Active Inlet valve Leaking

[mbicking]

Yes, you need a new AIV. Leaking from the middle of the part is a bad sign. Did this problem develop suddenly? It is very unusual for the AIV to fail like this. Were there any other "events" that could have caused damage?

[rnelson]

If there is flow coming out the waste line through the purge valve, you won't see any pressure increase. That could be a problem as well. I've replaced several of these over the years. If you've tightened the purge valve as tight as possible and are still seeing flow come out the waste line, the purge valve is bad.

[bmoritz]

Yes, you need a new AIV. Leaking from the middle of the part is a bad sign. Did this problem develop suddenly? It is very unusual for the AIV to fail like this. Were there any other "events" that could have caused damage?

Well I turned on the HPLC for the first time last Monday and everything worked beautifully. When I came in on Tuesday it all went south. I couldn't get the solvents to flow even though the pump was pumping. All the lines were primed and good to go, except that none of them were flowing. It made absolutely NO sense that 12 hours prior everything worked great. I began cleaning and tightening all the pump parts and nothing would work. Then I noticed the AIV leaking and that's when I came to the forum.

As for the pressure problem I should note that even when the purge valve is closed the pressure does not change. I've decided to order a new AIV and cartridge and hopefully I can get this thing working. I will keep posting until problem fixed. Thanks again everyone.

Ben M

[lcrandall]

Hi Ben
It's Lisa. Fancy meeting you here.
I just had the same problem on my donated Agilent 1100. It was fine, then I came in one day, and it had completely lost all pumping ability. The lines were primed just fine. I replaced the active inlet cartridge. That fixed it for about two weeks, til the same thing happened again. I replaced the active inlet valve and so far so good. Fingers crossed. I've talked with Agilent afterward and that's what they would have suggested as well. Luckily, I had another instrument to cannibalize from. Those things aren't cheap!
Lisa