Recycling Old Lab Kit – and Adapting Equipment 

Running a teaching lab means constantly balancing budgets, safety, and the need for good experiments. Brand-new equipment is tempting — but often, old kit still has life left in it if you’re willing to adapt and recycle.

🧪 Giving Old Equipment a Second Life

• Glassware – Slightly chipped beakers that are no longer safe for heating find new use as storage jars or waste containers.

• Power supplies – An old PSU can still drive a circuit if it’s tested and labelled clearly, saving a perfectly usable piece of kit from landfill.

• Clamps and stands – A bent retort stand may look past its best, but with a quick file, new nut, or a 3D-printed replacement part, it’s back in action.

🔧 Adapting for Modern Use

Some older equipment can even be upgraded for today’s experiments:

• Adding digital sensors to classic experiments (e.g. connecting PASCO sensors to old calorimeters or air tracks) breathes new life into demonstrations.

• Replacing heavy analogue meters with compact digital displays makes setups lighter and more reliable.

• Old optics kits can be retrofitted with LEDs in place of filament bulbs, cutting power use and heat.

🌍 Why It Matters

Recycling kit isn’t just about saving money — it’s about sustainability and creativity. By adapting what we already have, we reduce waste and show students that science isn’t only about shiny new technology, but also about problem-solving with the tools available.

Which is Best: A Digital Voltmeter or an Old AVO Analogue Meter? ⚡

In almost every science department, there’s a debate: should we be using sleek digital multimeters or those heavy, old-school AVO analogue meters? Both have their place — and both can be valuable in the classroom.

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✅ Digital Meters – Accuracy and Ease

• High precision – Digital meters can measure to multiple decimal places, giving accurate voltage and current values.

• Clear displays – Easy for students to read, even from a distance.

• Safety features – Many modern meters include overload protection.

• Cheap and accessible – Basic digital meters are inexpensive, and students can even buy their own.

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✅ Analogue Meters – Understanding and Insight

• See the change – The moving needle makes trends and fluctuations visible, perfect for showing current rising or falling in real time.

• Teaches scale reading – Students must learn to interpolate between divisions, a skill useful in practical exams.

• Rugged design – Classic AVO meters were built like tanks and often still work decades later.

• Great for demonstrations – The sweeping needle captures attention in a way a static number doesn’t.

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⚖️ Which Should You Choose?

• For precision measurements in coursework or when accuracy is vital → choose the digital meter.

• For teaching concepts like Ohm’s law, monitoring fluctuations, or helping students “see” electricity in action → the analogue AVO is unbeatable.

The best labs? They keep both. Analogue meters show the story, digital meters give the numbers. Together, they give students a fuller understanding of what’s really happening in the circuit.

🎓 The Teaching Advantage

Students love seeing “vintage” kit side by side with modern sensors. It sparks conversations about how science has advanced, and it models resourcefulness: making do, adapting, and reusing. Skills that are every bit as important as the science itself.