Aftermarket parts vendor - CTS OK?

[juddc]

Hi Folks -

I'm in the process of recommissioning an older Waters HPLC (modular) system and am curious as to whether any of you have ever dealt with CTS and what your experiences were. Their prices seem to be reasonable and their website also seems to be relatively well organized. Is the quality of their parts up to par? The instruments that they will be going into are have been decommissioned for several years, but had previously been under service contract for their entire lives and were run with care. I'd like to PM them and get them going again. (PS, A quick check of the 600e showed a flow rate of 0.978 mL/min with a 20 psi ripple @ 900 psi on seals last replaced in June of 2008).

Thanks in advance for any input.

Cheers!

CJ

[skunked_once]

I have dealt with them in the past and was very satisfied with their service and products.

[prepcolumn]

I have dealt with them in the past and was very satisfied with their service and products.

Shunked_once what kind of products did you use..i'm also planning to purchase waters maintatance kits from CTS. I have some doubts especially about the seals?

[skunked_once]

Shunked_once what kind of products did you use..i'm also planning to purchase waters maintatance kits from CTS. I have some doubts especially about the seals?

It was the usual maintenance items, seals, check valves, pistons. That was several years ago so I don't have more specific information in the old memory banks. In any case, I had no problems with their service or quality.

The usual disclaimers apply: no kickbacks, not an official endorsement by my employer, etc.

[prepcolumn]

Shunked_once what kind of products did you use..i'm also planning to purchase waters maintatance kits from CTS. I have some doubts especially about the seals?

It was the usual maintenance items, seals, check valves, pistons. That was several years ago so I don't have more specific information in the old memory banks. In any case, I had no problems with their service or quality.

The usual disclaimers apply: no kickbacks, not an official endorsement by my employer, etc.

Thanks skunked_once..

[juddc]

Folks,

I've finally gotten around to refurbishing our old Waters 590 (ca 1982) pump with parts from CTS analytical and with the exception of the tubing for the check valves, I'm quite pleased with the quality of the parts. I've converted the pump to use cartridge type check valves, which required new check valve housings, installed new piston seals, and the old pump now runs perfectly. Set at 1.00 ml/min with ~950 psi backpressure, I measured the flow rate at 0.994 mL/min. The issue with the tubing for the check valives was not so much the quality of the materials, but the fact that they did not actually fit well and required some careful bending to be made to fit well and look respectable. With that said, once the parts were installed, they worked quite well. Cost savings were relatively significant. From the manufacturer, these parts cost $1361.88. I paid $663.75, which is a savings of nearly $700. If anyone's interested, I'll let you know how well the parts hold up.

Christopher Judd