Pump, suction Hy-Flo, Model B.

Accession #: 2008032

Description: This pump, connected to a reservoir jar and the whole mounted on a base plate was a common sight on surgical and medical wards where it was used for continuous, closed body cavity drainage (e.g. from a naso-gastric tube) before the introduction of pipeline vacuum services to clinical areas. This double cylinder version features in the Thackray catalogue as a component of Roberts suction apparatus, which consists of a 4 litres collection, jar, an applied vacuum gauge and a vacuum relief valve mounted on a wooden base plate. At St David’s Hospital, in Cardiff, a BOC quotation for installing clinical pipeline suction was rejected in favour of Alfa-Laval a company specialising in providing automatic milking equipment. BOC eventually gained the ascendancy after negotiation with the BSI resulting from which, the BOC design for pipeline medical gas and suction outlets was adopted as the British Standard. This effectively excluded competition for a number of years.

Pump manufactured by Metcalf Bros., Potters Bar, Herts. The company manufacture identical pumps for aeration of aquaria.

Dimensions: 148 x 113 x 128mm.

Acquired: 09/05/2008