Chromatography Forum

I'm changing the pump seals on an Agilent 1100 system. The recommended wear in procedure requires some adapters and restriction capillaries. Is this all necessary or can I just pull the isopropanol through the system like any other solvent?

Yes , you can simply pull IPA to your pump , and pump it through a capillary .
Do not connect the capillary output anywhere , put a beaker under it.

Inrease the flow until you reach around 350 bar pressure , and pump 15 minutes.

If you used buffers , wash your system with water ,before pumping IPA.

Basically, just run the Pump Pressure Test.

Simplest way to get the pump ready is to fill a beaker with HPLC grade IPA. Place the 2 or 4 solvent pickup filters in it. Flush all Channels with pure DEGASSED IPA (either from your binary or quat pump). Make sure you take into account the channel volume of your degasser module for EACH line (either 1 ml or 12 mls, plus the volume inside each lp line too). Flush them all out, one at a time (not alternating) until each one is fully purged 100%. Next, select one channel, open the prime-purge valve and flush that channel, first at 5 ml/min to waste, then ramp down to 1 ml/min (a few minutes). You should get a steady flow out the waste port. Connect up a standards short stainless line to the prime-purge outlet port (e.g. 0.17 mm ID x 400 mm line). Point the line into a small glass beaker. While running at 1.00 ml/min, close the prime-purge valve and confirm the liquid is now emptying into the glass beaker. A steady flow should be observed and back pressure will probably be ~ 12 bars or so. This will confirm that the pump head is purged and ready for testing (seal break-in). Set flow to 0 ml/min, remove the short stainless line from the outlet port and replace with a SS plug fitting. Run the High Pressure Test. That will bring the system to max pressure (400 bars in your case) and hold it there for a few minutes while the pressure drop is monitored. This process is enough to break in the seals and confirm the system is pressure tight for use.

I think , the recommended 15 minutes run serves to polish the inner surfaces of the seal , contacting pistons , during back-forth movement under high pressure.

Momentary high pressure does not make the same effect.

Completely unnecessary in Agilent brand LC pumps using the Teflon/Carbon piston seals and floating piston design. New factory seals will conform to the pistons once initially run and the the leakage and pressure tests will confirm it. No real break is needed with this design. The std 400 bar seals are actually rated for and used in the 600 bar max systems. They all work fine.