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Invisiblephalloidin

Registered: 07/03/04
Posts: 865
Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer
    #3281260 - 10/26/04 07:46 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

A little backstory first. I had a job working in the QC lab at a food manufacturing plant. Part of my job was to make sterilized water for use in microbe testing. We used an All-American Steam Sterilizer for this. One day I accidentally dropped the thing and I guess it got slightly bent, because the next time I used it, it wouldn't seal properly. I told my boss, she said let the mechanics try to fix it. They couldn't do anything, so she tells me to throw it away, and they'll get a new one. So rather than throw away a $500+ dollar sterilizer, I took it home with me. Is there anyway to fix this thing?

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Offlinehyphae
born to grow
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Registered: 12/13/02
Posts: 6,228
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Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: phalloidin]
    #3281857 - 10/26/04 09:29 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Yes of course there is. First off you'll need to remove all hardware ie; regulator, handles, pressure releases, etc; then you'll need to get a large piece of plate glass as this is a level "datum plane" meaning flat :wink: you will need to locate where it is "off" then you can reverse the direction of the initial impact and test quite often, I'd recommend laying a double folded terrycloth towel on a solid surface and with a sharp rap adjust checking your progress and impact force and adjusting accordingly. Hell it's worth a try, I'm a metal man by trade and I'll tell you you never know until you try! :wink: GL friend and nice score!!!


--------------------
Getting the most out of your casings!, A pinning strategy.
Oyster Shell "Flour" $2 for 1lb. a hell of a deal :wink:
Not what is overlay but rather what overlay is
Gas Exchange vs. FAE

"We all have priorities. I used a closet once setup a nice little lab trouble was all the shit that was in there ended up in the bedroom that pissed off the GF then I ended up dumping her as she was getting in the way of my sterile culture technique! Ya I got priorities too!!!"

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Offlinediscman1
journeyman
Registered: 08/24/04
Posts: 962
Last seen: 19 years, 3 months
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: hyphae]
    #3281907 - 10/26/04 09:44 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Did you drop it on the sealing edge?

That sucks. I would definately try and fix it though... I would also recommend some (gentle!) banging with a soft mallet if it is that bad. Remember, aluminum is very soft.. so you need to use something like a hard rubber, plastic, or maybe copper mallet. Plate glass is a good idea. You should be able to get some at a.. glass store. Make sure to get a piece big enough to fit over the whole PC.

If you can get it close but not perfect, that may be good enough.. But if not, try getting some valve lapping compound from an automotive store, and gently lap the seal by smearing a small ammount around the sealing edge of the lid, put the lid on and work it back and forth with very slight pressrue. Don't lap too long, and check it frequently. You can see where the grinding compound is cutting because the metal will be shiney when you wipe compound away.

You can also get some stuff called prussian blue at the automotive store. Smear a thin, even coat around the edge of the pot. Put the lid on, press down(don't twist), and lift off. The prussian blue will transfer to the lid where it is contacting. Obviously, you want to shoot for a nice even transfer all the way around.

If you give up.. send it to me! I'll pay shipping! :wink:

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Invisiblephalloidin

Registered: 07/03/04
Posts: 865
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: hyphae]
    #3281927 - 10/26/04 09:51 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Ok, I'm not sure if I'm following this correctly, but I use the glass to determine which part is high, and which is low. Then do I just start beating the thing back into shape until the glass fits nicely without any wobbling? If so, what should I use to bang it back into shape. I don't want to mess it up anymore than it is. Thanks for the help.

And yeah, it is an awesome score. I already had a PC and assumed this thing cost around the same price as what I had(about 60 bucks) When I found out that these cost over 500 dollars, I was quite shocked that my boss would be so quick to toss it. Gotta luv large corporations and their ability to squander cash. Just another right-off for them.

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Offlinediscman1
journeyman
Registered: 08/24/04
Posts: 962
Last seen: 19 years, 3 months
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: phalloidin]
    #3281955 - 10/26/04 09:59 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Yep, that would generally be the procedure. Lay the glass on the top, and judge which part has been deformed. Gently bang on it that area, checking frequently. I would use hard rubber or plastic, maybe brass or copper.. Don't use steel.

Of course, this is assuming that the damage is rather large and overt.

How exactly does it not seal? If it just leaks from a couple of places around the lid, in the area that it was dropped, the lapping method may net better results.

