Looking for opinions on HP 1050 HPLC

[dlntx9]

We are looking into purchasing a refurbished HP 1050 HPLC. I do not have any experience with this instrument and wanted to know what experience others on this forum have had with it. We are undecided if we will go with the VWD or the DAD. We will be primarily using the instrument to profile terpenes in hops.

System Includes:
Hewlett Packard Column Compartment w/ Solvent Tray (Model 79856A)
Hewlett Packard Degasser (Model G1303A)
Hewlett Packard Variable Wavelength Detector (Model 79853C)
Hewlett Packard Autosampler (Model 79855A)
Hewlett Packard Quaternary Pump (Model 79852A)
• other HPLC module combinations available (100-position Autosampler, DAD, etc. *PRICES MAY VARY)
New Computer with Windows XP Professional Operating System
Agilent G2170 Chemstation Software w/ LAN Communication
New 20" LCD Computer Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse

[dhobbs]

My only caution about getting a system of that vintage would be limited availability of repair parts. While my group still offers services for 1050's, we no longer cover them under service contracts for that reason. Does the refurbished system come with a warranty?

[dlntx9]

The system comes with a 6 month warranty. The availability of parts is a concern of ours. Do you know if the consumables for the 1050 are relatively easy to come by?

[dhobbs]

You should be able to find standard preventive maintenance parts (seals, etc) fairly easily, but parts such as valves or electrical components might be harder to find used and impossible to find new.

[KM-USA]

I love the 1050 systems ! I've been using them since the days when they came with integrators. The first one we got that had Chemstation (A.03) I had to call Hewlett-Packard three times to learn how to set up for a single page Sequence Summary Report. Even when computerized, I like the 1050 systems best because the keyboard in the front is so useful.

Stuff like pump seals are shared with 1100 and 1200 systems. Unfortunately, we only have have two 1050 systems still in operation, the units share one computer and are A.10. And we have spare 1050 modules too, plus two boxes of spare parts I've saved from units that we traded in to Agilent for newer systems.

The manager likes Open Lab and network Chemstation for GxP electronic data security, so that rules out 1050 systems for that.