Blackstone DGT-18A

Dental practices, medical clinics and laboratories are the settings the manufacturer's distributors name, and hospital departments that keep a benchtop steriliser for solid instruments fit the same pattern. In each, the DGT-18A takes solid, unwrapped instruments such as dental hand instruments, scissors, forceps, and specula, and leaves hollow, wrapped, and porous items for a vacuum steriliser. In laboratories, it is also confined to solid items

Its size suits rooms with limited bench space. At 385 to 400 mm wide and 24 kg, it fits treatment rooms and small laboratories, provided the bench leaves room for the door and for drying instruments beside the unit.

Evidence on small sterilisers shows how they are used. In a cohort of 175 dental offices in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, 11% of 1,188 biological indicator checks between 2022 and 2024 showed bacterial growth. Staff training, equipment maintenance, correct procedure and feedback from indicator results were each associated with clean results. A 2001 study of reservoir water in 20 non-vacuum benchtop sterilisers in general dental practice found microbial and endotoxin contamination and concluded that the water needs frequent changes and regular reservoir cleaning. Well-run monitoring does far better: one Canadian province recorded failures in 0.2% of nearly 200,000 tests. The DGT-18A's protections guard the machine, while the water routine, loading, and checks remain with the people using it.

Public buyers apply the same scrutiny, since NHS procurement routes require conformity evidence and a validation plan for decontamination equipment, and public purchasers abroad usually ask for the same. The conformity documentation those procurement routes require is issued by the manufacturer and shared by the enquiry team.

Protection Against Dry Heating

Low-water-level protection and anti-dry heating cut the heater when the water falls too low, so the generator never fires empty. That takes heater-dry overheating off the list of things staff must watch for, as long as the water is topped up as the manual directs.

Cut-Outs for Temperature and Pressure

Over-temperature and over-pressure protection stop the cycle if either passes its limit. The vessel operates at up to 0.22 MPa against a design pressure of 0.25 MPa and a design temperature of 139 °C, leaving the controls a margin to act within.

A Gauge That Reads Without the Electronics

The mechanical gauge on the front shows chamber pressure, regardless of what the electronics are doing. Staff get an independent reading before opening the door, and the daily logbook entry provides a cross-check against the digital display.

Steam From a Built-In Generator

Steam comes from a dedicated generator inside the casing, which the manufacturer says supplies saturated steam quickly. Saturated steam is what a 121 °C or 134 °C cycle depends on, so a steady supply underpins every programme.

Air and Steam Vented Automatically

Cold air discharges automatically as the cycle starts, which is how a Class N steriliser clears its chamber, and steam exhausts at the end before the buzzer sounds. Nobody has to vent the chamber by hand at either end of the cycle.

A Test Interface for Validation

The standard test interface gives the validation engineer a fixed connection for test instruments. That matters at installation and again at each periodic test, when temperature and pressure inside the chamber have to be measured against the controller's readings.

Compact Enough for Tight Benches

At 500 to 510 mm deep, 385 to 400 mm wide and 350 to 355 mm high, and 24 kg, the DGT-18A suits treatment rooms and laboratories where bench space is limited. Leave room in front for the door and beside it for drying instruments.

Freight Figures Published Up Front

The packed size and weight are on the Blackstone sheet: 590 × 470 × 410 mm and 29 kg, about 0.11 m³. Buyers shipping across borders can book freight and plan handling at the destination before the order is placed.

Two Mains Versions for Global Sites

The DGT-18A is offered for 110 V 60 Hz and for 220 V 50 Hz supplies. A group running clinics on both standards can therefore standardise on one model and one set of operating instructions, ordering the version that matches each site.

18-Litre Stainless Chamber

The chamber and its sealing cover are high-grade stainless steel. It measures 250 mm across and 360 mm deep on the Blackstone sheet and the manufacturer's listing, and 370 mm deep in distributor listings.

Programmes at 121 °C and 134 °C

Touch buttons select either temperature, and the microcomputer then runs the cycle to completion. Which temperature an instrument needs depends on its maker's reprocessing instructions.

Built-In Steam Generator

A generator inside the casing produces the saturated steam and feeds it to the chamber. It runs under the low-water and anti-dry protections, which stop it from heating without water.

Low-Water and Anti-Dry Protection

The controller monitors the water level and stops heating when it falls too low, preventing the generator from boiling dry.

Over-Temperature and Over-Pressure Protection

If temperature or pressure exceeds its limit, the protection cuts in and stops the cycle.

Vessel Ratings

The rated working pressure is 0.22 MPa, with a design pressure of 0.25 MPa and a design temperature of 139 °C, the limits the vessel is built to withstand.

Automatic Cold-Air Discharge

Air is vented automatically as steam enters at the start of the cycle, the passive air-removal method that defines a Class N steriliser.

Steam Exhaust, Buzzer and Automatic Stop

Once sterilising ends, steam is exhausted automatically, a buzzer sounds and the unit stops, so the end of the cycle is clear without anyone watching the display.

Microcomputer Touch Controls

A microcomputer controller runs programme selection and the cycle itself, with touch buttons and a digital display.

Front Pressure Gauge

A mechanical gauge on the front panel reads chamber pressure directly, beside the digital controls.

Standard Test Interface

The manufacturer includes a standard test interface so validation and periodic test instruments can connect.

Hand-Filled Water and Front Drain Valve

Water for the generator is added by hand, and a drain valve low on the front panel empties it for the draining routine.

Wheel-Handle Door

The round door closes with a wheel handle, and its sealing cover seats against the chamber when it is turned home.

Main Versions and Power Rating

The 220 V 50 Hz and 110 V 60 Hz versions are rated at 1.5 kW by the Blackstone sheet, the manufacturer and one distributor, and at 1.6 kW by another distributor, so electrical planning should assume 1.6 kW.

Dimensions and Freight Size

The Blackstone sheet and the manufacturer give 510 × 385 × 355 mm unpacked and 590 × 470 × 410 mm packed, with 24 kg net and 29 kg gross. Distributor listings give 500 × 400 × 350 mm, 540 × 450 × 390 mm and 26 kg gross, so freight and bench plans should allow for the larger figure in each case.

The DGT-18A suits practices, clinics, and laboratories that process solid, unwrapped instruments, want steam from a protected built-in generator in a compact 24 kg unit, and dry instruments after the cycle and keep records by hand. It is the wrong purchase for handpieces, lumened or pouched loads, for workflows that need drying in the chamber, and for sites that need printed cycle data. Before ordering, plan the circuit for 1.6 kW, arrange a purified water supply with a draining routine, and line up a competent person for the written scheme and validation. Medigear.uk lists the DGT-18A for business buyers worldwide and can arrange delivery, installation, commissioning, familiarisation and service cover. Ask the enquiry team for the hold times, tray set, maximum load, door-locking description and declaration of conformity before ordering.