This autoclave schedule will help labs make efficient use of their time, avoid finding it in use, and better plan autoclaving in their workflow. This sign-up schedule will also allow us to monitor usage. 

Signing up for autoclave time is a requirement to use the instrument. If you find the autoclave to be in use but not signed up for, please determine, to the best of your ability, which lab the run is from, and let Bruce and Doug know. We will email the lab and PI and make sure the situation does not happen again. For now, we will not have a sign-up for the dishwashers. If people feel this is needed, let us know. 

It is important to maintain social distancing, which in the autoclave room means only one person at a time.

This is document is not intended to provide instructions on how to operate the autoclave. All users must be trained to use the autoclave safely by a senior member of their laboratory, by Bruce Silverman, or by Doug Barrick. If you encounter a problem during your autoclave run, you must notify Bruce Silverman or Doug Barrick immediately.

How to Sign Up

To use the autoclave, you must sign up in advance of your run

Log into the calendar with your JHED ID, and select “Autoclave” on the “Select a resource” menu at the bottom of the screen. You will be taken to an autoclave menu, which will looks like the calendar below.

Autoclave calendar with an open calendar, with one appointment scheduled in green on Thursday.

Select an open time block with your mouse, which will open a reservation request. Fill in the reservation with:

Update Reservation request Via Krescal.jhu.edu/bph
  • Your name in the “event name” field
  • Date and time you’ll be using the autoclave in the “date”, “from,” and “to” fields
  • Your lab, room, phone number, and email in the “notes” fields

Once you submit, your request should appear on the calendar to reserve your time. At the moment, it may indicate that your reservation is “unconfirmed.” We have no intention of confirming autoclave requests, and Ken is working to set up auto-confirmation. The process may generate some emails, which you can ignore and we will try to eliminate, unless you find them useful.

Cancelling and Using your Reserved Slot

  • If you are signed up and decide not to use your time, you should cancel your reservation immediately.  
  • The autoclave will be signed up for in 1.5 to 2 hour blocks for dry and liquid runs. A dry run is currently taking about an hour, and a liquid run (slow exhaust) is currently taking about 1.5 hours. These time blocks should provide adequate time to load and unload the autoclave safely.
  • You must remove your material promptly from the autoclave upon completion of your run. It is strongly recommended that you set a timer to alert you that your run is complete, and the autoclave should be unloaded. The next user should not be responsible for unloading the autoclave for you.
  • There is no minimum time limit between signing up and using the autoclave. If you look at the calendar and nobody is signed up, you can sign up and start your run immediately.
  • Individuals are asked not to sign up for multiple consecutive blocks of time in advance. If, halfway through your block of time, there is no one signed up immediately after you, you can sign up for another consecutive block of time.