1
Site Preparation
How to prepare your laboratory for
installation and use of the GC.
Temperature and humidity ranges ...................................................................3
Ventilation requirements ...................................................................................3
Venting oven exhaust .................................................................................4
Venting toxic or noxious gases .................................................................4
Benchtop space requirements ..........................................................................4
Electrical requirements .....................................................................................8
Grounding ....................................................................................................8
Line voltage ..................................................................................................8
USA fast heating oven ..............................................................................10
Canadian installation ................................................................................10
Configuring the GC for an MSD ..............................................................11
Gas requirements .............................................................................................11
Gases for packed columns .......................................................................11
Gases for capillary columns ....................................................................12
Gas purity ...................................................................................................13
The gas plumbing .............................................................................................14
Supply tubing for carrier and detector gases ........................................16
Two-stage pressure regulators ................................................................16
Pressure regulator-gas supply tubing connections ...............................17
Traps ...........................................................................................................17
Cryogenic cooling requirements ....................................................................18
Choosing a coolant ...................................................................................19
Using carbon dioxide ................................................................................19
Using liquid nitrogen ................................................................................21
Supplying valve actuator air ...........................................................................22