MAXWELL UNIVERSAL WEC SLIDE

The worm egg counting (WEC) slide for all livestock

Why use the Maxwell Universal WEC SLIDE?

The Universal is the most-used WEC slide by professional worm egg count providers in Australia because of its large capacity. More faeces can be counted faster, achieving greater sensitivity more efficiently.
 
The Universal slide was invented and made by Harold Whitlock, of the CSIRO McMaster Laboratory, Australia. His son, John Whitlock, continued to make WEC slides until about 2022, when he retired and ceased manufacture.
 
The Maxwell Universal WEC Slide is the same design as the Whitlock Universal, but is made from acrylic instead of glass, making it cheaper and resistant to breakage.

Maxwell Universal WEC Slide features

• Precision laser-etched grids on the undersurface of the top (not printed, so the lines do not wear off)

• 4 chambers, each with grids of 0.5 ml volume and a total capacity of 2 ml per slide

• Slide dimensions are 76 mm x 33.5 mm x 6 mm (the same as the Whitlock version)

• Made from acrylic for less breakages and lower cost

McMaster slides versus Maxwell Universal Slides

“McMaster” slides sold elsewhere are an older superseded design of Whitlock’s that they stopped making in favour of the Universal slide, due to its benefits.

The “McMaster” slides (for sale from a variety of web sites) have two major drawbacks compared to the Maxwell Universal WEC Slide.

1. The McMasters have only 2 chambers, each with only 0.15 ml volume under each grid, compared to the Maxwell Universal with 4 chambers, each with 0.5 ml under each grid—so the McMasters have less than one third of the capacity under each grid and less than one sixth of the total capacity of a Maxwell Universal.  
The McMasters require more preparation time, more counting time and more cleanup time to count the same amount of faeces (and achieve the same sensitivity—the amount of faeces counted is important), unless the faecal mixture concentration is significantly increased, which can make the solution darker and harder to identify eggs.

2. Many McMasters have a printed grid that is susceptible to wear, rather than the long-lasting engraved grid on a Maxwell Universal WEC Slide.

INCLUDED

• Cleaning cloth (for outer surfaces)

• Cleaning brush (for inside the chamber) 

• Instructions for bulk counts

• Chart of common dilutions and multiplication factors

PRICE (all GST inclusive)

• 1–5 slides:

  • $99 each

  • $11 packaging & postage* total for up to 5 slides

• 6–12 slides:

  • $93.50 each (GST incl.)

  • $13.50 packaging & postage* total for 6-12 slides

• 13–24 slides:

  • $88 each (GST incl.)

  • $16 packaging & postage* total for up to 5 slides

  *Postage includes express post with tracking plus insurance for loss or damage while with Australia Post.

  Free delivery to Guyra or Armidale NSW (but I may not be in Armidale for up to 2 weeks).

  Payment by Direct Deposit only, no card payments.

TO ORDER

Please email me your

• first and last name

• postal address

• mobile phone number (for Auspost tracking texts)

• number of slides required

send to Deb Maxwell: wecslides@gmail.com

I will email you a Tax Invoice (this will include my phone number, which I don’t publish online)

Once your payment is cleared the slides will be posted.

Tags: Whitlock Universal McMaster worm egg count counts counting slide slides 4 four chamber chambers 0.5 ml half ml 0.5ml