UNIVERSAL DENTAL SOLUTIONS
Numbered errors on the MELAG Vacuklav 41 B+ and 43 B+ Evolution and the Dentsply Sirona DAC Premium (the same steriliser): what each error means, what your staff can safely do, and when to call. From the authorised MELAG dealer and Dentsply Sirona service partner for Sydney, NSW and the ACT.
First rule: if a cycle aborts before the drying phase, the load is not sterile. Repack it and run it again, then look up the error number.
The Dentsply Sirona DAC Premium is the MELAG Vacuklav 43 B+ Evolution built for Dentsply Sirona, and the Vacuklav 41 B+ is the shorter-chamber version of the same machine. All three have the colour touchscreen and show faults as "Error" followed by a number, so this page covers all of them. If you have a Vacuklav 23 B+, 31 B+ or DAC Professional with a two-line display and F-codes, see the 23 B+ and DAC Professional guide instead. You can also scan the QR code on the error screen with the MELAconnect app to read MELAG's own notes.
What it means. The conductivity of the feed water is too high. Error 72 and 73 are the warning at 40 µS/cm; the unit will still run. Error 63, 64 and 65 are the stop at 60 µS/cm; it will not start.
What to do now. Nine times out of ten someone has topped the tank up with tap water. Drain the right-hand (feed) side of the tank, wipe it out, refill with demineralised or distilled water and start a cycle. If you have a MELAdem 40, the mixed-bed resin cartridge is exhausted: change it. If you have a MELAdem 47, change the resin cartridge and, if due, the pre-filter and carbon filter, then drain the pressure tank to about half and allow an hour to refill. The error can linger a cycle or two until the old water is used up.
Call us when it returns on fresh water, you have no cartridge on the shelf, or the MELAdem 47 filters are due. We carry MELAdem consumables on the van.
What it means. The unit cannot see enough water in the feed side of the tank, the float switch is stuck, or it is plumbed to a MELAdem but the water supply setting is still INTERNAL. Error 192 is the same check before a rinse.
What to do now. Check the right-hand tank and refill. If it is full, lift the lid, remove the funnel, and move the float in the right-hand chamber up and down to free it. On a MELAdem, check the inlet tap (and the pressure-tank tap on a 47) is open and that Settings > Water supply is set to EXTERNAL. After a cartridge change, acknowledge and restart two or three times to clear air from the line.
Call us when it persists with a full tank and a free float.
What it means. The chamber cannot vent its pressure or drain condensate fast enough. The usual culprit is the "Pressure release" chamber filter at the rear of the chamber floor blocked with a scrap of pouch paper. Other causes are a kinked or sagging waste hose, a blocked siphon, or two sterilisers sharing one siphon. Error 67 and 76 are the softer warning that the unit needs a proper rinse because only Quick programs have been run. Error 78, 80, 114, 193 mean the left-hand waste tank is full on tank-fed units.
What to do now. Let the unit cool, lift out the tray mount, unscrew the "Pressure release" filter (rear floor) and the "Vacuum" filter (front floor), rinse and refit. Check the waste hose runs downhill all the way with no loop. Empty the waste side of the tank. Run a Universal program rather than Quick B so the unit gets its rinse.
Call us when the filters are clean and it repeats, or the building drain is suspect.
What it means. The door did not lock properly at start (81, 86, 89) or it locked but cannot hold pressure (83, 407). Causes are not holding the door long enough for the motor to engage, a dry door spindle, a dirty or damaged seal, or part of the load sitting in the opening (249, 402).
What to do now. Close the door and hold it in firmly for about three seconds until you hear the motor pull it in. Check nothing is fouling the opening. Wipe the door seal and the chamber seal face with a damp lint-free cloth and look for cuts or flattening. Oil the door spindle and lock nut with the MELAG oil supplied; a dry spindle is the single most common cause of door errors on this model.
Call us when the seal is damaged or the mechanism is still stiff after oiling. We carry 43 B+ and DAC Premium door seals.
What it means. There is still a vacuum in the chamber, something is blocking the door from outside, or the seal is stuck to the chamber face.
What to do now. Clear anything in front of the door. Wait five to ten minutes for the chamber to equalise, then press OK and try again. If it still will not open, switch the unit off, wait five minutes, switch on and retry. Do not force it.
Call us when it still will not release. There is a manual emergency release but it must only be used on a cold, pressure-free unit; ring us first.
