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Post by caferacer87 on May 14, 2024 16:51:17 GMT
Years ago I remember coming across something that said metal wall box connectors/Metal quick disconnects should not be used but cant remember if it was a vtag or not does this ring a bell for anyone?
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Post by dave74 on May 14, 2024 17:28:31 GMT
I checked CMS, the CDC, and AAMI. They emphasize proper cleaning and disinfection of wall boxes. I can't find anything that addresses metal in wall boxes, but the only metal allowed to come in contact with purified water is stainless steel.
I wish I could do better.
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Post by Chuck Weddle on May 14, 2024 18:39:00 GMT
Like Dave said, there are no regulations from anyone. My only guess would be something from a manufacturer saying not to because of the use of heat for disinfecting the water system maybe?
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Post by caferacer87 on May 14, 2024 19:11:48 GMT
Thank you, gentleman, for your assistance
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Post by SrCusEngr on May 14, 2024 23:30:06 GMT
<caferacer87> Referring to chemistry (way to long ago for me), Nature likes balance, which is why we use certain dialysate concentrates for certain patients during their treatments.The same is true for water and what it is flowing thru.E.g., brass couplings are a mixture of copper and zinc, while bronze is made from copper and tin. They both can corrode.If pure RO water is touching them, what do you think will happen over time? The water, which is pure [let's say no metals in it] will attract ions from the metal it touches which makes the bonding between the zinc/tin and copper weaken until something happens. It is called leaching. Remember, reverse osmosis (RO) permeate is aggressive, corrosive since it is soft, low alkalinity water with slightly acidic pH.
Also, think back to the water system of Flint, Michigan about 10 years ago. That was just plain river/lake water cleaned up and sent through the leaded pipes of the Flint community. A few ppm inside the body can be dangerous.
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Post by dave74 on May 15, 2024 14:19:09 GMT
I should probably emphasize the point that if metal is used, it must be stainless steel.
You don't want to be part of such dialysis blunders as the tech who saw that a pressure gauge on the RO loop was bad and replaced it with a brass gauge or the tech who dropped a tool into the RO water storage tank. I don't know if those stories are true or are used to illustrate a point about RO water and metal.
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Post by SrCusEngr on May 15, 2024 20:18:26 GMT
<dave74> I used to visit the facility that had the aluminum drum wrench that was found (at least part of it) inside a tank of concentrate. Scary that half the clinic was okay and half were having alarming blood results. Not nice what happened after they found out.
Stainless is the only metal to use, but even they can fail (more so from wear and tear than from corrosion).
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Post by justabiomed on Jun 18, 2024 13:35:50 GMT
I think you are thinking of Swaglock connections for the purified water loop to the machine. We have those still in service, with heat disinfect on the loop. I believe they stopped using those because of cost.
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dcvd
New Member
Posts: 22
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Post by dcvd on Jun 21, 2024 17:25:27 GMT
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Post by Chuck Weddle on Jun 21, 2024 18:19:41 GMT
These are all copper and brass. They are meant for bedside/ICU portable RO connections, not the dialysis machines.
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