7 Maintaining the Packed Column Inlet
To Clean the Septum Seat in the Packed Column Inlet
Maintaining Your GC 101
To Clean the Septum Seat in the Packed Column
Inlet
1 Gather the following:
• Replacement septum. See “Consumables and Parts for the Packed Column Inlet” on
page 96.
• Septum nut wrench
• 0- or 00-grade steel wool (optional)
• Tweezers
• Compressed, filtered, dry air or nitrogen
• Ultrasonic cleaning bath
• Lint-free gloves
2 Manually set the inlet and oven temperature to < 40 °C, and wait for the inlet, oven, and
other parts you might come into contact with inside the oven, to cool before continuing.
Alternately, place the GC in maintenance mode: Maintenance > Instrument > Perform
Maintenance > Maintenance Mode > Start Maintenance.
Be careful! The oven and/or inlet may be hot enough to cause burns. If the inlet is hot, wear
heat-resistant gloves to protect your hands.
3 Remove the septum retainer nut or Merlin cap.
4 Loosen the top insert weldment and remove.
Wear clean, lint-free gloves to prevent contamination of parts with dirt and skin oils.
5 Use tweezers to remove the septum or Merlin Microseal from the top insert weldment. Do
not gouge or scratch the interior of the septum head.
6 Scrub the residue from the top insert weldment and septum nut with a small piece of
rolled-up steel wool and tweezers. Ultrasonically clean the retainer nut and top insert
weldment.
7 Use compressed air or nitrogen to blow away the pieces of steel wool and septum.
8 Wearing gloves, inspect the O-ring and replace, if necessary. See “To Change the O-Ring
on the Packed Column Inlet” on page 104.
9 Install the top insert weldment and hand-tighten firmly.
10 Firmly press the new septum or Merlin Microseal into the fitting.
11 Install the septum retainer nut or Merlin cap and finger-tighten. Tighten the septum retainer
nut until the C-ring is about 1 mm above the nut.
Overtightening the septum nut can cause contamination.
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