Autoclave issues resolved!

The leakage problems with the autoclave have been resolved. After speaking with the technician about them, I have made a few key changes to the way I get it started. I now apply olive oil to the entire beveled edge of the unit where the lid makes contact with the base unit. That needs to be done every time the unit is used instead of every 5-8 times. Also, when I put the lid on and tighten the bolts, I make sure the lid is perfectly level, using two opposite bolts as before. If I will make sure the lid is level, the unit does not leak. That has significantly decreased the amount of time I have to sit with the unit.

I also tried another time-saving technique he told me about. Instead of exhausting at the beginning of the heat-up, I let the unit come to temperature and pressure, release the valve and let it exhaust for 5 minutes, then close the valve and let it build to pressure again for sterilization. That worked well too.