How much servicing and general maintenance does the ADE system need?
A. All equipment needs some maintenance. With the ADE system you can go a long way to keeping the system fully functional by daily checks and careful handling. The leak test prior to every anaesthetic will reveal perished reservoir bags and punctured tubes. It is a good idea to have 2 spare tubes – smooth bore tubing as recommended for the ADE as other corrugated tubing alters the efficiency and is more difficult to breathe through. This tubing is readily available from Anaequip or AES (addresses at the end). Also keep a range of reservoir bags as spares, the ½ litre and 1 litre being used the most. The use of better grade of soda lime is recommended as it causes less dust. The dust from cheaper soda lime gets around the system and clogs up valves. Worse still it can be taken into the lungs by the patient (unless a filter is used which is uncommon in vet practice). So ensure you use the best dust free soda lime – it pays huge dividends in keeping the system functioning. Generally spher
