By Mendy Foster
(Originally posted in Winter 2015 Lab Notes)
If the right-side door to your flammable cabinet located under the hood won’t close properly, there could be a simple fix. Take a moment to check the latch mechanism across the top-front of the open cabinet. A common model found on campuses has rectangular slots with a sliding latch mechanism (fig 1). The left side latch should slide over when the left door is closed, creating space in the right-latch opening.
Frequently, the L bracket attached to the left door has shifted position and does not push against the latch mechanism. This leaves the mechanism positioned so that it blocks the second door from closing. This issue can be corrected by adjusting the angle of the left door bracket to align with the lever. If the bracket is aligned correctly, you should be able to see the lever in the right-hand slot slide out of the way when you close the left door. Once the bracket alignment has been corrected, completely tighten the bracket screws to secure it in the correct position.
We depend on flammable cabinets to slow the spread of fire to chemicals, but full protection from this safety device requires that both doors are closed. If you notice yours is not functioning properly, please take a moment to address the problem or find assistance.
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