How to Activate the Emergency Bypass on Milli-Q^® CLX Water Systems

The Emergency Bypass (E-Bypass) feature ensures continuous water supply to clinical analyzers in the event that your Milli-Q^® CLX water system is not operational. This backup procedure minimizes disruption to laboratory operations during external power failures or internal technical issues.

Section Overview

• When to Use Emergency Bypass
• Step-by-Step E-Bypass Activation Procedure
• Important Safety and Quality Considerations
• Monitoring Water Quality During Bypass

When to Use Emergency Bypass

Use the E-Bypass feature in these situations:

• External power failure affecting the water purification system
• Internal technical problems requiring system maintenance or repair
• Any scenario where the water system cannot operate but analyzers need water

Step-by-Step E-Bypass Activation Procedure

Watch the video for a demonstration of how to perform the Emergency Bypass Procedure and ensure continuous water supply in case of downtime.

Important Safety and Quality Considerations

• Use of the emergency bypass is temporary. The procedure should only be used until the system can be made functional again.
• Install a new Q-Gard^® polishing cartridge before activating the emergency bypass. If your system is equipped with an Emergency Bypass Resistivity Indicator (optional accessory), the red light will notify you when to install a new cartridge (information below).
• Regularly replace the Q-Gard^® cartridge during the procedure to maintain water quality.
• Keep extra Q-Gard^® cartridges on hand as emergency backup inventory.
• Critical: The replacement frequency of the Q-Gard^® pack varies according to your laboratory's feedwater quality:
  • Ask your Milli-Q^® service engineer for an estimate of this replacement timing.
  • Consider equipping your system with an Emergency Bypass Resistivity Indicator to be automatically alerted when resistivity drops (information below)
• While e-bypass is in use, it is not possible to view the resistivity or temperature of the product water.

By using the emergency bypass with a new Q-Gard^® polishing pack and feedwater conductivity of approximately 750 μS/cm, the system can deliver 100 L of product water at a maximum flow rate of 2 liters per minute (LPM).

Monitoring Water Quality During Bypass

Eliminate guesswork about cartridge replacement timing by equipping your water system with the Emergency Bypass Resistivity Indicator. This optional accessory provides real-time water quality monitoring during e-bypass operation.

How it works

• Green light = Good water quality (resistivity 5 MΩ.cm)
• Red light = Resistivity below threshold. Replace Q-Gard^® cartridge immediately

Set up requirements

• Must be plugged in before activating the emergency bypass
• Compatible with Milli-Q^® CLX 8Series water purification systems

Real-time monitoring lets the operator know when to change the Q-Gard^® polishing cartridge while the system is in e-bypass mode. It ensures your clinical laboratory maintains consistent water quality for accurate analyzer performance throughout the bypass procedure.