Actually, you know what? Scratch all that. If you don't have any idea what you're doing, you should take it to a machine shop. They are equipped to deal with stuff like this, and if you find a local mom&pop shop, they might only charge you like 40 or 50 bucks to fix it. They should be able to determine whether it will seal adequately without actually pressurizing it.

I would go to a few in person, and pick the shop you feel most comfortable with. That is definately what I would do on second thought. Don't go beating on it if you don't have metalworking experience.

Try to find someone who knows a thing or two about how a PC operates.. Give a few calls around or something.

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Invisiblephalloidin

Registered: 07/03/04
Posts: 865
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: discman1]
    #3281962 - 10/26/04 10:01 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Thanks for the advice. As for how it happened, my dumbass decided to carry the thing without tightening the lid down to the base. I went about five steps when the bottom part fell off. It only dropped about a foot and the bottom of it hit the ground. I didn't think much of it at the time. I'm pretty sure it's fixable, I just don't want to fuck it up anymore than it is. The heating unit works fine, and it gets up to about 5 psi, before it starts leaking bad.

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Offlinediscman1
journeyman
Registered: 08/24/04
Posts: 962
Last seen: 19 years, 3 months
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: phalloidin]
    #3281970 - 10/26/04 10:04 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Crazy that would make it leak.

It doesen't really sound very bad.. I'd be surprised if you actually needed to take a hammer to it.

Yeah, I highly recommend a machine shop. That is what they do for a living, they should be able to repair it in no time flat, for a nominal fee. Like I said, call around to a few.. see if you can find someone who knows what an All-American PC is and how the metal to metal seal works.

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OfflineMAGnum
veteran

Registered: 07/08/04
Posts: 2,421
Last seen: 12 years, 3 months
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: phalloidin]
    #3281975 - 10/26/04 10:05 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

It shouldn't even be badly broken if only the bottom hit the ground.


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Invisiblephalloidin

Registered: 07/03/04
Posts: 865
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: discman1]
    #3282001 - 10/26/04 10:13 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

When it first got busted, I took it to the mechanics shop at my job. They put it on a lathe and started banging the shit out of it, with no success. I don't think they had much experience with this sort of thing though. They were more used to fixing machinery on the production line. I guess I'll start checking around. If nothing else, I'll probably put it up for sell/trade in the marketplace forum.

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Offlinediscman1
journeyman
Registered: 08/24/04
Posts: 962
Last seen: 19 years, 3 months
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: phalloidin]
    #3282056 - 10/26/04 10:26 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Yeah..... you need to find someone who is familiar with them. Open up the yellow pages and start calling around.. start off with, "I have an All American autoclave that was dropped and needs to be trued".

If they go "Uhm.. er.. uh.. auto-clave?", find someone else. With any luck, you'll find someone who knows whats up, and has maybe even worked on them before.

Technically, it should also be magnafluxed, to check for cracks.... to make it 100% safe. Not sure how much that would run, though.

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Invisiblephalloidin

Registered: 07/03/04
Posts: 865
Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: discman1]
    #3282088 - 10/26/04 10:32 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Cool, Thanks for the help everyone.

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Offlinehyphae
born to grow
 User Gallery

Registered: 12/13/02
Posts: 6,228
Loc: the rain forests
Last seen: 12 years, 10 months
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Re: Problem with All-American Steam Sterilizer [Re: phalloidin]
    #3282287 - 10/26/04 11:21 PM (19 years, 5 months ago)

Well I do this stuff for a living and I've straighten some pretty mangeled shit. I was assuming it was the top not the bottom thats a different story it would help to see a picture, the base maybe out of round? As far as using a mallet that would work if the original accident occured using a mallet :wink: They may have ruined it even further those mechanics. I won't recommend anything more until I know better what and where the problem lies. Pics? :wink:


--------------------
Getting the most out of your casings!, A pinning strategy.
Oyster Shell "Flour" $2 for 1lb. a hell of a deal :wink:
Not what is overlay but rather what overlay is
Gas Exchange vs. FAE

"We all have priorities. I used a closet once setup a nice little lab trouble was all the shit that was in there ended up in the bedroom that pissed off the GF then I ended up dumping her as she was getting in the way of my sterile culture technique! Ya I got priorities too!!!"

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
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