Homogenizers

[Seattle Food Geek]

I recently picked up a Tekmar Tissumizer rotor stator homogenizer from a laboratory surplus supply company. The unit is so old that it was made in West Germany, but it appears to be in great condition. It turns on and runs just fine (as loud as a fighter jet), but I've noticed that it leaches sludge out of the botom of the stator tube. I dissasembled the unit and scrubbed all of the surfaces I could reach with cotton swabs and alcohol. I also detached the stator tube and boiled the hell out of it, since, you know, it might have the tissue cells from the 1980s lingering inside.

Even with the parts as clean as I could get them, when I run the unit in a glass of water for a few seconds, it turns cloudy and disgusting.

Any tips on getting this thing refurbished, or better strategies for cleaning?

[andiesenji]

Have you tried running it with a solution of de-scaler?

After reading your post yesterday evening, I phoned a friend who manages a laboratory.

They are now using Tarksol do descale their equipment. He rattled off the names of a bunch of items, including an ion exchange water purifier that has a discharge tank that "silts up" rapidly and gets really crusty.

This compound works better than anything else they have tried and he said they have tried them all.

Also, it won't damage the plastic components that some de-scalers will.

[Seattle Food Geek]

Fantastic, thank you so much for the recommendation. I'll give this a try.