6 Benefits of Purchasing a Refurbished Life Sciences Washer
Refurbished Lab Equipment
While some may seem skeptical at the thought of investing in refurbished lab equipment, the proven benefits are undeniable. Refurbished life sciences washers can be the solution to your cleaning needs.
Refurbished life sciences washers are not only more cost-effective than purchasing costly new equipment, but they also reduce your impact on the environment.
Vivus Technologies proudly offers top-quality refurbished washers to help extend the lifespan of your existing equipment while saving you valuable resources in the long run. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering refurbishing your lab equipment!
The Pros of Refurbished Washer Equipment
Before purchasing new lab equipment, it is important to consider refurbished equipment options. Your application, equipment’s age, equipment’s manufacturer, and amount of usage are all factors that you need to consider in your decision.
The team at Vivus Technologies are knowledgeable and have the industry experience to provide high quality refurbished life sciences washers to meet your expectations and requirements. Our team has decades of experience partnering with customers to provide lasting refurbished washers that meet your needs.
6 Benefits of Choosing to Refurbish Your Life Sciences Washer Equipment Include
Increased Savings
Choosing a refurbished life science washer is more cost-effective when compared to purchasing new equipment. Choosing a lower cost option saves your organization important grant and funding dollars that can be better spent elsewhere.
Access to Various Manufacturers
Purchasing new equipment is not your only option if your current washer is nearing its usable life cycle. By purchasing a refurbished washer unit from a trusted provider, you can gain access to a variety of quality manufacturers that may have been out of budget range for new equipment.
Modernized Components
To help further reduce costs, updated software and components can be integrated into previously used equipment. The Vivus Technologies team has the capabilities and experience to refurbish washer equipment with updated control panels, valve and steam parts, jet replacement, software improvements, and piping and door gaskets, increasing the value of the unit while maintaining a lower price point.
Guaranteed Warranty
Customer ease of mind is guaranteed with included warranties for refurbished unit purchases. Vivus Technologies provides a one year warranty on refurbished units.
Lower Environmental Impact
Choosing to purchase refurbished lab equipment is an important “Go Green”, environmentally-friendly choice that will reduce your organization’s overall carbon footprint and decrease the amount of raw materials needed to maintain your equipment.
Shorter Lead Times
Finding a new equipment distributor, placing an order, and waiting for your new equipment to arrive at your facility increases your lab’s operation downtime. Selecting a refurbished life sciences washer work allows for quicker turnaround times and a more efficient process
Case Study
Saved Energy Costs with Rack Washer Unit Refurbishment
Many Cage and Rack Washers, from several different manufacturers, can be field modified and refurbished in order to reduce cycle times, energy pull, and utility use. These refurbishment modifications to the unit allow for greater cost and energy resource savings, while increasing functionality, making it the ideal solution when compared to purchasing new equipment.
The modifications are applicable, in general, for many Rack Washers produced from the 1980s to the present time by manufacturers including Getinge (MTP units), Lynx, Steris (Basil units), Girton, and SMC. The underlying similarity in these units is they all utilize some variation of a reciprocating header, and it is this feature that allows a Fresh Rinse modification to be successful in saving resources.
Standard Rack Washer Operating Process
In the original operating process, a Rack Washer uses incoming hot water from the house supply to fill the sump, from where it is pumped through the spray headers of the unit. This is true for all wash phases, wherein detergent or other chemicals are introduced into the sump to produce the desired cleaning effect, and the multiple rinses necessary to then dilute and remove all traces of the wash chemicals. So, each phase of the cycle requires refilling the sump with new hot water. The cycle can vary as to the times of each phase and the number of rinses, but the need for multiple rinses and the irreducible fill and drain time inevitably produces a cycle of 20 – 30 minutes duration, This means that a typical Rack Washer will be able to run from two to three cycles per hour. When loading and unloading cycles are factored in, the three cycles per hour rate is difficult to attain.
Modified and Refurbished Tech Wash Cycle Savings Outcome
In the Modified Tech Wash Cycle (TWC), the multiple diluting rinses are replaced with a single, short rinse using fresh, hot water directly sprayed over the surfaces of the load. Since this water is completely clean and is conducted through an entirely separate and uncontaminated rinse circuit, the rinse time and the amount of water used can be minimized. In addition, the irreducible fill and drain times are eliminated entirely.
The result is that a traditional cycle that included a four minute wash phase and took a total of 25 minutes to run, can be reduced to less than 10 minutes with a process comprised of four minutes of wash, three minutes of rinse, and less than three minutes of exhaust time. Since the rinse water enters the unit through a steam heat exchanger, controlled by a modulating steam valve under the supervision of the microprocessor controller, it can be heated to any arbitrary high temperature (normally around 200F), thus satisfying the AALAAC sanitation requirement and turning a temp tape.
Note: It should be noted that the addition of TWC to the unit does not prevent loads from being run in the traditional way. The TWC capability is in addition to the existing cycles, not in their place.
See the cost comparison below of a traditional Rack Washer cycle vs a refurbished Rack Washer cycle
| Standard Cycle | |||||
| Time (Mins) | Water (Gals) | Steam (Lbs) | Elec (kWH) | ||
| Prewash | 3 | 0.375 | |||
| Drain | 1 | 0.125 | |||
| Fill | 3 | 60 | |||
| Wash | 4 | 60 | 0.5 | ||
| Drain | 1 | 0.125 | |||
| Fill | 3 | 60 | |||
| Rinse 1 | 3 | 60 | 0.375 | ||
| Drain | 1 | 0.125 | |||
| Fill | 3 | 60 | |||
| Rinse 2 (Temp Guaranteed) | 10 | 180 | 0.75 | ||
| Exhaust | 3 | ||||
| Totals | 35 | 180 | 300 | 2.375 | |
| Modified Cycle | |||||
| Time (Mins) | Water (Gals) | Steam (Lbs) | Elec (kWH) | ||
| Wash | 4 | 60 | 0.5 | ||
| Rinse | 3 | 60 | 60 | ||
| Drain | 0.063 | ||||
| Exhaust | 3 | ||||
| Totals | 60 | 120 | 0.563 | ||