Sorvall CW2 plus Cellwasher problems?

[superbb]

We purchased a Sorvall CW2 Plus cellwasher over a year ago. It is has not been used much and lately we have noticed the bowl is extremely wet and dripping with saline after the wash cycles. I contacted the company and they state that this is normal. It just seems too wet and I am concerned. This is the only one of this newer model that we have and I have nothing to compare it to. Please let me know if you are familiar with this piece of equipment and if it is "normal".

[David Saikin]

Check for broken glass in the effluent tubing. I had similar problems with mine, but it turns out that the techs would break tubes during the process and the glass impeded the saline removal from the bowl.

[lehooke]

Has anyone had any problems with the the inside cover of the cell washer "chipping"? It looks as if the paint is chipping off and I'm wondering if it is due to the weekly bleach cycle. The cellwasher is only 3 years old. I don't remember ever having this problem with the older cellwashers, but of course, I sometimes don't remember what I had for dinner last night.

[Tony R]

We also are having a problem with the paint chipping off of the inside of the lid. We do not bleach the washer at regular intervals so I would doubt that the bleach is the problem. We haven't noticed any problems caused by the paint. I just keep an eye on it and if I get any complaints I will contact maintenance and see if they can repair it.

Later

Tony

[Barb Thompson]

We have one of these, with all of the same problems....dripping bowl, peeling paint inside the lid (not from bleaching).....also, I don't like the way it spins. We were told that this is just how it is, so we repaired our old CW, and use this CW2+ as a rarely used back up. Personally, I would rather wash by hand than use this. I will never recommend this CW to anyone.

Barbara

[tms8313]

We just received our new Sorvall Cellwasher 2+ last week. I was performing checks on it before putting it into use and also noticed the dripping saline inside after wash cycles. I also can't get it to produce dry cell buttons at the end of the wash cycles, I measured almost 2 full drops of saline left in the tubes. (Coombs reactions were still 3+ after I checked them anyway) I wonder if it has something to do with all the extra saline left inside after the washes. I am waiting on a call back from the company but after reading these comments, I'm getting more skeptical.

[RR1]

Hi Everyone,

I haven't used one of these washers for a long time - your posts bring back memories. As David mentioned have you checked your waste tubing for breakages, even chipped paint might cause some blockage. It seems none of this is acceptable and it's an expensive bit of kit. Could you not collectively write to the supplier to sort the problem out ?

Edited May 5, 2009 by RR1
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[dberman]

Ours drips, is chipped and in addition, it spins out all the cells all over the inside of the bowl. Biomed cleaned all the nozzles and lines and it seems to work better, but its still a piece of junk!!

[KathleenSL]

We have been using our 2 new CW2+ for only 5 months and haven't seen the chipping paint or lid problems yet. Dripping yes - we were told this was normal because the CW2+ drain from the bottom instead of having a catch ring in the lid like the old CW2s.

Our pet peeves with the CW2+ are:

1) You can't manually add a wash solution and then spin and decant (no step button to advance the wash cycle past the fill stage).

2) We can't hook more than one cellwasher up to a saline cube. We used to have 2 cell washers attached to a saline cube using a Y coupler. However when we (and the service technician) tried this setup with the CW2+ we were unable to get the instruments to pump the minimum required saline volumes for the wash cycle. Now we have to deal with finding space for an extra saline cube.

[tms8313]

Is anyone else able to produce a dry cell button? I can't get a dry button, there is always about 2 drops of saline in the tubes after the wash cycles are complete. What is "normal" for this equipment?

[ModernDayVamp]

Guys,

Sorvall has been going downhill for the past couple of years. It's not your Grandfather's cadillac anymore!!!

The Helmer Cellwasher has been getting much better reviews and i hear it's even a little faster!!

Good luck.

[bb2nd3rdsup]

We got 2 new (brand new) Sorval washers in January, and have had nothing but problems - same as listed by everyone else. Sales rep is investigating. We're not happy with washers right now. would not recommend.:mad:

[BankerGirl]

We purchased a Sorvall CW2+ 2 years ago and had all the above mentioned problems PLUS the saline detector did not alarm consistently when the saline was out. We called sorvall and after hassling them for 10 months, they finally replaced it with a new one. We had all the same problems, and none of our techs would use it. It is now in the storeroom and we resurected an old Sorvall from 2002 to replace it. We have a Helmer cellwasher in the budget for this coming year.