What it means. The vacuum test was run on a warm or damp chamber or with a load in it, so the result does not count.
What to do now. Run the vacuum test only first thing in the morning on a cold, dry, empty chamber. If it then fails on leakage rate, clean the door seal and flange and repeat.
Call us when it fails twice cold and clean. That is a real leak; do not use the unit until it is fixed.
What it means. The steam generator could not get the chamber to temperature or pressure. Either the load is too heavy or arranged so it covers the steam inlets, or the power supply is weak: a power board, a shared circuit, a tired socket.
What to do now. Halve the load and keep instruments off the steam nozzles and chamber walls. Plug the steriliser straight into its own wall socket on its own 16 A circuit, never through a power board or on the compressor's breaker. If it continues on a light load, run a vacuum test.
Call us when it repeats on a light load from a good socket.
What it means. The unit is running too hot: a cupboard with no airflow, air intakes on the underside or side vents covered, the door left open after a cycle, the unit run without its tray mount, or the "Vacuum" chamber filter blocked. Error 434 is an overheat on temperature sensor 2.
What to do now. Switch off and let it cool: fifteen minutes for 434, up to an hour for 136. Clear paper and packaging from the vents and keep the clearances in the technical manual. Always use the tray mount and close the door after unloading. Check and clean the "Vacuum" filter.
Call us when it recurs on a cool, well-ventilated unit.
What it means. The overheat protection switch on the main heating has tripped. The two errors can alternate.
What to do now. Switch the unit off and let it cool. Press the overheat reset button back in; it is at the lower right on the front of the unit behind the small cover. Acknowledge the error, switch off and on, and run an empty cycle.
Call us when it trips again after a reset. Something is making the heater run hot.
What it means. Error 113: the unit lost power mid-cycle, whether switched off at the mains, unplugged, or the building RCD tripped. Error 182: the mains voltage is too low.
What to do now. The load is not sterile; repack and rerun. Never switch off at the mains to stop a cycle; use the stop control. For 182, move to another socket or circuit.
Call us when the RCD keeps tripping or 182 persists. Have an electrician check the circuit as well.
What it means. Not a sterilisation fault, but the unit will warn (386) and then refuse to start (204, 208, 211) until it can get its cycle records out. Error 203 and 207 mean no output medium has been set.
What to do now. Insert the CF card with the unit off and output the stored logs, then in Settings > Logging set immediate automatic output so it does not build up again. Keep those logs: they are part of your sterilisation records and we will ask for them at validation.
Call us when the export fails. We can set up network logging so this stops being a chore.
What it means. The CF card is not inserted properly, full, write-protected, larger than 4 GB, removed during a write, or not a MELAG card.
What to do now. Reseat the card with the unit off. Check the write-protect switch. Copy the logs to a computer and format the card in the steriliser. Use only MELAG CF cards of 4 GB or less.
Call us when a freshly formatted MELAG card is still not recognised.
Not a fault. Error 351: the batch count or service interval has been reached. Error 438: the unit is due for validation. You can keep running in the meantime. Book an AS 5369 validation or service and we reset the counter.
The network cable to your documentation PC is unplugged, damaged, the wrong type, or the PC or software is not running. Check the cable and the PC first. Not a sterilisation fault.
Yes. The DAC Premium is manufactured by MELAG for Dentsply Sirona and is the Vacuklav 43 B+ Evolution. Parts, seals, filters and error numbers are the same. UDS is both an authorised MELAG dealer and a Dentsply Sirona service partner, so either badge is covered.
If you fixed the cause and the next cycle passed, yes. If it aborts again or fails a vacuum test, stop and call. Record the error in your steriliser log either way.
At the rear of the chamber floor, under the tray mount. The "Vacuum" filter is at the front of the floor. Both unscrew by hand.
Demineralised or distilled water meeting EN 13060 Appendix C, which in practice means under 15 µS/cm. Tap water, filtered tap water and spring water are not acceptable and will bring up Error 72 and then 63 quickly.
Quick B and Quick S skip the automatic rinse. Run a Universal, Gentle or Prion program at least once a day.
Call (02) 8313 0559 with the model, serial number and the exact message on the display. A technician will tell you whether it is something you can clear or whether we need to come out.
AS 5369 validation with same-day results.
Same-day response for critical breakdowns.
Predictable per-chair monthly cost.