Many people think a glovebox is just “a main chamber + a purifier.”
In real workflows, the antechamber is what determines stability and efficiency—because every transfer is a chance to import oxygen, moisture, and solvent vapors.

Here’s what to evaluate in 3 minutes.

The 4 things that actually matter

1) Can it evacuate fast and deep? Don’t judge by volume alone

A large antechamber with slow evacuation kills productivity.
Insufficient vacuum depth leaves too much residual air to drag into the main chamber.

Ask:

  • Evacuation time from atmosphere to target vacuum?
  • Pump model/speed? Ultimate vacuum level for the antechamber?

2) Simple “pump + refill” vs multi-cycle purge

One evacuation is often not enough. A more stable approach is:
evacuate → inert refill → evacuate (repeat cycles)

Ask:

  • How many purge cycles are supported? Manual or automated?
  • What are the settable vacuum/pressure ranges per cycle?

3) Human error is guaranteed—do you have interlocks?

The worst-case is opening the main chamber valve while the antechamber is at atmosphere.
You don’t want “be careful.” You want interlocks that prevent the mistake.

Ask:

  • Are main/antechamber valves interlocked?
  • Status indicators (vacuum/pressure/valve states) and alarms?

4) Real materials bring moisture and solvent vapors

Your samples aren’t perfectly dry. Surface moisture and solvent residues consume purifier capacity fast.

Ask:

  • Recommended setup for solvent vapor exposure?
  • Any trapping/pre-treatment options based on your process?
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Older English Version | Stop Asking Only “How Low ppm?” — 5 Specs That Actually Decide Your Glovebox