[Nelson]

The CW2 Plus is nothing more than the IEC Centra W. All they did was change the logo. At one time, these instruments were sold directly by IEC until Thermo bought it out. They decided to call it the CW2 Plus which came from the good old days of Sorvall (CW-1 & CW2) cellwasher systems. Yes, its normal for the chamber to be wet. During the decant cycle the 12 pl tube carriers (rotor) are held in a negative position so as to drain each tube during centrifugation. This causes the saline along with cells to hit the side walls of the white liner and gravity does the rest. I can understand your concern especially if your a "X" Sorvall user. Sorvall uses a completely different drain system and the chamber is allows dry as long as you don't over fill the tubes. In either system, always check the volume going into the tubes. Whether using 10 or 12ml tube just make sure your approx., 3/8 inch from the top of the tube. This should wash off the proteins from your samples and you'll get good results. As a field service engineer, I have been working on these systems, centrifugation and lots more for 29 years. I am a "X" DuPont-Sorvall field engineer. Happy Spinning !! from the people at BIOSYSTEMS SCIENTIFIC LLC. Contact us at WWW.BIOSYS-SCIENTIFIC.COM. Nestor via Nelson

[KathleenSL]

After 6 months of use, the motor seized on 1 of our 2 new CW2+. I have CW2s in my lab that we have been using for 15 years and have never had this problem! The motor has been replaced but we are still having problems with the cell buttons being washed away. We have the saline volume set at the recommended volume for our tube size and have checked that the tubes are not over filling. But at the end of the wash cycle (could be 1 or 4 - doesn't matter) you never know when you will get the nasty empty tube (or so few cells left that it is unreadable) surprise. Our technical service tech has observed the problem firs hand and has no resolution to date. We are still waiting to hear from Thermo.

[Trek Tech]

Modern Day Vamp is correct! Helmer is the best there is. No volume adjustments from the new box of saline to the end of the box! I have never had to adjust the volume in the year I have had it. The cell button is absolutely dry. This is the cell washer we have all wanted but never thought they could make!

[JClausen]

We have had problems with the newer IEC labeled cell washers leaving more saline on the cell button than we were seeing with the older equipment. (From Thermo, just labeled IEC instead of Sorval). We purchased 2 in 2008. We sent the first one back for replacement 2 times before getting one that had a little less saline left on the cell button. The second one was not ideal, but at least "matched" our 3rd one in saline retention. Unfortunately, this on was already on order before we determined the 1st one was not meeting our qualification. Like you, we are concerned about too much saline diluting the antihuman globulin. On extensive investigation by our biomedical technician, it was determined that the computer chip in this newer equipment is pre-programmed to do a 4 second decant cycle...the older equipment was programmed for 6 seconds. (from the Thermo/IEC service department). This most likely accounts for more saline being left on the cell button. The company seems unwilling and unable to fix this by sending properly programmed chips for replacement.

[mansfield]

We have 2 of the new Sorvall Cell Washers and have had both replaced within the first year by the company. The paint under the bowl chips off and the drive shaft in one rusted and caused the rotor to jam.

[Gnapplec]

I see this is an old post but I wanted to add that we do use the Serval CW 2+   And have all the same observations as everyone else. I guess it's the new normal for these not so great new pieces of equipment. New does not always mean improved.   I think the cheap paint chips on everybody and always dripping wet after every wash. I'm always wiping the bowl dry so our rotor doesn't rust out again :/

[Gnapplec]

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Edited January 23, 2017 by Gnapplec

[AMcCord]

Still liking my Helmer cell washer. Very glad we switched from the Sorval. Earlier Sorvals were great but the re-branded CW2+ was awful. The Helmer may cost more up front but it is worth it because we have no problems, no parts to buy and no hair pulling.

[catchmenow51]

Recently changed from Sorval to Helmer. I am in love. Hoping that we don't have to replace heads as often either. Those things are quite expensive.

[AMcCord]

The inserts to hold tubes of different sizes are not holding up real well - cheapo plastic - but the head itself seems to be doing fine after several years.

[MAGNUM]

I think that it is a piece of expensive junk. I am trying to get our biomed to kill it so that I can order a helmer washer.  I have already gotten a quote and it is actually cheaper to go with the Helmer rather than the Sorvall, and the Helmer is a much better quality instrument.

[Winter]

We experienced all of the above problems with our CW2+: too wet inside, paint chipping, etc, but it recently "blew up!" I was washing tubes when I heard a loud explosion. I hit stop faster than I thought humanly possible and found the interior was just small pieces of glass tubes and plastic tube holders. We just got a Helmer, still in the box. Will let you know how it compares.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Winter
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