Replacing Epoxyn Sinks

Background

Epoxyn, as one might guess with a name so similar to “epoxy,” was a manufacturer of epoxy resin countertops and sinks based in Moutain Home, AR. They closed their plant in April 2015 - article. For a period, they were a subsidiary of Hamilton Scientific, a major manufacturer of laboratory casework and fume hoods. At about the same time that Epoxyn shut its doors, Hamilton also went out of business - article.

Because of the high sales volumes of both companies, there's a good chance that you might have Hamilton cabinets and fume hoods and Epoxyn countertops and sinks in your lab. Occasionally, we get an inquiry about replacing an Epoxyn sink, so we decided to put this post together to help with selecting the right Durcon replacement and to highlight differences between them.

Replacing Epoxyn Sinks

For one reason or another, it may be necessary to replace an Epoxyn drop-in or undermount sink – cracking due to thermal shock from dry ice or liquid nitrogen is often the culprit.

Drop-In Sinks

Save for a few exceptions, Durcon’s and Epoxyn’s offering of drop-in sink sizes are comparable. Even the model numbers are similar. Additionally, the outside dimensions of the sinks are nearly identical—with Durcon's being slightly less (1/16") in some cases. So, a similar sized Durcon drop-in sink will fit in an Epoxyn cutout. There are, however, two concerns when doing a replacement: (1) outside corner radius and (2) drain location.

Outside Corner Radius

The outside corner radius on Epoxyn's drop-in sinks was 1" and Durcon's is 1-5/8". Because of this difference, there are open areas (gaps) left in the corners of the sink cutout when replacing an Epoxyn drop-in sink with a Durcon.

Example - Replacing an Epoxyn EPL-59 with a Durcon D59:

You can fill these corner gaps with an epoxy adhesive (which we typically furnish with the sink), and this is one instance when we recommend using epoxy instead of caulk to set the sink. See related blog post: Epoxy Resin Drop-In Sink Installation.

Drain Location

In some instances, the drain location will be different for similar size Epoxyn and Durcon sinks. The above images of the Epoxyn EPL-59 and Durcon D59 are a good example of this with the drain on the D59 being in a significantly different position than the EPL-59. Most likely, any difference in drain locations will not be a major problem as the drain plumbing can usually be re-worked, but it's nice to know ahead of time.

To help with choosing the right Durcon drop-in replacement sink, we took an old Epoxyn drop-in sink chart and added the corresponding Durcon model numbers and drain locations for cross-reference. The annotated listing is available here:

Epoxyn – Durcon Drop-In Sink Cross Reference Chart - 83 KB

Undermount Sinks

Replacing Epoxyn undermount sinks is not as challenging as the drop-ins because Durcon's undermount sinks, if available, are the same size. In some instances, however, the drain locations may be different. Similar to what we did for the drop-in sinks, we put together a chart to help with cross-referencing:

Epoxyn – Durcon Undermount Sink Cross Reference Chart - 71 KB

If you have questions about replacing an epoxy resin sink, an Epoxyn model or one by another manufacturer, feel free to call us toll free at 866.522.3498 or email us at: info@labfixtures.com. We would be glad to help.

Bruce

Designer / Installer - blandstra@labfixtures.com

Let me know if you have questions or if you would like any additional information regarding this post.