Supercritical fluid gas chromatograph

[roostorf]

I'm sorry I keep pestering everyone with newbie questions, but I am really trying to ask as little as possible and doing as much research as I can before I do to try to find out on my own, but I am finding very little info on this.
So I'm trying to get an hp5890 with FID setup and I know its what everyone says but I am on a budget, and this Chemstation software that controls the HP5890 is EXPENSIVE.
Now I am looking at a 5890 that seems to have everything I need and is in my price range and even includes a chemstation CD, except is is configured for supercritical fluid gas chromatography and I dont have any need for that. Plus the description says "G1205A pump does not power on. It also appears to be missing parts". coWhat I am wondering is if that even matters and if I can add a split/splitless injector to this machine, and just use it for normal gc purposes?
Also this machine wouldnt look so appealing but it comes with chemstation and the cheapest I can find chemstation software is over $700. Now I read that I can maybe use Peaksimple with an HP5890 but there is also very little info on that. Is there a workaround to the whole chemstation being so extremely expensive? especially since I'm not even planning on using the thing for commercial purposes, like maybe going linux or some freeware Gas Chromatograph software out there? I read about some open source program out there but people said it cant control a 5890, does that just mean I'd have to use the buttons or is that have its own problems.

I guess my questions here are really can this supercritical fluid gc be used or modified for regular GC applications? and is there a workaround for Chemstation?

i can provide the link to the chromatograph but am also kinda worried someone else might buy it, and I can try provide more info if you need it.

Thank you so much, everyone has been very helpful

[Johnny Rod]

Supercritical would be liquid chromatography. Could you just use an integrator? Does it come with the necessary interfaces for PC already (GPIB/whatever)? Re. the split/splitless inlet, if it only has packed then you can use mageabore (530um) capillaries in there, lower resolution etc. than narrower ones but maybe good enough for what you want to do and very easy by comparison.

[michaelbarnes42]

Do you absolutly need chemstation to run a 5890, I thought those older ones could just be hooked up to a printer and you can print your chromatograms straight from the GC.


The only GC I have a 7890 GC with TCD and FID, 7697A Headspace autosampler and G4513A liquid Autosampler.

But I run my GC using Empower.

[roostorf]

from what I can tell in the picture is that it doesn't even have an injector, or at least a manual one, the top cover looks like it is missing so It might have been used with an auto sampler. I'm just gonna post the link so you can see for yourself, it looks like there are several alternatives to chemstation anyways so if someone else buys it I'll figure something else out. I dont think I need chemstation, but I would like to be able to hook up to a computer so I can keep everything neatly filed and organized, and I would also like to quantify my information accurately and am not sure I can do that as easily from a print out. I figured if I was just gonna print a read out I'd get a cheap old gow mac for under $300 anyways.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-5890A-5890-S ... 1015112948

all I want to do is medical marijuana thc analysis and possibly terpenes as well. How would i go about making that work, or is there something else someone would reccomend?

[skunked_once]

Do you absolutly need chemstation to run a 5890, I thought those older ones could just be hooked up to a printer and you can print your chromatograms straight from the GC.

If you can find an inexpensive 5890 you can operate it from the GC panel and collect chromatograms with an HP 3390 or HP 3395/6 integrator. Be sure to get the proper connecting cables. You don't need the Chemstation program.

I would not get the SFC GC. It has been reconfigured for a separate purpose and it would be a pain in the posterior region to get it set up for what you want to do.

Good luck with your project and don't be afraid to continue asking for help

[michaelbarnes42]

If you are looking for cheap.

What about these 2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-5890-2-GAS-C ... 19d48daa1c

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-HP-3390 ... 0234075739

[roostorf]

I just might get those in the next day or two, the GC seems like a great deal. I dont know anything about using an autosampler but looks like there is normal injection ports as well. So with this integrator how will I determine percentages, or will I have to calculate that myself from the results it gives me. I have read several procedures ones with external reference standards and calibration curves and I have also read procedures on internal reference standards as well. This is one of those things where the more I learn about it the more I am finding out there is to learn, and just when I think I could maybe figure out how to determine the values based on external refernece standards and calibration curves, I find there might be another way I'll have to do things. I know there are a lot of ways to do things, I am hoping to find a cheap one that works for me. Thanks so much the suggestions so far are great.

EDIT: Found a few old manuals, those integrators actually seem pretty cool, almost simpler than the software in a lot of ways and since it was before the internet those manuals provide quite a bit of info since they knew that was their one shot at telling you how to use the thing.

[Johnny Rod]

You can just take the peak areas and use a simple single point linear calibration model as you say; adding an internal standard into this is simple enough, you just divide your analyte peak area by the internal std area in that injection instead of using the analyte area as is, then plot your calibration. Some integrators can store data to reprocess if you alter the integration paramaters, some will do calcs for you as well. You could always use one to get you started and add a PC later when you have the funds and more time on your hands.

[medinj01]

[quote="michaelbarnes42"]Do you absolutly need chemstation to run a 5890, I thought those older ones could just be hooked up to a printer and you can print your chromatograms straight from the GC.


The only GC I have a 7890 GC with TCD and FID, 7697A Headspace autosampler and G4513A liquid Autosampler.

But I run my GC using Empower.
We have a GC 7890B with G4513A injector. We can set up the GC if we use a manual injector like headspace, but when with use the injector G4513A the Empower 3 CDS bring a message "failed".

[Peter Apps]

You do not need Chemstation (or any other software) to run an HP 5890 - you use the buttons and knobs on the front. Save more money by not using an autosampler. The old HP integrators would give you peak areas (which is all you need), but I think that you will struggle to find the thermal paper, and any integrators on offer second hand might have dead thermal heads. Peak Simple is fine for capturing data, you will need the AD converter box to go with the software.

Peter