A home lab has three routes to a thermocycler. Buy a small new one, buy a used lab unit, or build the open-source OpenPCR. Each one still needs a heated lid and a block that fits your tubes.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
A heated block that cycles the same temperatures over and over.
Small thermal cyclers side by side
Wells
Top ramp rate
Heated lid
Control
Warranty
miniPCR mini8X
8 × 0.2 mL
3.5 °C/s heating
Up to 120 °C
App over Bluetooth or USB-C
3 years
miniPCR mini16X
16 × 0.2 mL
Not listed
Not listed
App over Bluetooth or USB-C
3 years
Edvotek EdvoCycler Jr.
16 × 0.2 mL
3.5 °C/s
Yes, temperature not listed
Built-in 7-inch touchscreen
3 years
Bento Lab Entry
32 × 0.2 mL
2.5 °C/s
Not listed
App over Bluetooth
1 year, extendable
OpenPCR (kit you build)
16 × 0.2 mL
1 °C/s
Up to 120 °C
Computer over USB
None listed
Do you need a heated lid?
Yes, or a bottle of mineral oil. The lid keeps the reaction from evaporating and condensing on the cap while the block cycles near boiling.
Before heated lids, labs covered each reaction with a drop of mineral oil. Thermo Fisher notes that oil is messy and leaves part of each sample behind when you pipette it out for a gel.
Where the table says the lid is not listed, ask the maker before you buy. On a used unit, check that the lid still heats before you pay.
Does ramp rate matter?
Ramp rate is how fast the block moves between temperatures. A faster block finishes a run sooner. Thermo Fisher says fast PCR protocols, run on faster blocks, cut a typical run from about 2 hours to under 40 minutes.
At home, a slower block mostly means a longer wait. The annealing step depends on the block holding the right temperature, so accuracy and even heating across the wells count for more than speed.
Buying a used thermocycler
Lab surplus cyclers turn up on auction and resale sites, usually with no warranty. Check these before you buy.
The block format. Many lab units take 96-well plates or 0.5 mL tubes. Make sure the block takes the 0.2 mL tubes or 8-tube strips you plan to use.
The heated lid. Ask the seller to run a program and confirm the lid gets hot.
How it is controlled. Some older units run from their own screen. Others need desktop software, so ask which computer it needs.
A test run. The only real check of the block is a reaction that worked before. Run one with a known-good sample as soon as it arrives, while you can still return it.
OpenPCR is an open-source 16-well cycler sold as a kit. Its maker says the build takes about 3 hours, and it runs from a Windows or Mac computer over USB.
The software, design files and parts list are all published on openpcr.org, so you can still build one from the design if the kit is out of stock.
A small cycler and PCR tubes on Amazon
Of the new machines above, only Edvotek's EdvoCycler Jr. sells on Amazon. It holds 16 × 0.2 mL tubes and stores 100 of your own programs on its touchscreen.
Thin-walled 0.2 mL tubes fit every cycler in the table.
PCR thermal cycler
Edvotek EdvoCycler Jr. PCR machine
16-well PCR machine for 0.2 mL tubes and 8-tube strips, with a 7-inch touchscreen and no computer needed. Runs 14 to 99 °C with active cooling.
The low-cost routes are a used lab cycler or the OpenPCR kit. A used unit usually has no warranty, and the kit takes about 3 hours to build.
You need either a heated lid or a mineral oil layer on each reaction. Both stop the sample from evaporating. The lid is cleaner and leaves all of the sample usable.
It is how fast the block heats and cools, in degrees per second. A faster ramp shortens the run. It does not replace accurate, even temperatures across the block.
Its design files, software and parts list are published on openpcr.org, so anyone can build one. Check with the maker for current kit stock.
Check that the block fits 0.2 mL tubes, that the heated lid works and that you can run its software. Then test it with a reaction that worked before.
