Chromatography Forum

Hello,
I am in the market for an RI detector. I know that the quality can vary greatly by manufacturer/model. Does anyone have any strong feelings? favorites?
Thanks!
Lisa

Lisa,
My old lab was doing Ethanol Fermentation Samples... I was pretty happy with our setup:

Waters components: In-line Degasser, 1515 Pump, 717+ Auto sampler, 2414 RI Detector
Column IC-Pak Ion Exchange 7.8 x 150 with a Shodex SH-G Guard Column
Mobile phase: 0.5 mM H2SO4

Only problem I had were due to operator errors. Once the column oven was turned off while I was away. When I came back the Lactic Acid Peak and the Glycerol Peak were merging at room temp. Also, I had a problem with variation from the mobile we mixed ourselves. Too much variation between techs. If you are doing ion-exchange I totally recomend getting the mobile pre-mixed. We finally were able to find .001N H2SO4 from Midland Scientific. Worked much better, and it wasn't that expensive.

Good Luck!

Dear lcrandall:
I would suggest you explore the Jasco brand: JASCO Model RI-2031 RI detector (http://www.jascoinc.com/products/ch_detect7.html).
This company has made the OEM instrument for Waters and others, including the RI detector. Jasco now wants to market its products under Jasco brand as a low-cost alternative.

We have a Shimadzu RID, and it still works well after 6 years. Main complaint: not sensitive enough for some. It is another low-cost option.

What class of samples you have: pharma/food/beverage/cosmetic ?

Disclaimer: I don't work for Jasco; don't work in sales; and have not used a Jasco RID.