hey guys out there!! urgently need ur help!! wondering does any one leave the water bath on over night at 70C? i know all the water ll evaporate off. worried bout the consequences. it takes me 2 hours to back to uni to off it and no one else i could get in touch with at this moment! anyone had this experience b4? please tell me i ll be fine... aiksss =(

First off, I doubt you could get your bath water to 70C, since the hot water tank is unlikely to exceed 55C. Secondly, maybe a couple litres will evaporate, at most. As water evaporates, it will rapidly cool the remaining water in the tub. I really wouldn't panic. I used to leave hot water in the tub over night to save on heating costs, much to the disgust of my housemates. I just realized I might have misinterpreted your post. If you left the water running and there's no overflow prevention measures, then yes, you are f&cked.

that is what lids are for - they stop the majority of water evaporating into the air.

LOL@baldmoney

...is the OP talking about a water bath in the lab or in a house?!?! (I misinterpreted this at first glance too).

I don't know anything about water baths in labs....but I do know I wouldn't want to be responsible for burning my university down! Possibly the equipment will just cut off if it overheats...

(this thread has made me giggle!).

I guess it's been too long since I've worked in a "wet" lab, for me to know the terminology! In fairness, the OP is incoherent :)

Lol, I 'think' although not sure, that OP is talking technical stuff here - but I did wonder why she'd left her bath on and how it'd keep hot - its been a hard day though lol lol lol

Ouch, I know NOTHING about lab stuff -history girl - but could it really catch fire?? Ooooohhhhhhhhh, that'd not be a good one to explain to the sup tomorrow

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Ju Ju is right, if the lid is securely on the water bath - it should be fine. if the lid isnt on, then uhm the water most probably will evaporate and yes that is dangerous.

its not a good idea to leave a water bath on over night without the lid on, at that temperature unless you need it for an overnight incubation and in that case, make sure the lid is firmly in place.

in defence to the OP, she wasn't incoherent at all in her message, its just that if you've not worked in a lab you wouldn't be familiar with it. :-)

I've left water bath on over night before and its been fine, though at lower temperatures of 37C. Obviously if the lid is on you have nothing to worry about if there is no lid I'd make sure its topped up with a lot of water to counteract the evapouration overnight. as long as it doesn't run dry you should be ok. Is there anyone in Uni that you can text who can nip in and check on it quickly and top it up if needbe?

Yep, in all fairness, it is very incoherent. I had an image of a bath tub over-flowing, lol.

Given my OCD tendancies, I'd have make the 2 hour journey back to uni.

I hope you get it sorted, Chloe.

Hi Chloe,

yes, i leave the water bath running over night very often, as do many others in my lab. It is very common practice.  i usually leave mine at 65ºC (70ºC should be absolutely fine). You should use a lid to prevent evaporation.  If you don't have a lid, use tin foil to cover the top. it's also a good idea to leave a note saying "Water bath left on overnight (04/02/2009), Chloe" or something to that effect.

YOU WILL BE FINE!
Sim   

It shouldn't be a problem.. like the other posts have said as long as you cover it then it should be fine overnight and if in doubt just make sure it is full before you leave. I have had a water bath at 95oC all day (around 8-9 hours) before and it's never run out of water. I also have an electrophoresis tank that I run at 60oc for 17-18 hours overnight and again I have never had any problems leaving it as the lid keeps the moisture in. (up)