Buying an autoclave: here's what you should know before purchasing a steam sterilizer
11-03-2022
Buying an autoclave is becoming an increasingly common practice in the healthcare industry. If you are in the market for an on-site sterilization solution for your medical facility that allows you to reuse medical equipment and tools without any risk of infection to patients and staff, there are several things you should consider before purchasing a new steam sterilizer.
Celitron’s next article is here to shed some light on the most important factors to consider!
Buying an autoclave: how big of a steam sterilizer should I purchase? Chamber size and available space
There are many different kinds of autoclaves you can buy on the market, which can make it difficult for newcomers to decide what kind of machine they need. These machines can be categorized by many different features, but one of the clearest aspects you should definitely consider before making a purchase is the size and capacity of the steam sterilizer.
You need to ask yourself the following questions:
- How many medical instruments do we need to use each day?
- How often will these medical tools be needed?
- How much available space do we have for a reprocessing room to place the autoclave?
The capacity chamber of autoclaves defines how big of a load they can treat within one sterilization cycle, i.e. the time it takes to destroy all foreign materials present on the tools inside, and dry them after treating them with high-temperature steam. Depending on the class of the autoclave you buy, this can be as fast as 21 minutes.
The range of the chamber capacity is defined by the size of the steam sterilizer you purchase. In some cases, depending on the available space you have at your disposal, buying two smaller autoclaves can be more beneficial instead of one bigger machine. This can give you greater flexibility in treating smaller loads with simultaneous use, not to mention the price and energy consumption of smaller models are lower. Also, you have a backup steam sterilizer this way.
For smaller clinics, the choice may be clear, as they only have a limited amount of available space, and also don’t need to treat that many tools a day. Of course, if instead of a smaller clinic, you work at a large hospital, and need to treat a huge amount of medical equipment each day, buying a large autoclave (and maybe a medium-sized one as a backup or for your operating theatre) can be much more cost-effective in the long-run.
Here are the different kinds of steam sterilizers you can purchase from Celitron according to size:
- Small (tabletop) autoclaves: capacity ranges around 25 liters.
- Medium autoclaves: capacity ranges between 75 to 200 liters.
- Large steam sterilizer autoclaves: capacity ranges between 110 to 880 liters.
Buying an autoclave: which class of steam sterilizer should I purchase? Gravity displacement vs pre-vacuum models
This time, the question you need to ask yourself is not how much, but what kind of medical tools you need to sterilize.
Steam sterilizers are used in many sectors, but for the healthcare industry, buying a pre-vacuum autoclave is usually recommended, as they can sterilize more types of materials than gravity displacement models.
Here’s the difference between the different types of steam sterilizers you can purchase:
Buying a gravity displacement autoclave
When looking for what steam sterilizer to buy, you may come across class N and class S autoclaves: they both fall under this category. If you only need to treat basic loads like flat medical tools, then these models will do the job. The issue, however, is that since they cannot force out all the air of their chamber, they cannot provide the same level of steam penetration as pre-vacuum models.
This means they are slower to use, and cannot treat hollow and textile items either, making them less than ideal in a medical facility that may need to sterilize a wide variety of tools and equipment.
Buying a pre-vacuum, class B autoclave
Celitron recommends purchasing this type of steam sterilizer. By using a powerful vacuum pump, these autoclaves can remove all the air from their chamber. This does not only make them much faster than lower-category models but allows them to offer maximum steam penetration to treat every part of the load inside their chamber. faster but also allows the steam inside to penetrate every single part of the load inside. This includes porous loads, larger pieces of medical equipment, textile products, and hollow items like pipettes or syringes.
Buying an autoclave from Celitron – the benefits of purchasing our steam sterilizers
Regardless of the autoclave you buy, big or small, Celitron’s steam sterilizers are all quality pre-vacuum, class B models with corrosion-resistant 316L stainless steel chambers to ensure a long-term operation.
- Microprocessor-based system and a touch-screen LCD screen that displays all vital information
- Highly customizable with a great range of accessories
- Cost-effective and sustainable operation with energy-saving systems
- A completely automated process that can be launched with the push of a button
- Autoclaves with flexible capacity to suit the needs of small clinics and large hospitals
- A reliable and fast steam sterilization and drying process that only takes about 20 minutes to complete
- Extra safety features: the door of the steam sterilizer cannot be opened until temperature and pressure levels aren’t back to normal
- Equipped with self and remote diagnosis options
- PC connection available for external documentation
- Up to 20 steam sterilization cycles can be custom-designed to fit the specific needs of your medical facility
For more details about the specifications of our different models, here are the autoclaves you can buy from Celitron:
1) Sting 11B small steam autoclaves
2) Azteca AC medium autoclaves
For more information on the autoclaves, you can buy, CHECK OUT CELITRON’S WEBSITE, or do not hesitate TO CONTACT US if you have any other questions about purchasing a steam sterilizer. Our team is ready to provide you with a customized offer catered to your needs!