Cell culture and microbial work often need two conditions held steady at once: a set temperature and a consistent shaking motion, and running those separately on two different pieces of equipment adds complexity a single unit doesn't need to have. A Stackable Incubated and Refrigerated Shaker EZL-IRS100 combines both functions in one footprint, with a stackable design and a wide shaking speed range built to support that kind of combined workflow. This page looks at how incubation and agitation work together in one unit, what the stackable format changes about lab layout, and where a wide speed range matters most.
Incubation holds a sample at a set temperature, warmer or cooler than ambient depending on the application, while agitation keeps that sample in continuous motion rather than sitting still. Combined in one unit, these two functions support growth conditions that depend on both: a culture that needs to stay at a specific temperature while also staying aerated and evenly mixed through constant orbital motion.
Running incubation and agitation as separate steps, or on separate equipment, introduces a gap between the two conditions a sample experiences; a unit built to hold both simultaneously removes that gap entirely.
A heat circulation system inside the unit maintains chamber temperature independently of the shaking mechanism, so adjusting speed doesn't disturb temperature control and adjusting temperature doesn't affect shaking consistency. An orbital shaking platform moves samples in a circular path at a set amplitude, which keeps liquid cultures aerated and evenly mixed without the splashing or uneven distribution a back-and-forth motion can produce.
A brushless DC motor drives that orbital motion with comparatively low heat output of its own, which matters specifically in this kind of unit since a motor generating excess heat would work against the chamber's own temperature control rather than staying separate from it.
The diagram below breaks a typical run into the stages where temperature and motion are managed together.
1. Chamber Heats or Cools
Heat circulation brings the chamber to the programmed level.
2. Platform Begins Motion
Samples move in a steady circular path.
3. Conditions Run Independently
Speed and temperature are controlled without affecting each other.
4. Culture Develops
Both variables stay steady for the full run.
A stackable design lets more than one unit occupy the same footprint by adding vertical capacity instead of horizontal bench space, which matters in labs where floor and bench space are already committed to other equipment. Stacking also supports running separate protocols side by side, since each stacked unit can hold its own temperature and speed settings independent of the others.
That independence is what makes stacking practical rather than just space-saving: a lab running one culture at a gentle shake speed alongside another at a faster speed doesn't need two separate benches to do it, provided each stacked unit controls its own conditions.
A shaking speed range from roughly 40 to 300rpm covers a wide span between a gentle mix and a vigorous agitation, which matters because different cultures and reactions call for different amounts of motion. A slow setting suits fragile samples or a gentle resuspension, while a faster setting suits aeration-dependent microbial growth that benefits from more vigorous mixing.
As a stackable incubated and refrigerated shaker machine, having that full range available in one unit means a lab doesn't need to match a separate shaker to each speed requirement; labs can review the full speed and amplitude specifications on the stackable incubated and refrigerated shaker category page before matching a configuration to their typical culture types.
Stackable incubated and refrigerated shakers sit within Ezilab's broader laboratory shaker range, which includes other shaking formats built for different combinations of temperature control, speed, and platform size. Teams comparing options across that range typically weigh whether temperature control is needed at all, since a shaker without incubation or refrigeration suits applications that don't depend on a specific temperature.
The full specification set for this model is listed on the stackable incubated and refrigerated shaker category page, and a broader look at Ezilab's laboratory equipment catalogue is available from the Ezilab home page for labs comparing shakers against other sample preparation equipment.
Laboratories running microbial cultivation depend on consistent agitation and temperature together to support steady growth conditions across a full incubation period. Hospital and clinical labs preparing temperature-sensitive biochemical studies rely on the same combined control to keep results comparable from one run to the next. Research centres working with cell culture use the platform's amplitude and speed range to match motion intensity to how fragile a given cell line is. Advanced labs running several protocols at once make direct use of the stackable format, keeping each stacked unit dedicated to one temperature and speed combination rather than switching a single shaker between settings throughout the day.
A wide speed range on paper still needs checking against amplitude, since speed and amplitude together determine how vigorously a sample actually moves.
Not all stackable designs let each unit run its own temperature and speed; confirming independent control avoids a mismatch once units are stacked.
A platform that fits a few flasks on paper can run short once a full batch of containers needs even spacing.
A chamber that heats or cools slowly can extend how long a protocol takes to reach its starting temperature before a run even begins.