We got a call last week from a dentist who told us the Air Compressor on his Statim 5000 was making a loud noise. He also told us the instruments he was sterilizing were coming out wet
Both of these items together tell us there is definitely a problem with his Compressor.
The dentist ran a cycle and when it reached the drying phase, he held the phone close to the compressor so we could hear the noise it was making.
The noise sounded an awful lot like the sounds the water pump makes on the Statim 5000 autoclave when first starting a cycle.
With almost a thousand dollar price tag for the Air Compressor, he was frantically looking for another option.
After quizzing him about his maintenance routine, we found it had been a very long time since he had changed the biological filter (which is supposed to be replaced every 500 cycles – or 6 months, whichever comes first).
The biological filter is on the autoclave to remove any remaining living organisms from the air before sending it on into the cassette…. keeping the sterilized instruments sterile
The Biological Filter works very well, and will eventually collect enough debris to become clogged, if not replaced on a regular basis. And that is what we suspected in this case
So we had him remove the Biological Filter, and connect the two hoses going to it together with a ¼ inch barbed fitting. Then, we had him run a cycle.
Instead of spending $1000.00 on a new compressor all he needed was a $47.00 Biological Filter
The end result: The noise had gone away, and the instruments came out dry. Problem solved!
Note: You should not run the Statim 5000 Autoclave without the Biological Filter in place. We prescribed this procedure of bypassing it only to verify the filter was the problem.
Had he continued to run the autoclave without replacing the filter, his compressor would have soon broke down and would have required replacement
"On Your Statim 5000 Autoclave, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
You can find everything you need for preventative maintenance of your Statim 5000 autoclave by clicking here
The moral of the story is: Do not cheap out on the Preventative Maintenance of your Statim 5000 autoclave (or any other autoclave for that matter)
While it may seem these parts & procedures are only to keep revenue rolling in for the seller, it is not the case.
Like any other piece of equipment you have, preventative maintenance should be done on a regular basis, to keep it running at it’s optimum and to greatly extend its lifespan.
You can Click here for even more free troubleshooting guides & technical support