Autoclaving vials and "wet packs"

[Murse32]

Hey everyone, I'm new to home-brewing... just mixed up my first batch last week! My question is about sterilizing vials before filling with filtered gear.... I peel-packed multiple packs of 25 vials, butyl stoppers and flip-top caps so I could autoclave them. I have a portable steam sterilizer autoclave (Olizee brand; purchased from Amazon for $200). Whenever I autoclave them, the packs come out wet, as these types of sterilizers don't have a drying cycle.... does anyone else use these autoclaves? What do you do to dry your packs? I was thinking of throwing them in the oven afterwards.... I figure 360 degrees for 2 hours after an hour in the autoclave. This is obviously excessive, but when double peel-packed, they should remake sterile for multiple years, so prep time isn't really an issue as much as ensuring my process works. For my batch last week, I had a buddy at work sterilize them (I'm an Operating Room RN, so we have access to the good stuff), but I don't want to continually use the equipment at work for subsequent batches, as this is risky...


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[Poohbear]

Vials 340 for 1 hour , stoppers 250 for 2 hours.

 

[Murse32]

Vials 340 for 1 hour , stoppers 250 for 2 hours.

I pack them all together though, in double-peel packed pouches. My method is to use a sterile drape across my kitchen island (the same way we drape it a back table during surgery), and aseptically pass my filtered gear to sterile fluid collection containers on my sterile field, then aseptically pass sterile syringes and my vials/stoppers/flip-top caps. I double peel-pack them so that I can open the outer pack first, dropping the inner pack into the sterile field without having the contents fly all over the place. I then put on sterile gloves and open the second pack and can control the vials/stoppers/caps and can fill them and cap them aseptically. That's why I pack them together....


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[Murse32]

These are the packs I use... as you can see, they are wet after going through the autoclave cycle..... I'm wondering if I can just toss the whole pack into the oven after autoclaving.


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[Poohbear]

Honestly never used the packs before . i,wouldn't put the pack in oven my self . also I've never used a autoclave.

This what I do wash in dishwasher, dip in alcohol bath ,dry in oven (vials at 340 for a hour) stoppers same way but use the microwave to dry them or oven at 250 for 2 hours .

 

[Poohbear]

The reason ur pack is still wet is it's over full at least that's what a friend told me

 

[Murse32]

The reason ur pack is still wet is it's over full at least that's what a friend told me

That's a good possibility. I suppose I can try to make some with only 10 vials each instead of 25.


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[blast23]

So, wash stoppers in 91-99% isopropyl alcohol then simply put in the microwave to dry, then all good? I was thinking of putting the stoppers in an autoclave bag but use a pressure cooker to sterilize. The alcohol/microwave seems far simpler...

 

[Pez]

Hey everyone, I'm new to home-brewing... just mixed up my first batch last week! My question is about sterilizing vials before filling with filtered gear.... I peel-packed multiple packs of 25 vials, butyl stoppers and flip-top caps so I could autoclave them. I have a portable steam sterilizer autoclave (Olizee brand; purchased from Amazon for $200). Whenever I autoclave them, the packs come out wet, as these types of sterilizers don't have a drying cycle.... does anyone else use these autoclaves? What do you do to dry your packs? I was thinking of throwing them in the oven afterwards.... I figure 360 degrees for 2 hours after an hour in the autoclave. This is obviously excessive, but when double peel-packed, they should remake sterile for multiple years, so prep time isn't really an issue as much as ensuring my process works. For my batch last week, I had a buddy at work sterilize them (I'm an Operating Room RN, so we have access to the good stuff), but I don't want to continually use the equipment at work for subsequent batches, as this is risky...


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Same thing here. No biggie. Have oven preheated to 200 F and have some tinfoil or tinfoil wrapped cookie sheets and give them 20 mins or so. No streaking or moisture left at all. I move the racks a far (height wise) as I can. This works with bags of stoppers, vials, media bottles,ect.