7 Maintaining the Packed Column Inlet
To Condition a Packed Column
Maintaining Your GC 117
To Condition a Packed Column
1 Gather the following:
• Capillary adapter, column nut, and no-hole ferrule (for FID), or 1/8-inch Swagelok cap
(for TCD)
• Two 7/16-inch wrenches
• 1/4-inch open-end wrench
• Lint-free gloves
Do not use hydrogen as the carrier for conditioning! It could vent into the oven and present an
explosion hazard.
2 Place GC in maintenance mode: Maintenance > Instrument > Perform Maintenance >
Maintenance Mode > Start Maintenance. Wait for the GC to become ready.
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.
Wear clean, lint-free gloves to prevent contamination of parts with dirt and skin oils.
3 Install the proper liner in the inlet and attach the column. See “To Install a Packed Metal
Column” on page 111.
4 Cap the detector(s) fittings with the capillary adapter, no-hole ferrule and column nut (FID)
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.
7 Continue conditioning overnight at the final temperature. Cool the oven to room
temperature with carrier flow on.
8 Attach the column to the detector and maintain established flow. See “To Install a Packed
Metal Column” on page 111.
9 Exit maintenance mode. Select Maintenance > Instrument > Perform Maintenance >
Maintenance Mode > Finished.
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