Preventative Maintenance Schedule for L8-70M

A basic preventative maintenance check should include but not be limited to the following: Remove and replace the vacuum pump oil and filter; Remove and replace the diffusion pump oil; inspect the vacuum hose and replace if there are any signs of cracking; inspect slide out chassis for any signs of traces getting hot or showing burnt marks asthere have been issues with traces burning up on the board; check all of the molex connectors for signs of over heating as the traces burning up is directly related to problems with the molex connectors; clean any oil that appears around the refigeration can; remove balck plastic cover at the bottom of the refrigeration can and check for and remove any oil accululation found there; clean the underside of the drive spindle with a paper towel soaked with 95% ethanol to remove any oil and dirt buildup which could impact the tach sensor readout; clean around the top of the chamber plates looking for dirt buildup especially around the large o'ring which should be removed, wiped clean and relubricated with hogh vacuum grease-Be sure to wear gloves to handle the vacuum grease; check and adjust your low voltage power supply voltages; and finally, just clean any loose dirt or debris that you may find in the centrifuge.  That a good start and expect itto take a couple of hours to do the job correctly.

Don

Don - Thanx for your speedy and detailed reply to my question!  What is the recommended schedule for this preventative maintenance?  Can you provide a ball park estimate on how much it should cost for a professional service technician to perform this work (assuming routine maintenance parts and onsite labor)?

Bill

Bill,

I really don't know what the current labor and travel costs are for companys such as Beckman Coulter are right now but I can imagine that there rates are somewhere around $350/hr portal to portal and then there's the parts. Beckman has gone crazy with the cost of their parts and it was just one of many reasons why I retired from them. So, you are most likely looking at $1,400 + parts. Hope this helps.

Don

Don,

Your answer stands to reason - Thanx! 

How often should we perform that recommended maintenance on the L8-70M Ultracentrifuge?

Bill

Bill, It all depends on how much usage the centrifuge gets.  For a low usage centrifuge, once a year is sufficient and that's all that Beckman currently does for any centrifuge, except analyticals, under their service agreement.  For a more heavily used centrifuge then I would say twiice a year should be fine.  There's no hard and fast rule but it is better to at least run the vacuum pump system periodically for at least one half hour as that will help keep moisture from accumulating in the vacuum pump oil and causing unnecessary problems.

Don

Don - THANX!!!  Luv ya' man:-)

Bill

Safety Specialist