The Z326-100H-B15 is a direct-fit bucket dimensioned for 3 × 15 mL conical tubes — sized for the Hermle Z326-100H-AC swing-out rotor body on the Z327 / Z327-K chassis, sold as a 2-pack. Distinct from the standard sealed-bucket-plus-insert approach (Z326-100H-BUK + Z326-100H-A15 insert combination), the B15 bucket is purpose-built for 15 mL conical workflows — the bucket geometry directly accepts 3 × 15 mL conical tubes without an additional insert. The 4-bucket rotor configuration takes 2 packs (4 B15 buckets) for 12 × 15 mL conical tubes per cycle.
Key Specifications
| SKU | Z326-100H-B15 |
| Type | Direct-fit bucket — 3 × 15 mL conical |
| Pack quantity | 2 buckets per SKU (full 4-bucket configuration takes 2 units = 4 buckets) |
| Per-bucket capacity | 3 × 15 mL conical tubes |
| Per-cycle throughput (full configuration) | 12 × 15 mL conical per cycle |
| Tube format | 15 mL conical Falcon-style (17 mm OD, 120 mm length) |
| Compatible rotor body | Z326-100H-AC (4-place swing-out rotor body without buckets) |
| Compatible chassis (assembled) | Z327, Z327-K (refrigerated), and -E voltage variants |
| Max. operating speed (with buckets + tubes) | Per Z326-100H-AC spec — 5,000 rpm at 4,080 × g maximum |
| Max. radius | 14.6 cm |
| Temperature at max speed (Z327-K refrigerated) | 2 °C |
| Geometry | Swing-out (0–90°) — flat sediment surface |
| Bucket lid | Per brochure footnote — direct-fit B-variants noted "* only without bucket lid" — non-sealable mode |
| List price | $465 (2-pack) |
Direct-Fit Bucket vs Bucket-Plus-Insert — Configuration Choice
The Z326-100H rotor system supports two procurement paths for 15 mL conical workflows on the Z327 / Z327-K chassis:
| Configuration | Per cycle | Mode | Cost path |
| Z326-100H-B15 (this SKU) — direct-fit bucket | 12 × 15 mL conical | Non-sealable | One SKU per bucket pair |
| Z326-100H-BUK + Z326-100H-A15 insert | 8 × 15 mL conical | Non-sealable (A15 is non-sealable insert) | Two SKUs per bucket pair (bucket + insert) |
| Z326-100H-BUK + Z326-100H-LID + Z326-100H-A15S insert | 4 × 15 mL conical | Sealable for BSL-2 + biosafety | Three SKUs (bucket + lid + sealable insert) |
Pick the B15 when higher per-cycle throughput matters (12 vs 8 vs 4 tubes) and biosafety containment is not a workflow driver. Pick the BUK + A15S + LID when biosafety containment matters and per-cycle throughput is secondary.
Compatibility & When to Order This SKU
Bucket pairing — Z326-100H-AC swing-out rotor body only. Order this SKU when:
- Commissioning a Z326-100H-AC for high-throughput 15 mL conical workflow — order 2 units for full 4-bucket configuration (12 tubes/cycle).
- Adding higher-throughput 15 mL conical capability to an existing Z327 / Z327-K install that currently uses other bucket / insert configurations.
- Replacement buckets if a current set is damaged or worn.
Application Profile
Cold-chain higher-throughput 15 mL conical clinical-research prep — patient sample fractionation, aliquot prep, freeze-storage workflows at 12 tubes per cycle on the refrigerated chassis (vs the 8-tube throughput of the bucket+insert approach).
Cell-culture pellet recovery in 15 mL — pelleting non-adherent cells from suspension batches at higher per-cycle throughput.
Density-gradient prep in 15 mL — Ficoll, Percoll, sucrose-gradient prep at 12 parallel preps per cycle on a refrigerated swing-out chassis.
Bench-scale protein prep at cold-chain — TCA, ammonium-sulfate, organic-precipitation in 15 mL conical at higher parallel throughput.
Mid-throughput institutional clinical-research workflows — when the 8-tube bucket+insert configuration becomes a throughput bottleneck and biosafety containment is not the workflow driver, the B15 direct-fit bucket adds 50% per-cycle throughput on the same chassis.
Educational and graduate-level teaching workflows — molecular biology and clinical-tech curricula at 12-tube section sizes on a refrigerated chassis.
Ordering & Configuration
4-bucket symmetric loading. All 4 buckets must be installed for symmetric balance at 5,000 rpm.
Per-bucket symmetric loading. Within each bucket, the 3 conical tubes should be balanced — pair tubes by mass with the third position symmetric to the bucket's central axis.
Tube cap confirmation. All conical tubes must be securely capped before spinning at 5,000 rpm.
Z326-100H-B15 ships as 2 buckets. 15 mL conical tubes are operator-supplied (commodity Falcon / Corning / equivalent formats).
Required for operation:
- Z326-100H-AC rotor body (sold separately) or already in inventory
- For full 4-bucket configuration: order 2 units of this SKU
Confirm at quote: rotor-body pairing (Z326-100H-AC in inventory), chassis pairing (Z327 or Z327-K), workflow biosafety driver (B15 is non-sealable; biosafety workflows should use BUK + A15S + LID instead), tube format (15 mL conical Falcon-style), pack count (2 packs for full 4-bucket configuration), and lead time.
Warranty: 5-Year Hermle warranty (3 years full + 2 years drivetrain) on the buckets.
Z326-100H direct-fit bucket pair:
- Z326-100H-B15 (this product) — 3 × 15 mL conical direct-fit, 12 tubes/cycle
- Z326-100H-B50 — 2 × 50 mL conical direct-fit, 8 tubes/cycle
Pick the direct-fit bucket variants for higher non-sealable throughput; pick the BUK + insert + LID combination when biosafety containment is the workflow driver.
