Lab-Line Instruments equipment

About Lab-Line Instruments

Lab-Line Instruments is an American laboratory instruments and temperature control equipment manufacturer headquartered in Melrose Park, United States. The company built a catalogue around the temperature-dependent functions of a working lab: incubators, incubator shakers, water baths, refrigerators and freezers, ovens, environmental chambers, CO2 incubators, hot plate stirrers, plate shakers, and furnaces. Its best-known lines include the MaxQ incubator shakers, the Imperial III incubator, the Aqualite Tissue Float Bath, the Labquake tube shaker, the Force Digital Bench Top Incubated Shaker, and the Titer Plate Shaker. Lab-Line was acquired in 1998 by Barnstead Thermolyne Corporation, later Barnstead International, which in turn became part of Thermo Fisher Scientific. The brand is therefore still represented within a much larger group today, while its original instruments circulate widely on the used market. On Questpair, these instruments are listed exclusively used.

Lab-Line product lines on the used market

The incubator shakers are the line most associated with the brand. The MaxQ series pairs orbital agitation with a controlled chamber, which is the arrangement microbiology and cell culture work rely on when a bacterial or yeast culture has to grow and mix at a fixed temperature at once. These incubated shakers are also used for protein expression work, where an overnight culture drives recombinant protein purification downstream. The Imperial III incubator and the CO2 incubators cover static incubation for cell culture, the step where mammalian lines are held at controlled temperature and gas tension between experiments.

The water baths and the Aqualite Tissue Float Bath serve histology directly: a float bath holds the warm water surface on which a paraffin ribbon from a microtome is floated and flattened before mounting, which is routine in histology and tissue sectioning. The Labquake tube shaker and the Titer Plate Shaker handle sample preparation and gentle mixing, the Labquake for end-over-end rotation of tubes and the plate shaker for microplate work that feeds an immunoassay or an ELISA read. Ovens, furnaces, and environmental chambers round out the range, covering drying, ashing, and controlled-condition storage. Across all of these, the common thread is temperature control applied to a different task, which is why a single maker could cover so much of a molecular biology or microbiology bench.

On Questpair

Questpair lists 124 used Lab-Line Instruments items, offered by 10 verified suppliers and distributors across 6 countries. The catalogue is used only: 100 percent of the listings are used. Prices range from EUR 9 to EUR 7.318, and the average listing sits near EUR 679.

Because the catalog is entirely used, the choice a buyer faces is between individual pre-owned units rather than between new and used, and each listing should be read on its stated condition, hours, and any calibration note. Where a model matters, the original designations such as MaxQ, Labquake, or Imperial III still appear in listings, which makes it practical to match a replacement to an instrument already in service. A warranty is often possible and is arranged in consultation for the specific listing, so condition questions are best raised against that listing before purchase. Parts for Lab-Line equipment can be sourced via Questpair, which is the usual concern with a brand now absorbed into a larger group. For manuals or documentation, Questpair specialists respond within one hour. The result is a route to incubators, shakers, baths, and chambers from a recognised maker at used prices, assessed unit by unit rather than on a blanket brand guarantee.

Questpair review of Lab-Line Instruments

Our take based on listings data and supplier feedback

Lab-Line Instruments occupies a specific place in the used laboratory market: a maker whose catalogue spanned the temperature-dependent corners of a lab, from incubators and CO2 incubators to water baths, ovens, furnaces, and environmental chambers. That breadth is the first thing worth evaluating, because it means a buyer sourcing Lab-Line is often standardising several thermal functions on one brand rather than assembling a bench from scattered makers. The Questpair catalogue reflects this: 124 used listings cover a cross-section of the original product range, supplied by 10 verified suppliers and distributors. For a lab that already runs one Lab-Line unit, matching a second from the same catalogue keeps controls and service habits consistent, which has real value where a technician moves between a water bath and an oven in the same protocol.

The shaker lines are the second point of assessment. The MaxQ incubator shakers combine agitation with temperature control in one chassis, which is the configuration cell culture and microbiology work most often needs, and the Labquake tube shaker and Titer Plate Shaker cover the gentler end of sample mixing. The Force Digital Bench Top Incubated Shaker sits alongside these as a benchtop incubated shaker option. On the used market these lines hold their identity because the names are recognised and the parts remain sourceable; a buyer searching for a MaxQ specifically will find the model designation still in use among listings rather than buried under a generic description. That matters for cross-checking a listing against an existing unit before purchase.

Price and condition form the third axis. Every Lab-Line listing on Questpair is used, so the comparison a buyer makes is not new-versus-used within the brand but one used unit against another, judged on hours, calibration history, and what the individual listing states. Prices run from EUR 9 to EUR 7.318, with the spread reflecting the gap between a small accessory and a complete incubated shaker or environmental chamber. The average of EUR 679 gives a rough centre of gravity for a mid-range instrument. A used incubator or water bath priced well below a new equivalent is the main financial argument for buying this way, and because warranty on a used Questpair listing is arranged in consultation for that specific listing rather than set centrally, the sensible step is to read the listing and raise condition questions before committing. Parts for Lab-Line equipment can be sourced via Questpair, which addresses the usual worry about an older brand whose original maker has since folded into a larger group. Taken together, the catalogue suits a lab that knows the Lab-Line range, wants temperature-control equipment at used prices, and is willing to assess each unit on its own stated condition rather than a blanket brand guarantee.

**Temperature control across a full equipment range**

Lab-Line Instruments built incubators, water baths, ovens, and environmental chambers under one maker, so a lab can standardise its thermal workflow on a single brand, and 124 used items are listed on Questpair.

**The MaxQ and Labquake shaker lines**

The MaxQ incubator shakers and the Labquake tube shaker remain recognised names in sample agitation, and both appear among the used Lab-Line listings from verified suppliers and distributors.

**Entry prices on a used-only catalogue**

Every Lab-Line listing on Questpair is used, with prices from EUR 9 to EUR 7.318, so a lab can fit a bench incubator or a titer plate shaker to its budget rather than its list price.