4 Maintaining Capillary Columns
To Condition a Capillary Column
34 Maintaining Your GC
To Condition a Capillary Column
This conditioning procedure provides generic instructions. Always follow the column
manufacturerās recommendations.
1 Gather the following:
⢠One 7/16-inch, and 1/4-inch wrenches
⢠No-hole ferrule. See āConsumables and Parts for Columnsā on page 30.
⢠Column nut
Do not use hydrogen as the carrier for conditioning! It could vent into the oven and present an
explosion hazard.
Be careful! The oven and all internal GC components may be hot enough to cause burns. If
the oven is hot, wear heat-resistant gloves to protect your hands.
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.
2 Manually set the inlet and oven temperature to < 40 °C, and wait for the inlet, oven, and all
other parts you might come into contact with inside the oven to cool before continuing.
3 Install the column into the inlet using new ferrules. If the column is already installed, skip
this step. An installed column can be conditioned while connected to a detector.
Perform the column installation procedure manually. Do not use the automated column
installation wizard.
⢠āTo Install a Capillary Column with the Split/Splitless Inletā
⢠āTo Install a Capillary Column with the Purged Packed Inletā