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- Posts: 11
- Joined: Fri Jul 01, 2022 5:22 pm
MichaelVW wrote:
What is it about the weldment that you think might be broken? (Sorry if I missed it in one of the older posts). Did you take the collector apart like in the link ConsumerProductsGuy shared?
I know you mentioned being reluctant to, but honestly - just don't throw it against the wall. They're pretty decently sized metal and teflon pieces, nothing super delicate imo. I'd be way more comfortable letting someone new to the instrument do that part than having them install a new weldment.
No, I did not take the collector apart. The opening of the weldment (at the bottom) has a hole that is supposed to allow a capillary column to pass through, but I think someone had previously tightened something too tight and caused that hole to shrink in size. It appears as though a ferrule got jammed in there and mushroomed the surrounding metal parts to make it smaller. A paper clip does not pass through as it should according to agilent's site. The collector isn't the issue as the issue is in the injections not getting to the jet. I brought it to the machinery department and we tried hammering it out (thinking there was a ferrule stuck in there) but ended up bending every small tool we had (even with tubing support). We also tried drilling it from the bottom, but it just melted and damaged the drill bit.
I am ordering a new one from Restek. The steps to remove/install the weldment really are not that complicated at all (I followed a manual provided by Agilent). I just feel there is really no other option besides getting a new weldment to alleviate the problem. I would like to point out though that the same part is like $1,600 on Agilent's website while Restek is only $600. That is a huge price difference. I called Restek to ask why this would be the case or why I should go with one or the other and the assured me that I could return the part if it didn't work and that It would be fully compatible with the 6890 fid gc.