94 Maintaining Your GC
6 Maintaining the Purged Packed Inlet
To Install a Packed Glass Column
1 Gather the following:
• 9/16- inch wrench
• Two 1/4- inch brass nuts (See “Consumables and Parts
for the Purged Packed Inlet” on page 68.)
• Two 1/4- inch Vespel/graphite ferrules
• Lint- free gloves
2 Load the GC maintenance method and wait for the GC to
become ready.
3 Assemble a brass nut and Vespel/graphite ferrule on each
end of the column.
Glass columns must be simultaneously inserted into the
inlet and detector and installed parallel to the oven door.
When conditioning the column, do not attach the column
to the detector.
4 If conditioning the column, insert the column into the
purged packed inlet until it bottoms. Withdraw the
column 1 to 2 mm. Finger- tighten the inlet column nut.
(See “To Condition a Packed Column” on page 97.)
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.
Overtightening the column nut or forcing it to bottom in either the
inlet or detector may shatter the column.