Preventive Maintenance of Peristaltic Pump Tubing

Ⅰ. Is the peristaltic pump tubing important?

The peristaltic pump is made up of three parts: the driver, the pump head, and the hose. The peristaltic pump's main competitive advantages are that the fluid is isolated in the pump tube, the pump tube can be quickly replaced, the fluid can be reversed, the pump can run dry, and the maintenance cost is low. The peristaltic pump tubing is analogous to the pump chamber of a standard pump. The suction height is determined by the elasticity of the peristaltic pump tubing; the pressure resistance is determined by the strength of the pump tube material; the service life of the pump is determined by the softness of the pump tube material, and the pumping flow is determined by the inner diameter of the pump tube. The wall thickness of the pump tube determines the pumping efficiency.

Ⅱ. What is the preventive maintenance of peristaltic pump tubing?

By squeezing an elastic polymer pump tube, the peristaltic pump delivers fluid. The advantage of these pumps for sterile biopharmaceutical processes is that the fluid only contacts the pump tubing and joints, not the pump itself. The same pump tube can be used in the same biopharmaceutical manufacturing process, and the peristaltic pump tubing must be replaced when a new product is manufactured. The peristaltic pump tubing life is determined by its use conditions, including speed, pressure, fluid, and fluid temperature. Some new biopharmaceutical silicone tube formulations can be used continuously for more than 200 to 1000 hours.

The operator of the peristaltic pump determines preventive maintenance and the frequency of its execution. A simple suggestion is to refer to the peristaltic pump tubing life data provided by the peristaltic pump manufacturers. Before we determine a reliable detection method, we may start from 75% to 80% of the pump tube life data provided by the manufacturer. The detection method of each device is different. Once the detection method is determined and we need a longer PM cycle, the operator can extend the cycle to meet his needs.

Suppose the operator is performing a long-term production process and cares about the service life of the peristaltic pump tubing. In that case, the pump tube can be extended, and the pump tube can be prevented from rupturing by moving the pump tube to a new position. This is achieved by adjusting the pump tube outside the outlet of the peristaltic pump. Once this production cycle starts, the operator can periodically (once a week or once a month) pause the operation of the peristaltic pump, open the pump head, slide a section of unused pump tubing (extra part of the pump head outlet), and remove the used pump tube from the pump head to the inlet side. Then shut down and restart the peristaltic pump. This step is easy to operate with a pump that is easy to load peristaltic pump tubing.