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I process a lot of dirty samples and my GC system sometimes gets stuck in stand-by mode even though I faithfully perform inlet maintenance twice a week. What’s wrong?

By Lindy Miller
Agilent GC and MS Consumables Product Manager

I think I know exactly why your GC gets stuck on stand-by or in the “not ready” mode after consistently running dirty samples for a number of months. But first let me ask you a simple question, “When you check and replace your septum, liner and o-ring during inlet maintenance, do you also take time to check and change your split vent trap?”

The split vent trap can be easily overlooked, but is critical since it collects sample and can get clogged.

If the answer is, “No,” and I think it probably is, then your split vent trap is most likely the source of your problem. The split vent trap is hard to see when you’re performing inlet maintenance and can therefore be easily overlooked. I call it the “Out of sight, out of mind, out of order syndrome.”

The split vent trap’s purpose is to collect – or trap – excess sample material that was not swept onto the column for analysis. Naturally, because it’s constantly collecting sample it gets dirty. That means it needs to be replaced on a regular basis, typically every six months, or it can get clogged.

What happens when the split vent trap gets clogged? It can act as a restrictor creating higher back pressure in your system and can cause your GC to get stuck in stand-by or not-ready mode… forcing you to request a service call.

You can avoid this problem quite simply. Just include changing the split vent trap in your bi-annual GC maintenance program. It’s easy to do… adds only a few minutes to your maintenance protocol… and avoids unnecessary downtime and service calls.

Keep in mind that you may need to replace your split vent trap more often if you:

• Typically work with samples that are ‘high boilers’
• Have a higher than average split rate
• Throughput a high rate of samples

If you’d like to know more about preventive maintenance for your GC, you can download the Agilent GC Maintenance Guide. Or order that new split vent trap now and avoid the trap of “out of sight, out of mind, out of order.”

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