Blackstone WF-200SM

Sterile services departments with a segregated packing room and sterile store are the natural home for the WF-200SM, along with dental hospital decontamination units and day surgery suites laid out the same way. Its pulsating vacuum handles the loads those departments reprocess, from wrapped instrument trays and surgical textiles to hollow instruments and cannulated devices.

The workflow decides how much the second door is worth. Packing staff load sets on the non-sterile side and start cycles there, while sterile-store staff unload, cool and release processed loads on the other side without entering the packing area. Each team stays in its own room, which simplifies gowning, cleaning regimes, and tracking every load from packing bench to shelf. Cooling space on the sterile side matters too, because loads leave the chamber hot.

Steam supply is the common weak point in installations of this size. Across 170 non-condensable gas tests run during steriliser qualification in Brazil between 2016 and 2021, 61 exceeded the EN 285 limit of 3.5%, and the water used to raise the steam affected the results. A hospital there that added steam quality testing to its validation programme recorded out-of-limit steam for several years until maintenance work corrected it, after which wet packs fell. Site steam therefore deserves the same scrutiny as the steriliser.

Health services that buy through formal tenders, including the NHS, look for EN 285 evidence and a validation plan, as public buyers elsewhere typically do. The conformity documentation those procurement routes require is issued by the manufacturer and shared by the enquiry team.

One-Way Flow Through the Wall

Sets enter on the packing side and leave on the sterile side, so a finished load never has to travel back through the room where loads are assembled. That one-way movement is what segregated sterile services layouts are designed around.

Interlocked Doors at Each End

The manufacturer describes a double-door interlock for the series, keeping one end locked whenever the other is open. The two rooms are therefore not open to each other through the chamber, which protects the separation the wall provides.

Each Team Stays in Its Own Room

Packers work the loading door, and sterile-store staff work the unloading door, with no crossing between rooms during a shift. Fewer movements between zones mean fewer gowning changes and a simpler cleaning regime.

Wrapped, Porous and Hollow Loads

Pulsed evacuation to −0.086 MPa removes the air trapped in packs, textiles and lumens before sterilising begins. That makes wrapped trays, drapes and cannulated instruments part of its normal workload.

Chamber Length to Spare

At 925 mm long, the chamber holds one standard sterilisation module with 325 mm left over. Longer instruments or an extra tray can travel with the module, which helps when sets do not divide neatly.

Steam Quality Limits Defined

EN 285 gives measurable limits for non-condensable gases, superheat and dryness. Validation engineers test the site supply against those figures, so a steam problem surfaces at commissioning, before it can cause a failed load.

Utilities Stated Per Cycle

The sheet states steam, water, compressed air and electrical demand for every cycle. Estates teams can size each service and plan the drain before opening the wall.

Records Linked to Each Load

Series listings describe report processing and traceability for each cycle. Records that follow a load from the packing bench to the sterile shelf are central to sterile services audits.

Steam From the Site or a Generator

The sheet lists an external steam connection, and series listings describe a built-in generator as optional. Departments can use a tested site supply or specify a generator, sizing the electrical feed to match.

200-Litre Chamber, 925 mm Long

The chamber measures 925 mm long, 450 mm wide and 480 mm high. One 300 × 300 × 600 mm sterilisation module fits along its length with 325 mm to spare.

Double Door, Code S

S in the model code marks the second door, which opens into the sterile area once a cycle has finished. Each door is the only route into the chamber from its own room, which is what keeps the two areas apart.

Pulsed Evacuation, Code M

Air is drawn out in repeated pulses to −0.086 MPa before sterilising; in the model code, M stands for this process. Each pulse removes more of the air held in the inner layers of packs and in lumens.

Sterilising Range

The working pressure is 0.23 MPa, and the working temperature runs from 115 to 138 °C, spanning the usual 121 °C and 134 °C settings.

Vessel Design Limits

The vessel is rated from −0.1 to 0.3 MPa at up to 150 °C, covering both its vacuum and pressure phases.

Uniformity Within ±2.0 °C

Temperature across the chamber stays within ±2.0 °C, the figure the thermometric validation uses as its reference.

Steam Inlet

Site steam enters at 0.3 to 0.6 MPa, with up to 16 kg used per cycle. That figure sizes the site steam main and its condensate handling.

Water Feed

Water arrives at 0.1 to 0.2 MPa, up to 190 kg per cycle, and leaves through the drain, which has to be sized to match.

Compressed Air

A compressed air supply at 0.4 to 0.7 MPa is needed, and the manufacturer's description pairs it with a pneumatic door seal.

Three-Phase Power

The supply is three-phase, five-wire AC 380 V 50 Hz, with demand up to 23 kW (about 35 A per phase), wired to BS 7671 in the UK.

Loading-Side Gauges and Panel

In the Blackstone photograph, the loading face carries a pair of pressure gauges over the display panel, next to the door handle.

Sterilisation Basket

Series listings include a basket for models from the WF-150 to the WF-360. The enquiry team can arrange extra baskets for alternating loads.

Programme and Traceability Functions

Series listings describe programme selection, parameter setting, report processing and traceability, and the manufacturer cites F0 and temperature-time control for its horizontal sterilisers.

Optional Steam Generator

A series listing describes a built-in generator as optional for departments without a suitable steam supply, and notes the added electrical load.

Cabinet Size and Weight

The cabinet measures 1,175 × 1,120 × 1,760 mm, and weighs 800 920 kg gross on the Blackstone sheet. Its 1,120 × 1,760 mm cross-section sets

The WF-200SM suits sterile services departments, dental hospital decontamination units, and day surgery suites with a segregated packing room and sterile store, where a one-way flow through the wall warrants a prepared opening. It is the wrong choice for single-room decontamination, for sites without three-phase power, water, compressed air, steam and drainage, and for floors that cannot carry around 920 kg. Before ordering, agree the wall opening with the estates team, maintaining any required fire rating; commission the structural check; size the supply for about 35 A per phase; and appoint the people who will validate it to EN ISO 17665. Medigear.uk lists the WF-200SM for business buyers worldwide and can arrange delivery, installation, commissioning, familiarisation and service cover. Ask the enquiry team for the installation drawing, interlock logic, programme list,t and EN 285 evidence before ordering.