by
HbJ » Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:30 am
I know DANI quite well and can tell you that the Master GC is a very fine piece of equipment.
Their detectors are generally excellent (I'm running five 86.10 with FIDs identical to those in the Master and they don't give me any problems), the main unit is dependable, their injectors are at least on par with other offerings and all parts are generally of high quality.
Just an example: The oven motors of Varian GCs die all three years (cheap American junk) while the German motors of the DANI generally last decades. Furthermore the bearings of the Varian motors can't be changed readily (impossible actually) while it's a matter of 30 minutes for the DANI motor.
On the down side you won't get fancy accessories like a ceramic or glas flame tip for the FID (can come in handy at time) and no special treated liners (their treatment is good but no match for advanced developments like the Sky liners from Restek).
Also their touchscreen interface is prone to fail (touchscreens have a finite useful life, especially in rough environments like GC labs) which doesn't matter when you use data system control.
Furthermore I find the Master GC to be a somewhat cheap plastics box on the outside but that's just my taste.
From my experiences with several GC brands (Carlo Erba/FISONS/Thermo Scientific, HP/Agilent, Varian/Bruker) I'd go for the DANI anytime as they have the best service, excellent quality, competitive pricing and stellar service. You'll still get parts for 35 year old equipment (my 3800 is still running strong
).
I'd shy away from Thermo as their offerings are usually poorly engineered in detail and generally fragile (ask user Lusi about his Thermo GC e.g.). And there was a reason Carlo Erba was bought from Fisons and there was another reason why Fisons was bought from Thermo. I wouldn't say it was their stellar quality.
HP/Agilent has been arrogant at several occasions and tends to take units far too early out of service and their ChemStation is a fragile nightmare. Their quality is generally okay but nothing outstanding. I got hinted from an insider that Agilent uses much Chinese manufacturing which is sub-par compared with their earlier German factories.
Varian/Bruker is the most mixed bag really. Their FIDs are dream-like, their oven motors die like flies, their software is a dark nightmare from hell (data system wise as well as GC wise), the overall quality is dictated by what is cheaply available and not by what is best.
And Bruker itself is an epic fail. I'll provide proof when needed but beware: Mind boggling things await you.
I have my experiences from running a GC lab on my own, being my own service and repair man, dwelling into the deepest depths of all of my machinery. I've seen every resistor, capacitor, IC, TRIAC etc. so I know where the manufacturers are saving a dime while compromising quality.
Good luck with your choice!
