An autoclave works by sterilizing medical instruments with saturated steam at a temperature of > 100 degrees Celsius. Hospitals need a good source of steam so that they can use autoclaves to sterilize instruments when needed. Fortunately, hospitals have access to autoclaved steam from several possible sources.

There are many steam sources available for autoclaves.

Its own steam generator

In this method, a separate steam generator is installed below the chamber attached to the main autoclave vessel. As with indoor systems, the steam generated is controlled by an autoclave temperature controller. Pure steam, high temperature, with sterilization function, very suitable for hospitals such as the need to strictly avoid direct or indirect infection.

Indoor steam

Indoor steam refers to the boiler system that provides steam for the rest of the hospital.

The hospital needs boilers to operate to deliver steam. Hospitals of all sizes usually have at least one boiler running at all times, and often more on standby if needed.

As long as the water injected into the boiler is clean, all systems should use a home boiler to work for the autoclave.

External steam

Some hospitals choose to bypass their indoor steam entirely and use an external steam generator to heat water and produce steam that can be fed into an autoclave.

For these hospitals, there are two options in terms of steam generators: electric steam generators and oil-fired steam generators.

These steam boilers are usually made of stainless steel and are designed to be mounted underneath the autoclave so that transferring steam to the autoclave is as simple as possible.

Remote boilers, meanwhile, are more powerful but larger in size. So they had to sit next to the autoclave or in an adjacent room.

Quality of water supply

Steam generators are used to produce steam and the quality of the water supply also affects the quality of the steam. Softened water or purified water is usually used. Steam is an important medium in the process of sterilization. Overheated steam will lead to sterilization failure, while excessively wet steam will produce wet packets, leading to sterilization failure.

Contact us for more information on selecting the steam generation option best suited to a specific application or autoclave in general.