Bunsen & Gas Burners

A Bunsen burner is a gas burner that produces a controllable open flame for heating, sterilising, and combustion work in a laboratory. An adjustable air vent at the base mixes air into the gas stream, letting you switch between a soft, luminous yellow flame and a hotter, cleaner-burning blue flame.

SmartLabs stocks Bunsen and gas burners in South Africa running on standard LPG supply, gas cartridges, and adjustable-valve models, covering everything from school science labs to industrial and research settings. Whether you need a straightforward burner for classroom demonstrations or an adjustable model for precise flame control, this range covers the standard heat source for any lab bench.

Bunsen burner flame heating a beaker of liquid, gas hose connected to a bench tap

What is a Bunsen burner?

A Bunsen burner is a gas burner that produces a controllable open flame for heating, sterilising, and combustion work in a laboratory. An adjustable air vent at the base mixes air into the gas stream, letting you switch between a soft, luminous yellow flame and a hotter, cleaner-burning blue flame.

SmartLabs stocks Bunsen and gas burners running on standard LPG supply, gas cartridges, and adjustable-valve models, covering everything from school science labs to industrial and research settings. A reliable gas burner remains one of the most direct and widely used heat sources in any laboratory.

Common uses of Bunsen and gas burners in the lab

An open flame remains the fastest, most direct heat source on any lab bench.

  • Student turning the air vent collar on a Bunsen burner base, gas hose connected

    Classroom flame demonstrations

    Adjusting the air vent to switch between a yellow safety flame and a hot blue working flame is a standard early lesson in school science labs.

  • Sterilising an inoculation loop by passing it through a Bunsen burner flame, gas hose connected

    Sterilising instruments by flame

    Passing an inoculation loop or needle through the flame is a fast, reliable way to sterilise it between samples in microbiology work.

  • Connecting a gas cartridge to a portable cartridge-type Bunsen burner

    Labs without a fixed gas line

    Cartridge-type burners bring an open flame to benches without piped gas, useful for temporary setups or mobile teaching labs.

  • Bunsen burner heating a test tube held at an angle, gas hose connected

    Direct heating of glassware

    Held with a test tube holder or supported on a stand, a Bunsen flame remains the quickest way to heat a sample directly and observe a reaction.