[Histonet] Power outage effects

Fri Apr 20 15:37:05 CDT 2018

We use a backup generator for power outages, and also, all critical instruments are plugged into an appropriate sized UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) to hold them for about 2 hours of uninterrupted power until the generators kick in. Basically what Allan Wang said in his reply.
Just remember that your backup generator has to be outside to avoid nasty fumes.
Terri

Terri L. Braud, HT(ASCP)
Anatomic Pathology Supervisor
Laboratory
Holy Redeemer Hospital
1648 Huntingdon Pike
Meadowbrook, PA 19046
ph: 215-938-3689
fax: 215-938-3874
Care, Comfort, and Heal

   5. effect of power outage on tissue processor (Matthew Fleming)
   6. Re: effect of power outage on tissue processor (Allan Wang)

Message: 5
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2018 08:02:47 -0500
From: Matthew Fleming <mgflem at gmail.com>
Subject: effect of power outage on tissue processor
Folks,

I'm just wondering about the effects of a power outage on the tissue in a tissue processor. I have a small dermatopathology lab, which moved about a year ago to a location more prone to power outages. Last weekend the power was out for about 7 hours, which meant that the tissue was in 100% alcohol for about 5 hours, when it is programmed for 2, I believe. The tech who cut the tissue said it seemed a little dehydrated, but the slides looked fine.

After that, I got a quote for an automatic backup generator for the building, but it came in at $20,000, which was much more than I was expecting and an expense I'd certainly like to avoid if possible. I spoke to the guy who maintains my equipment, who said our tissue processor (a Sakura E300) should not be harmed by a power outage and would pick up where it left off once the power returns. He also said that it can sense when the paraffin in the supply bins is melted and wouldn't try to use any wax that isn't.

But still, a power outage could certainly mean that the tissue remains in a solution longer than programmed, as happened last weekend. My question is, how much of a risk does this pose? Could it damage the tissue so much as to make the ultimate sections uninterpretable?

I should mention that I know when the power goes out, because the building has a fire alarm connected to a monitoring service that calls when the power goes out. So, as an alternative to spending $20K, I could get a manual generator and just go in and plug it in when the power goes out, or if it is out for more than an hour or two.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Matthew Fleming, MD
Fleming Dermatopathology
Brown Deer, WI

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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2018 12:45:07 -0400
From: Allan Wang <allanw at biomax.us>
To: Matthew Fleming <mgflem at gmail.com>
Cc: histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: Re: [Histonet] effect of power outage on tissue processor
Message-ID:
	<CA+3cvL7hSgN66xivvgmVWn+vsOaTw4d61G2U2qKSde1kCOoq9w at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

A generator is probably the cheapest option if you can go manually start it after a few hours.

I purchased a UPS for a DNA sequencer which shouldn't lose power when in use. You may also want one to add a few hours of leeway before the generator is needed.
You should measure the tissue processor's power consumption during usage with something like a Kill-A-Watt or cheaper ones to help you choose the right size of UPS.
The E300 manual says it draws 10.5 A at 110 V which is 1200 W, but actual usage could be significantly less if you aren't processing 300 samples.

I use this UPS and external battery:
https://www.amazon.com/TRIPP-SU2200XLCD-2200VA-1800W-Online/dp/B00CBQNBYI
https://www.amazon.com/BP48V27-2US-External-Battery-Select-
Online/dp/B00I3RROT2

This battery is also an option:
http://www.provantage.com/tripp-lite-bp48v60rt3u~7TRPL1CE.htm

It has a chart for runtimes with external batteries:
https://assets.tripplite.com/ups-runtime-chart/su2200xlcd-ru
ntime-chart-en.pdf

Allan Wang
Lab Manager
US Biomax

On Fri, Apr 20, 2018 at 9:02 AM, Matthew Fleming via Histonet < histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu> wrote:

> Folks,
>
> I'm just wondering about the effects of a power outage on the tissue 
> in a tissue processor. I have a small dermatopathology lab, which 
> moved about a year ago to a location more prone to power outages. Last 
> weekend the power was out for about 7 hours, which meant that the 
> tissue was in 100% alcohol for about 5 hours, when it is programmed 
> for 2, I believe. The tech who cut the tissue said it seemed a little dehydrated, but the slides looked fine.
>
> After that, I got a quote for an automatic backup generator for the 
> building, but it came in at $20,000, which was much more than I was 
> expecting and an expense I'd certainly like to avoid if possible. I 
> spoke to the guy who maintains my equipment, who said our tissue 
> processor (a Sakura E300) should not be harmed by a power outage and 
> would pick up where it left off once the power returns. He also said 
> that it can sense when the paraffin in the supply bins is melted and 
> wouldn't try to use any wax that isn't.
>
> But still, a power outage could certainly mean that the tissue remains 
> in a solution longer than programmed, as happened last weekend. My 
> question is, how much of a risk does this pose? Could it damage the 
> tissue so much as to make the ultimate sections uninterpretable?
>
> I should mention that I know when the power goes out, because the 
> building has a fire alarm connected to a monitoring service that calls 
> when the power goes out. So, as an alternative to spending $20K, I 
> could get a manual generator and just go in and plug it in when the 
> power goes out, or if it is out for more than an hour or two.
>
> Thanks in advance for your advice.
>
> Matthew Fleming, MD
> Fleming Dermatopathology
> Brown Deer, WI
> _______________________________________________
> Histonet mailing list
> Histonet at lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
>

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