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Tube Holder Configuration for Q-sep™ 3000 Centrifuge
The Q-sep™ 3000 centrifuge has been designed to work with 50, 15, and 2mL centrifuge tubes using the appropriate acces-
sories. The purple tube holders are designed to hold 50mL round or conical bottom centrifuge tubes. Up to 6, 50mL tubes
can be processed at the same time.* The red tube holders and 4-position inserts are designed to hold 15mL round or con-
ical bottom centrifuge tubes. Up to 18, 15mL tubes can be processed at the same time. When processing 15mL tubes, one
of the positions in the tube holder must be left empty to prevent the tubes contacting each other when the holder moves
into the horizontal position. Note that either the left or right position may be left empty, but must be consistent across all
holders to maintain a balanced load. Purple inserts can be used to adapt the red tube holder for use with 2mL round or
conical bottom centrifuge tubes. Up to 24, 2mL tubes can be processed at the same time using these inserts.
Different sizes of tubes can be processed simultaneously, as long as the balance is properly maintained
(see Balanced Loads below).
Balanced Laods
Your centrifuge must contain a balanced load in order to work properly. To insure that the load is balanced, keep these rules
in mind when inserting test tube samples:
1. Opposing tube holders must be identical.
2. Opposing tube holders must be empty or loaded with an equal number of equally weighted samples.
3. If an odd number of samples is to be spun, use a water-filled tube balance with the unpaired one.
NOTE: The Q-sep™ 3000 centrifuge is designed to detect serious out-of-balance situations and will safely terminate an
unbalanced run by cutting the power to the motor. If this occurs, wait for the rotor to stop spinning before unlocking.
Balance the load before restarting the centrifuge motor.
4. When loading tubes into opposing holders, the holders will be balanced when the tubes are loaded diagonally from one
another. See the illustration below.
Note: When loading 15mL tubes, the maximum capacity is three (3) tubes per carrier. Keep the lower right side position empty to
prevent tubes from contacting each other when the carrier moves to the horizontal position.
Leave one inner
position empty.
*When using 50mL conical bottom centrifuge tubes, place conical tube inserts into the bottom of the 50mL tube
holder to prevent damage to the centrifuge tubes.
