When you have a hospital of any age it is likely that you probably have outlets manufactured by more than one company. When this happens you may get outlet repair parts mixed up especially in the case of Amico and Beacon (Series B) style outlets. If you’ve ever rebuilt the latch valve of one of these outlets and noticed that you fixed the leak but created a flow problem (low or no flow) the reason is because of the dust cap used by Amico and Beacon Medaes.
At first glance they appear to be identical, but upon further inspection you will notice subtle differences in each one. Amico has two different styles that come in their standard repair kit, a white cap and a gray cap. The gray cap can be put aside because we are talking specifically about Ohmeda/Medaes Diamond style quick connect outlets. The gray dust cap is specifically for Chemetron (Allied Healthcare) style vacuum inlets.
In the picture below you will note a couple of key differences. The front of the Beacon Medaes dust cap has three lines that meet in the middle to form a triangle. The Amico dust cap is flat with no texture. If you look at the back you will notice another key difference and this is what can cause flow issues. The Amico has a raised portion on the inside front of the dust cap, but the raised portion is solid. The Beacon Medaes dust cap also has a raised portion but it is hollow and has a hole in the middle, this allows the brass poppet to seat slight further within the barrel than on the Amico latch valve. That is why mixing the dust caps can cause no flow issues when Amico dust caps are used on Beacon Medaes outlets.
The moral of the story is be sure to keep your outlet parts segregated and use the appropriate manufacturer repair parts for each individual outlet or inlet.