If you’re having trouble with the water pump in your Tuttnauer autoclave you need to find out what the problem is right away and fix it. No water or a water level that’s too low means your machine isn’t working properly and won’t be completely sterilizing your equipment. And that means you’re basically out of business until you get the problem resolved.
If you’ve always sent your autoclave out for repair whenever there’s a problem then you know just how expensive those repairs can be. You have labor charges, charges for parts, and don’t forget the shipping and handling fees. You could almost buy a new machine when all is said and done! If you’re having trouble with the water in your Tuttenauer autoclave, here are a few troubleshooting tips that might help you resolve the problem yourself.
- If the water is flowing in the wrong direction, check the two tubes connected to the pump. It may be that you just need to reverse them.
- If the pump is making noise check to see if the mounting bracket is loose or broken. You may just need to tighten it down or replace it. If it’s not the bracket the problem is probably within the pump itself and you’ll need a new one.
- If the water pump keeps blowing a fuse, first look for pinched or twisted wires that might be causing a short. If that’s not the problem, turn the pump off and disconnect the wires from the number 1 and 2 terminals on the solid state relay. Turn the pump back on and if the fuse blows again the problem is with either the water pump or the pump capacitor and you’ll need to replace both.
- If the pump won’t turn off then you need a volt/ohmmeter to test the relay. Read between TP13 and TP1. A 10 to 12 volt DC signal is required to tell the relay to turn off and a 0 to 1 signal is needed to tell it to turn on. If the reading is anything else it means you have a problem with the control circuit.
- If the signal is correct, repeat the procedure at the relay. And if you receive an incorrect signal there then you’ll need to replace the Ajunc board.
- If your pump won’t turn on, the first thing you need to do is check the fuse and replace it if necessary. Next, look for pinched or twisted wires leading from the solid state relay to the pump. If that doesn’t help, turn the power to your autoclave off and disconnect the wires on terminals 1 and 2 on the relay. Now, connect those two wires together and turn the pump back on. If the pump still doesn’t work then you’ll need to replace it.
While your autoclave might be a ‘machine’ and it performs a very important, life-saving function, it’s still, after all, just a big box with a few basic working parts. It’s generally easy enough to find the problem. And most of the time you can fix it yourself!