Are you searching for a reliable steam source for your autoclave? Do you want to ensure good quality steam for your autoclave? Following is what you need to know about choosing a steam source for your autoclave.
Autoclave sterilisers are used regularly in operating rooms and hospital laboratories for sterilising various instruments required for medical procedures.
Sterilising medical equipment and instruments is necessary to make sure they are free of any germs and bacteria.
An autoclave steriliser uses steam to bring medical instruments to a temperature that kills all germs and bacteria.
Therefore, a good source of on-demand steam is required in order to sterilise medical instruments and equipment in an autoclave steriliser.
There are a number of sources of steam that can be used for the autoclave.
House Steam
This is the most common source of steam and it is derived directly from the boiler system in the building.
Almost all the hospitals have at least one boiler as it's not possible to run a hospital without a functioning boiler.
However, the steam available from a house boiler is not always adequate.
An autoclave requires a minimum of 50 psi steam pressure to operate.
In some cases, it might not be possible with the steam available from a house boiler.
Another reason could be poor quality of steam due to old plumbing or poor quality of water used in the house boiler. Steam saturation is also an issue.
For autoclave steam, it needs to have a dryness of 0.95 by weight and the volume of non-condensable gases should be less than 3.5%.
Indirect Heat Exchange Boilers
In this type of steam generation, the in-house boiler steam is used to heat clean water turning it into steam and that clean steam can be used in an autoclave.
It's a good solution in a situation where the quality of steam available from in-house boiler is not up to the mark.
These are also commonly known as steam to steam generators. These are available in both remote and integral configurations.
One of the biggest advantages of these boilers is that these do not require too much maintenance as there are no electrical components or heating elements which also makes them economical to operate.
However, these typically have less production capacity compared to the option below. Also, these have a high initial cost.
Electric Steam Generator
In many cases, an electric generator is utilised to heat up water and produce steam and that clean steam is directly fed into an autoclave.
These electric generators are available in 2 configurations including a remote boiler and an integral boiler.
Integral boiler typically fits underneath the autoclave and steam is transferred directly to the autoclave.
It keeps things simple but usually, these generators are limited by power.
A remote boiler, as the name suggests, is placed in an adjacent room or next to the autoclave in order to generate steam and transfer it to the autoclave.
These remote boilers are bigger in size and much more powerful compared to the integral boilers.
The integral boilers are typically limited to 45 kW power but remote boilers are available in wide capacities ranging from 20 kW to 180 kW.
These boilers are made either from stainless steel or carbon steel.
Conclusion
As far as choosing the right solution for steam generation is concerned, the best steam source will depend on the capacity or power of the in-house boiler.
In case the boiler is old, it might be difficult to get enough steam for the autoclave. In some cases, the quality of steam might not be up to the mark.
If the in-house boiler system produces steam of questionable quality or fails to provide enough steam, it's time to get in touch with an expert to find out how a steam to steam generator or an electric steam generator can be used for improving steam generation capacity and quality.
If you are searching for the best autoclave supplier in Australia, then look no further than Medical Equipment Services Australia.
We were originally established in 1952 in order to provide electro-medical products to healthcare professionals across the country.
The company (Medical Equipment Services) was acquired by Medical Equipment Australia in 2009. Since then, we have also expanded into the dental industry.
For all your medical and dental supply requirements, please call us today on 1300 342 013 or contact us through our website.
