134 Maintaining Your GC
7 Maintaining the COC Inlet
To Clean the COC Inlet
1 Gather the following:
• 1/4-inch and 5/16-inch wrenches
• Cleansing bath
• Aqueous detergent
• Distilled water
• Methanol
• Compressed, filtered, dry air or nitrogen
• Lint-free gloves
2 Load the inlet maintenance method and wait for the GC to
become ready.
3 Remove the column.
4 Remove the septum nut or cooling tower and then remove the
septum.
5 Remove the existing insert from the inlet by gently pushing it
out from below with a wire or piece of column. Store the
insert for possible later use.
WARNING
Be careful! The oven and/or inlet may be hot enough to cause
burns. If either is hot, wear heat-resistant gloves to protect your
hands.
WARNING
Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes from flying particles
while handling, cutting, or installing glass or fused silica capillary
columns. Use care in handling these columns to prevent puncture
wounds.
CAUTION
Wear clean, lint-free gloves to prevent contamination of parts with
dirt and skin oils.