Preparing Your Priorclave For Use For The First Time; Positioning - Priorclave Q63 Operation & Maintenance Manual

Preparing Your Priorclave for Use for the First Time

Unpack the autoclave and check against the delivery note that all items ordered have been
delivered.
Any shortages or damage must be reported to Priorclave within 7 days of delivery.

Positioning

When positioning the autoclave consideration should be given to proper access for servicing
and maintenance purposes. Space must also be allowed for pipe-work and electrical
connections.
The autoclave has castors fitted to allow positioning and should ideally be positioned within
easy reach of a suitable isolatable electrical supply and drain. See Installation.
All autoclaves during their process cycle will release steam and heat, and this should be taken
into consideration when choosing a site in your laboratory in which to install your autoclave
Maintenance access
It is stipulated by British Standard 2646 that autoclaves should have 1 metre clear space all
round to allow for service access, but we recognise that this can be difficult to provide. At
minimum we would recommend a minimum of 500mm clear space all round. If it is not
possible to provide this all round it may be acceptable to provide space to one side only
provided the autoclave service connections can be made such that the autoclave (if size
permits) can be moved without difficulty. In the case of all pipe connections provision should
be made to ensure that rigid pipe work can be readily disconnected.
A space to the rear of the autoclave of up to 300mm can be required to accommodate pipe-
work connections. This will reduce for more simple installations such as autoclaves without
vacuum systems. For autoclaves with drain condensers this space should be increased to
500mm. The requirements for most additional items are described later.
Heat emission
Regardless of insulation arrangements etc employed to reduce the temperature of the
autoclave outer casing all autoclaves will emit heat into the work area. For the comfort of staff
it is recommended that autoclaves are installed in air conditioned areas. Heat output from the
autoclave will vary at different stages of the cycle. For the purpose of calculating loading
placed on the air conditioning system by the autoclave it should be adequate to allow for a
figure of one third of the total heater power of the autoclave, although the actual output will
vary according to the autoclave settings used.
Air cooled autoclaves cool more quickly in a cool room, and therefore high ambient
temperatures increase autoclave cycle times. This can become particularly problematic if the
ambient temperature exceeds 35
Steam emission
If correctly installed as described below, there should be no steam emitted to the work area
during operation, there may however be some steam emitted when the autoclave door is
opened. Under normal circumstances the thermal cooling lock will prevent the door from
being opened until most of the steam in the chamber has condensed, however under certain
circumstances such as the when the thermal cooling lock override is used significant amounts
of steam can be released. Consideration should be given to how this steam may affect smoke
and heat detectors etc.
12
o
C