Buying pipettes, your opinion please - (Jun/28/2013 )
Hey thanks for looking at my question.
I am looking at pipettes. What are the best pipettes for tip compatibility? functionality? and all around value. I have used the Eppendorf pipettes for a long time. I am partial to them but I see they are very expensive. Then there is the Gilson/Rainin Pipettes. They have a strange metal extension near the tip. Does this inferere with compatiliblty. What about the electronic pipettes? I am thinking soft on your hands but no so good with precision. I have no experience with these products. Any ideas or opinions?
Thanks, FreddieP
Maybe this can already help you a bit: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23414671
Thank you for the pubmed reference. I will take a look and factor the study into my calculation...that is if my library subscribes to applied ergonomy. I will have to check. FreddieP
We use the Rainin LTS tips. This only works if ALL of your pipettors are of this type. I like the magnetic version, the RL series, but others hate them. They use the same tips as the L series, which are more standard in use.
Ebay has been a reliable source for Rainin pipettors, at 60-75% discount vs. new, especially if you are not in a hurry. Single channel ones can be bought for $50-$60.
Avoid the 300 ul ones, which require unique tips unlike anything else.
Most tip manufacturers have several compatibility series, that should fit the most used brands and those adhere to the most used brands parameters.
Eppendorf, Gilson and Biohit is likely to be among them.
As for use we exclusively use Gilson pipettes, but for the problems with filtered tip quality (loose bought tips after autoclaving had sometimes detached and useless filters) we also stick with original Gilson tips (filtered). For filterless we buy whatever is cheaper.
The strange metal extension on the end is a tip releaser, it filts fine with compatible tips, 2ul pipette has a two-sided tip releaser that fits either short or long Gilson-compatible tips.
We used the Pipetman M electronic ones too, but one out of two had a crappy "software" bugs that caused it to be calibrated wrongly, so we exchanged that for the classic. It has severaly reduced pipetting force and volume lock, which was fine for repeated real-time PCR sample adding, we keep the other one, but all those battery exchanging and so..we decided not to buy more of them.
Gilson recently made a new model Pipetman Neo, that has quite a reduced pipetting force but otherwise common structure, so now we are buying those instead.
Am I the only one here prefer HTL DISCOVERY Comfort series? 
In my country the selling price for HTL is cheaper than Gilson and Rainin, and that's the reason I buy it. They claim the precision it is almost same like Eppendorf.
Maybe you can ask for a demo from your local supplier?
Nah, we have few HTLs, I like them for low pipetting force, but not for precision. And.. they fit very badly into Gilson pipet stands 
now I start worried for all my previous quantitation results...although I don't go to lab that often now 
My pipet stand was a "gift" from that local HTL supplier... 
No issues in hanging it.
Trof on Thu Jul 4 12:00:45 2013 said:
Nah, we have few HTLs, I like them for low pipetting force, but not for precision. And.. they fit very badly into Gilson pipet stands