Waters 996 - Chapter 3 Maintenance; Flow Cell Maintenance; Flushing the Flow Cell

Flow Cell Maintenance 33
3
3
Maintenance
This chapter covers maintenance of the Waters 996 Photodiode Array Detector flow cell,
lamp, and fuse.
Caution:
To avoid the possibility of electric shock, do not remove the 996 detector power
supply covers. The power supply does not contain user-serviceable components.
3.1 Flow Cell Maintenance
The flow cell requires maintenance when:
• The reference spectrum changes.
• The Lamp diagnostic (in the Millennium
32
PDA Diagnostics window) fails, and the
lamp status light is on (see Table 2-1
).
• The 996 detector causes high backpressure.
Note:
Conditions other than a dirty flow cell may cause decreased lamp intensity. For
more information, refer to Chapter 2,
Diagnostics and Calibration.
Flow cell maintenance consists of:
• Flushing the flow cell
• Removing the flow cell
• Cleaning the flow cell
• Installing the flow cell assembly
3.1.1 Flushing the Flow Cell
Required Materials
• HPLC grade water
• HPLC grade methanol
If the flow cell requires cleaning, the first cleaning method to try is flushing the flow cell
with solvent.