Front Inlet constant leak

Hi,

I recently cleaned a 7820 GC inlet and replaced all the replaceable parts. After starting the GC I realized that I have inlet leak. When I start the leak check total flow stays on ~3.4 while column flow is ~1.3. I checked all inlet parts, reopened and closed them, but still the flows remain the same. It doesn't even increase, let alone decrease.

Any help would be really appreciated!

Ehsan

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  • Do a leak down test on the gas supply. You need to have a shutoff valve in the carrier gas supply line immediately before the GC or you'll need to cap off the supply before the GC.

    Turn the Inlet, GC oven, and MS transferline to ambient temperature.

    Shut off the valve behind the GC

    Note the Tank regulator second stage pressure - like 60 psi.

    Shutoff the tank...and wait.  The time to wait depends on the amount of tubing and traps between the tank and the instrument and the size of any possible leak. I would suggest you wait at least ten minutes to 1/2 an hour. 

    Check the second stage pressure --- did it go down at all?  If it did - you need to find the leak in that system.  If it did not, a helium tank with only 20 to 30 ml/min of gas flowing out should last some months.....

  • I tested the leaks from tubing using Helium detector and there was none. But I will also try these steps this time to see if there's any leak.

    We have an empty and a full tank in the lab. When I was using N2 tanks for my other works I was suspecting that the company does not fill them with liquid. I suspect that it might be true about the Helium tanks. I'm looking for a scale in the department to see the weight difference between the full and empty tank.

    Thanks for the helps!

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