Vacuum and AGSS
Side channel blower
A side channel blower, also called a side channel pump, is a machine used to produce vacuum or pressure; in hospitals it is used to drive anaesthetic gas scavenging systems and dental suction.
For anaesthetic gas scavenging, the Portuguese ACSS ET 03/2006 (2024 revision) requires extraction by side channel pumps, with two automatic pumps, and the AGS disposal system figure in HTM 02-01 (2026) shows side channel blowers feeding an external exhaust. For dental suction, HTM 02-01 notes that electrically driven side channel pumps are frequently used and may be combined with a separator unit.
Ultra Controlo uses Elmo Rietschle side channel pumps in ULTRASEG, its active AGSS, which works at a suction level of −0.2 bar and whose modular construction lets one pump run while the other stands by, and SCB side channel pumps with speed variation in ULTRAVAC DENTAL central suction. Side channel pumps are also one of the standard pump options of ULTRAVAC medical vacuum plants. In industry, Ultra Controlo distributes Elmo Rietschle side channel blowers for vacuum and pressure applications; its partner page gives the Elmo Rietschle range as up to 3,000 m³/h and differential pressures up to 1,000 mbar.
Sources
- ACSS ET 03/2006 v.2024, Gases medicinais (Portugal), section 4.9
- HTM 02-01 (2026) Part A, paragraph 11.15 and Figure 24 (NHS England)
- ULTRASEG datasheet, pp. 2 to 4
- ULTRAVAC DENTAL datasheet, p. 2
- ULTRAVAC datasheet, p. 2
- Ultra Controlo, medical vacuum systems page (AGSS with Elmo Rietschle side channel pumps)
- Ultra Controlo, partner page: Elmo Rietschle (side channel blowers, Elmo Rietschle figures)
Ultra Controlo figures come from its technical datasheets. Third-party facts were read at the source on the date shown.