Electric pressure cooker

[Happy Labby]

Hi Everyone I am new to this forum and new to labby world its such a great forum and there is a lot of us I have a question I was wondering if anyone can suggest a brand of electric pressure cooker with and internal gauge for my agar plates Tahnks

[Merilyn1]

I have an All American autoclave that was purchased from Haines. It wasn't cheap, they are now listed at $990 but it works really well. The model I have sits on a separate hot plate - I use the single hot plates you can pick up for about $60. There are plug in units that have their own heating element but they are much dearer. I know lots of other labbies use pressure cookers but I've seen discussions on chemtalk that they don't do the job properly. Good to get feedback from what other people are using.

[Happy Labby]

Thanks for the information I will have a look

[Wayne]

Like Merilyn I bought the All American autoclave (essentially a pressure cooker) but bought the 24L which is listed at $1150 at Haines. I bought mine from Southern Biological as they were cheaper. Just looked and their prices are currently $945 and $1120. So pays to shop around.

I haven't had any problems with it apart from last week when I didn't lubricate one small part of the lid and it became stuck (had to force it open with a screwdriver, as per instructions in the manual), but that was my fault.

[Merilyn1]

That's interesting to know, Wayne. I'll be looking to buy a new one next year at my new job. As for the screwdriver - I always have to use one to lever the lid open, but I'll blame two rear-ender car accidents in five years for the state of my neck and subsequent weakling arms!

[Wayne]

I'd never had a problem of the lid sticking before and it was only one little section that was stuck. I have to admit I did panic a little, wondering how I was going to open it and worried I might damage it while doing it. Thankfully common sense prevailed and I dug out the manual and read how to solve the problem.
I did see that Southern Biological also sell spare parts.

[Wayne]

Just checked and Westlab is even cheaper! Theirs are $839.50 (15L) and $975.50 (24L), but might want to check that they are All American doesn't specifically say they are but have the same specifications and appear to look like they are All American.

[Merilyn1]

Bargain Hunter Wayne! I'll definitely keep it in mind. I'll be moving into a new prep room and two new science labs, so will have a bit of "shopping" to do. Might be able to get one even cheaper if I'm ordering a lot of other things.
And the screwdriver, again. I did the Cert III TAFE course and they always had to open their's with a screwdriver. I'm glad I knew this, because I would have panicked too with a stuck lid.

[Mostly_microbes]

Jumping onto this old thread, hoping for some information.
I am looking at getting an autoclave for the prep room. At the moment we don't have anything, and I am not enjoying trying to sterilise things in slightly dodgy, yet interesting ways.

Is the "All American autoclave" mentioned above the same/similar as the Autoclave (sterilizer) - 24L c/w pressure gauge sold by Haines? Hopefully the link works: https://www.chemtalk.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=451/autoclave-sterilizer-w-pressure-gauge-24l.html

And if so, could some users give me a very simple rundown of how it works? Do you put the whole thing straight on a hotplate, and water into the bottom of the vessel? How big and hot does the hotplate need to be? Any pros/cons you'd like to share?

Thanks in advance!

[RosalieL]

Look up Aussie Mushroom Supplies. They are significantly cheaper than science suppliers. It's still on my wish list but I'm wanting to get a smaller version. If you want the 24L one, get the 25 Quart. I am planning to get the 15 Quart one as I think the 25 Quart would be too big for our lab.

[bigmack]

We've got one of these here.

Amazing machine . Load it, close it, and press the button . The lid just drops on and twists closed .No knob and clamps to undo .

Only complaint , it won't let you open the lid unless it's fully depressurized and cooled down ....great if you are worried about burns , but a bugger if you are wanting to get agar out and pour it .( it is still very runny but if you are time poor , it is frustrating )

It has a Scientrific sticker on it .
Here's from Amazon .
I just looked and Ebay have many of them Second hand from $120 - $750 if on a budget.

Autoclave.png

[Mostly_microbes]

Thanks for the replies! I've put the case to the HOD to ask for money from the OH&S budget to get one of these.

[Anna Z]

We have one of those above also, it's an excellent unit.

[Matt_Coffs]

Look up Aussie Mushroom Supplies. They are significantly cheaper than science suppliers. It's still on my wish list but I'm wanting to get a smaller version. If you want the 24L one, get the 25 Quart. I am planning to get the 15 Quart one as I think the 25 Quart would be too big for our lab.

Has anyone used one of these from Aussie Mushroom Suppliers? Do they to get to a high enough temp/pressure to sterilise agar plates?

[Marama T]

Sorry no idea, but I use a pressure cooker from Kmart to pretend that I'm doing something about agar plates. I've read a lot of twaddle about autoclaves being the only way to properly sterilise plates... but seriously, I'm about to chuck this melted mess of old plates in the bin, where it'll go to landfill. Who will be affected if if I haven't killed all the microbes on the plates? And who will hunt me down if there are still living microbes on the plates? I'm sure the landfill police have better things to do.

[RosalieL]

Sorry no idea, but I use a pressure cooker from Kmart to pretend that I'm doing something about agar plates. I've read a lot of twaddle about autoclaves being the only way to properly sterilise plates... but seriously, I'm about to chuck this melted mess of old plates in the bin, where it'll go to landfill. Who will be affected if if I haven't killed all the microbes on the plates? And who will hunt me down if there are still living microbes on the plates? I'm sure the landfill police have better things to do.

Not to mention whatever the flies bring when they show up... I mostly want one for the convenient preparation of agar - instead of spending an hour or so doing it on my hotplate...

[Pm706Narrogin]

I appreciate the irony that we're told we have to sterilise the nasties only to put them in a bin with an even greater collection of nasties that will be transported to a place likely full of similar nasties.

All feels quite pointless when I think about it like that

[bigmack]

A lot of what we do is ridiculous.
Just have to be seen to be doing the right thing

I agree with Marama . A simple pressure cooker will do the same job . But concur with Rosalie about the pain of using one on a Hot plate .That was the setup I used at my last school .