I am a medical equipment repairer. So at the beginning of the month I saw in my work order inbox that I had to perform scheduled services/rebuild on a sterilizer. I hate those suckers. They require alot of patience, tools, long hours, parts ordered>$1500. I hate plumbing. So I ordered the parts and waited.

Finally I got the parts, and got to work.

Every pipe in these fuxors are hot. Even after turning off the steam to the unit, the one next to it blows steam up randomly on you. You get a 5 seccond warning and then a PSSSSHT of hot steam.

Every fitting, solenoid, check valve, and filter has to be inspected/rebuilt/cleaned/replaced. After doing the work, an offical manufacturer tag has to be filled out with the date and the tech who replaced the part and stuck on the parts rebuilt/replaced.


Here's a layout of some of the stuff I had to replace.




Here's a pic of the top of the unit. Most of the plumbing/steam lines are on the bottom, but I don't have a pic.




After the rebuild, the sterilizer runs exactally as it did before. I have 1 steam burn scar on the back of my hand, one on my bicep and alot more hatred for sterilizers!

I hate steralizes. Thank you for your time.

 

Should have put something over it so it doesnt get you.

 

you're probably the cleanest man on base! i know what you mean. there was a sterelizer at my work and it was soooo heavy. the old one broke and the new one cost about $10,000 to replace. the guys who did it were a-holes like most people in that area and put it on backwards. the pipe used to stick out and get sooo hot so if you were trying to reach for something you had to be careful.

after the install, it would start getting this crap on it from the chemical in the water i forget it's called. shortly after, it began to leak too.

i like that big on/off switch, it looks like something from a movie, aliens or something haha. get allys to treat those burns for ya cool.gif

 

^^ LOL, I am so sterilized...

Was that chemical ChamberBrite? That's what most manufacturers recommend to clean sterilizers.

Alli can treat the mental anguish, but not the burns. We have a different department for that.

The burst of steam I was talking about actually points downwards. The steam rises up, it's really hot and it sucks if you're in the path but it won't cause scars. The burns I got were from a couple of pipes which needed insulation and they are covered by the facilities, not medical maintenance. I put in a work order to get the pipes re-insulated.

BTW, HKC, what do you do?

 

ouch man, that sucks badly. I do sort of understand though. Had to shave the hair on both my arms after getting all the hair on one burned off by one of these:



The Showgun is the newest and most powerful intelligent light on the market right now.. putting out 100,000 lumens of light when at full power. Not only will it MELT the casings of nearby lights if allowed to focus on them for more than a few moments, it will burn the hair off of you.

 

Actually, i can treat both the burns and the anguish. CLS/CPR certified. It isnt much but im working on gettign a higher level of certification. Im thinking when/if i get out im going to be a paramedic and do that while i go back to school for either social work (the most likely choice) or nursing so i can be an RN.

 

Since you know what's inside and have a strong feeling towards it, you might as well learn to spell it right tongue.gif It's "sterilizer", as in "sterile"

 

^^ LOL


Yeah, I went through that class too. I never knew you were trying to become an RN though.

 

Thats probably because we dont talk much. i love taking care of people and nursing would allow me to get them in and out versus long term. long term isnt my thing but put me in an ER and let me go! wooooooooooooo!