Labconco FreeZone and FreeZone Plus 6, 12 and 18 Liter Freeze Dry Systems 79600 Series - Manual (Page 27)

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Chapter 4: Using Your Freeze Dryer
Product Service Domestic 1-800-522-7658, International 816-333-8811
During Freeze Dryer start-up, the refrigeration system pulls the
collector coil down to temperature. While the collector coil cools,
the purge valve can be closed and the vacuum pump allowed to
run. This allows the vacuum pump oil to warm, which will
evaporate and expel condensed solvents from the oil. When the
collector coil is down to temperature and the freeze dry process is
started, the warm pump oil is less likely to condense solvent vapors
that are not trapped by the collector coil. When the Freeze Dryer is
operated in the Automatic Mode, the purge valve and vacuum
pump will operate automatically to perform this function. In the
Manual Mode the user must manually activate the purge valve and
vacuum pump to perform this function.
During shut down the vacuum pump can be run for several minutes
with the purge valve closed. This will allow the warm pump oil to
evaporate and expel solvent vapors that condensed in the pump oil
during the freeze dry process. Whether the Freeze Dryer is run in
the Automatic Mode or the Manual Mode, the user must manually
activate the purge valve and vacuum pump to perform this
function.
If power to the Freeze Dryer is interrupted during the freeze dry
process, the purge valve will open during the power outage, and
the vacuum bleed valve will open to allow atmospheric air to enter
the system.
Operating the Freeze Dryer
Set-Up
The Freeze Dryer may be configured to automatically start the
vacuum pump when the collector temperature reaches –40°C. The
display units for vacuum may be selected to be mBar, Pascal (Pa)
or Torr and the temperature may be displayed as °F or °C. The run
time of the refrigeration system and the vacuum pump may be
monitored.
To configure your Freeze Dryer, turn the main power switch ON
and press MENU. The display will show:
VACUUM UNITS
mBar
Pa Torr