Chromatography Forum

I know there are a few threads comparing instruments already, so please bear with me. I've been tasked with finding a GCMS for EPA 524 testing and could use some advice.

We have Thermo ICs and Shimadzu LCs and GC FIDs currently.

Can anyone comment on the advantages, or disadvantages of for each system? I've been happy with both Thermo and Shimadzu so far, but know Agilent is probably the current standard for GCMS. Recommendations for which model is suggested would be greatly appreciated too. This will be our first GCMS so I'd like to make a wise decision.

Thanks!

I'm in the process of setting up my Agilent 6890N/5973N for 524. I toured the local water utility and they have the Shimadzu. They pointed out that one of the co-authors of 524.3 works for Shimadzu and that it makes the method very flexible. I won't have a real opinion until I succeed with mine.

These days for single stage MS instruments the hardware between vendors is much of a muchness.

The things that matter for me is the tech support (is it local?) and the software driving the system makes the difference.

Haven't had a lot to do with Thermo gear for quite a while (liked Chromeleon when I use it about ten years ago though) and have mainly Shimadzu and Agilent systems.

Find Agilent hardware less complicated to clean and maintain but *really* loathe ChemStation with a passion and find Mass Hunter not that much better. Slow, buggy and with a file structure that dates from the 1990s.

Here (in Brisbane Australia) we have local techs and the GC-Solutions software is straight forward and easy to use (haven't set up Insight yet). Significantly cheaper as well.

No brainer for me.

Have you considered SCION Instruments?

SCION designs and develops their own instruments building on their history of Varian and Bruker.

They do custom analyzers as well as pre-configured GC-MS systems.

Their single quad MS has been ergonomically designed so needs minimal maintainance.

https://scioninstruments.com/solutions/