Blackstone DGT-12B

Dental practices are the closest fit. Handpieces carry narrow internal channels, and pouched examination kits and wrapped extraction sets sit inside paper and film, so each depends on air leaving the load before steam can touch the steel. Dental nurses running the decontamination room start the day with the Bowie-Dick or Helix programme, then run preset cycles between patients and keep each record on USB.

Podiatry clinics reprocess nippers, rotary burrs and scalpel handles, usually pouched so they stay sterile until the next appointment. The 355 mm chamber depth takes these instruments comfortably, and the 4 to 120 minute hold range lets the podiatrist match the programme to a wrapped or unwrapped load. GP surgeries and minor-operations rooms put small wrapped packs for suturing and skin surgery through the same chamber.

Aesthetic clinics, tattoo studios and piercing studios sterilise reusable stainless steel instruments, grips and tubes between clients. Tubes are hollow loads in their own right, which is where the triple pulsed vacuum earns its place. Veterinary practices and small laboratories with heat-stable instruments and labware also suit the 12-litre scale, and in a laboratory, empty glassware and metal tools count as hollow and solid loads. Because water comes from a tank, the unit can stand on any bench with a suitable socket, including rooms with no plumbing. Clinics at altitude need no adjustment either, since it calibrates itself to local air pressure.

It does not belong in a central sterile department processing full trays all day. Heat-sensitive endoscopes, and any device that will not survive steam at 116 °C, call for a low-temperature method this unit does not have.

Air removal before every hold

Three pre-vacuum pulses draw the chamber and its load down to −0.8 bar or deeper before saturated steam enters. Air left inside a lumen or pouch insulates the surface behind it, so removing it first lets a Class B cycle reach hollow and wrapped instruments.

One chamber for wrapped and unwrapped loads

Class B covers every load type in EN 13060, so pouched sets, bare instruments, handpieces and small textile packs share one chamber. A practice running mixed loads keeps a single decontamination routine and one set of cycle records for all of them.

Daily testing from the control panel

Bowie-Dick, Helix and vacuum test programmes sit alongside the nine preset cycles. Staff open the day with a test, read the indicator and move on to patient loads without leaving the unit.

No plumbing to install

Feed water goes into an open double tank by hand, and the built-in generator raises steam from it. Installation needs a level bench and a power socket, which suits rooms where a water feed or drain would mean building work.

Protection for the vessel, the generator and the operator

Over-temperature, over-pressure, low-water and dry-heating protection guard the vessel and the generator, and a safety valve relieves pressure in an emergency. The door stays locked by an electronic interlock and a mechanical lock until chamber pressure has fallen to near zero.

Settings that follow the load

Temperature ranges from 116 to 134 °C, hold time from 4 to 120 minutes, and drying from 0 to 240 minutes. Long drying suits wrapped and porous loads that hold moisture, while a tray of unwrapped instruments can come out sooner.

Correct readings at altitude

Automatic atmospheric pressure calibration sets the cycle against local air pressure. A clinic at elevation reaches its sterilising temperature without anyone entering a manual pressure offset.

Faults explained, pipework flushed.

Automatic fault detection reports 28 error messages, so a stopped cycle comes with a reason on the display. Cleaning of the internal pipework and steam generator runs as an automatic routine, so that part of the upkeep happens on the unit itself.

The upkeep it asks for

Running the DGT-12B comes down to three things: feed water of suitable quality in the tank, the daily test cycle with its indicator, and the cleaning routine. The optional water quality test compares feed water against the unit's requirements, which matters because the steam generator depends on it.

Triple pulsed pre-vacuum

Three vacuum pulses precede every sterilising hold and reach −0.8 bar or deeper. Pulsing evacuates the chamber in stages, drawing air out of lumens, pouches, and porous packs before the hold begins.

Independent steam generator

Saturated steam comes from a separate generator inside the cabinet, delivering it quickly and in a stable condition. No external steam source is needed.

12-litre stainless steel chamber

The chamber is a stainless steel cylinder 200 mm across and 355 mm deep, closed by a sealed cover. Its 12 litres are gross volume, and the instrument trays take up part of that space.

Rated working condition of 134 °C at 0.22 MPa

High-temperature programmes run at a rated 134 °C and 0.22 MPa. The pressure vessel is designed for −0.1 to 0.25 MPa and 139 °C, which puts the rated condition inside its design envelope.

Sterilising temperature from 116 to 134 °C

Temperature is setsettings range from 116 to 134 °C, with 121 °C and 134 °C as the standard cycle temperatures. Control holds the chamber within ±1 °C of the set point.

Hold time from 4 to 120 minutes.

Short holds suit unwrapped instruments at 134 °C. The long end of the range serves lower-temperature programmes, which need longer exposure for the same sterilising effect.

Drying for up to 240 minutes

Drying runs from 0 to 240 minutes after the hold. Zero skips the phase for instruments going straight back into use, and the upper settings give pouches and textiles time to dry before storage.

Nine preset programmes

Each preset sets its temperature, hold, and drying values. A routine load starts with a single selection, keeping settings consistent from one operator to the next.

Bowie-Dick, Helix and vacuum test programmes

The Bowie-Dick and Helix programmes challenge air removal and steam penetration with an indicator in the chamber. The vacuum test shows whether the chamber holds vacuum, which is what a failed air-removal test points to.

Standard test interface

A standard test interface connects external measuring instruments to the chamber. It provides access for performance testing beyond the built-in programmes.

LCD control with touch buttons

Microcomputer control runs every programme automatically from an LCD with touch buttons. Temperature, pressure and time stay on screen through the cycle, and a buzzer sounds when the programme ends and stops.

USB cycle records

The USB function stores each cycle's record for traceability. Records leave the machine on a drive and can be filed with the practice's decontamination log.

Electronic interlock and mechanical door lock

The door locks in two ways and stays locked until chamber pressure has fallen to near zero. A pressurised chamber therefore cannot be opened by mistake during a cycle.

Safety valve and automatic protections

A safety valve relieves vessel pressure in an emergency. Separate protections cover over-temperature, over-pressure, low water level, and dry heating of the generator, and automatically discharge cold air and spent steam.

Fault detection and automatic cleaning

Self-testing covers 28 error messages, each shown on the display. The internal pipework and steam generator have their own automatic cleaning routine.

High-altitude adaptive system

The unit calibrates itself to local atmospheric pressure. Installation at elevation needs no pressure offset entered by hand, and cycles start from the corrected reading.

Open double water tank with optional water tes.t

Water feeds from an open double tank with a 2 L capacity, filled by hand. An optional water quality test compares the feedwater to the unit's requirements and sits outside the standard configuration.

The DGT-12B suits a dental surgery, podiatry clinic, minor-operations room or studio that reprocesses wrapped and hollow instruments in modest volumes, especially where the bench has no water supply. Its case is air removal: three pulses before every hold put pouched sets and handpieces through one Class B process, with the daily tests on the same panel. Two limits matter most. The chamber is 12 litres and 355 mm deep, which caps both load and instrument length, so a department running full trays all day outgrows it quickly. No CE or UKCA position is evidenced for this model either. Day-to-day, the running need is feed water of suitable quality, because the steam generator draws steam from the open tank each cycle.