus. The 1320 listings tied to this maker concentrate in the categories the company has built its name on, which makes it a practical source for anyone equipping a wet lab or a pilot-scale process line around a single supplier's ecosystem.

The first benefit, model depth, is real and worth weighing against a single-brand purchase. IKA's magnetic stirrers and overhead stirrers cover the routine end of mixing, while the dispersers, homogenizers, and mills handle sample preparation where particle reduction or emulsification matters. Rotary evaporators and laboratory reactors extend the same catalogue toward distillation and reaction work. A lab that standardises on one maker for these functions gains accessory and consumable compatibility, and the breadth here means that standardisation does not force a gap. The trade-off is the usual one for single-brand buying: you accept that maker's design choices across the board rather than picking the strongest unit in each category independently.

The condition split is where the marketplace data earns attention. 73 percent of the listings are used, which is the share that makes IKA reachable at budgets where new equipment would not be. Used magnetic stirrers and shakers are low-risk purchases, since the mechanics are simple and faults are visible on inspection. Used dispersers, mills, and rotary evaporators warrant closer scrutiny, because drive wear, seal condition, and glassware integrity are harder to judge from a listing. Warranty on these is arranged in consultation for the specific listing, so a buyer weighing a used disperser against a new one is trading a lower price against terms that are set per unit rather than centrally.

The price span is the third point, and it is wide enough to matter. Prices run from EUR 26 to EUR 44.677. The low end is where small magnetic stirrers and basic hotplates sit, often consumable-grade purchases for a teaching lab or a second bench. The high end is laboratory reactor systems and process-scale equipment, where the configuration rather than the brand drives the figure. The average, EUR 1.642, lands closer to the working instruments most labs actually buy: mid-range stirrers, homogenizers, and evaporators. That distribution tells a buyer something useful, namely that the catalogue is not a single price tier but a ladder, and that filtering by category matters more than filtering by maker alone.

Across 16 verified suppliers and distributors in 7 countries, the practical advantage is comparison. Several listings of the same IKA model let a buyer judge condition against price directly, which is harder when a single seller holds a category. For a lab building around mixing and process work, IKA on Questpair is a coherent, well-stocked starting point rather than a one-off find.

**Broad model depth from one maker**

IKA builds across magnetic stirrers, overhead stirrers, dispersers, mills, and rotary evaporators, and 1320 listings from this single maker sit in the Questpair catalogue.

**Used units carry most of the catalogue**

73 percent of the listings are used, which puts proven IKA hardware at prices below new across 16 verified suppliers and distributors.

**A wide price span across a long range**

Prices run from EUR 26 to EUR 44.677, spanning entry magnetic stirrers through complete laboratory reactor and process systems.