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Description of Product
The Petite Fridge
™
employs a compact design. It was developed to
provide a convenient and affordable way to keep medicines that need
to be refrigerated at USP Controlled Cold Temperature. It was also
designed to meet the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
Guidelines for wall mounting of protruding objects in a health facility
specifically in or near a patient’s room where overall size is para-
mount.
The Petite Fridge
™
utilizes thermoelectric technology to protect
the integrity of its contents. Thermoelectric cooling offers superior
performance in place of large refrigeration units that require a
compressor for operation.
The unit can be used in either a desktop or wall mount orientation. It
is virtually maintenance free and runs quietly because it has only one
moving part (an air intake fan).
The Petite Fridge
™
works thermostatically to control the temperature
and will cool as much as 35ºF (19.4ºC) below room temperature. The
USP Standard Range for Controlled Cold Temperature is between
36ºF and 46ºF. The optimum room temperature range of operation
is between 69ºF and 73ºF. The internal thermostat will automatically
activate to keep the temperature within USP limits at the low end of
the range. The user cannot change or select the desired temperature.
How the Unit Works
The unit cools by supplying 12V of DC current through a medium.
The positive side of the medium becomes warm while the negative
side becomes cold. The cold is then transferred throughout the
plastic internal storage space. A hard-wired thermostat, located
on the back of the unit, controls the temperature within the USP
limits. The air intake fan, on the bottom of the unit, is used to bring
room temperature air into the unit to cool the heat sink which is
connected to the positive side of the medium. The warm exhaust air
exits through the vents on both sides of the unit. For this reason it is
important to allow plenty of room for the unit to breath, so as to not
to recirculate warm air into the air intake.