88 Maintaining Your GC
5 Maintaining the Purged Packed Inlet
To Condition a Packed Column
1 Gather the following:
• Capillary adapter, column nut, and no-hole ferrule (for
FID and NPD), or 1/8-inch Swagelok cap (for TCD)
• Two 7/16-inch wrenches
• 1/4-inch open-end wrench
• Lint-free gloves
2 Load the GC maintenance method and wait for the GC to
become ready.
3 Install the proper liner in the inlet and attach the column.
(See “To Install a Packed Metal Column” on page 81.)
4 Cap the detector(s) fittings with the capillary adapter,
no-hole ferrule and column nut (FID and NPD) or
1/8-inch cap (TCD).
5 Enter a column flow as recommended by the packing
manufacturer or an appropriate flow as follows:
• 20 to 30 mL/min for 2-mm id glass or 1/8-inch od metal
columns
• 50 to 60 mL/min for 4-mm id glass or 1/4-inch od metal
columns
6 Raise the oven temperature slowly to the conditioning
temperature for the column. The conditioning temperature is
never higher than the maximum temperature limit for the
column; 30 °C less than the maximum is usually sufficient.
WARNING
Do not use hydrogen as the carrier for conditioning! It could vent
into the oven and present an explosion hazard.
WARNING
Be careful! The oven, inlet, and/or detector may be hot enough to
cause burns. If the oven, inlet, or detector is hot, wear
heat-resistant gloves to protect your hands.
CAUTION
Wear clean, lint-free gloves to prevent contamination of parts with
dirt and skin oils.
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