5
Routine and Preventive Maintenance
Maintaining the ESI Probe
56
Surveyor MSQ Plus Hardware Manual
Thermo Scientific
Maintaining the ESI Probe
Flushing the probe on a regular basis helps to prevent contamination and blockage of its
capillary. But even with the best preventive maintenance, occasionally, the capillary can
become blocked and the internal components can become contaminated.
A significant increase in LC pump backpressure (that is, up to 300 psi at a flow rate of
1 mL/min added to the total LC system backpressure) can be symptomatic of a blocked
capillary. Instability in the MS signal can be symptomatic of a partially blocked capillary.
Replace the capillary if it becomes blocked or partially blocked.
Table 4.
Maintenance Schedule
Frequency
Action
As needed
Clean the source if a drop in sensitivity is seen during analyses.
Flush the capillaries after running an analysis that required buffered
solvents. Refer to
Replace the capillary if it becomes clogged. Refer to
or
Clean the probe if it becomes contaminated. Refer to
.
Drain the oil from the oil mist filter and purge the oil in the forepump as
described in
“Draining the Oil Mist Filter and Purging the Pump Oil”
Monthly
Clean the probe heater. Refer to
“Maintaining the Probe Heater”
Check the oil level and color in the rotary pump and add oil if necessary.
Refer to
. Refer to the manual
that ships with the rotary pump for instructions on changing the oil.
3 to 6 months
Replace the rotary pump oil after 3000 hours of operation. Refer to the
manual that ships with the pump.
> 6 months
Clean the RF/dc prefilter. Refer to
“Cleaning the RF/dc Prefilter”
CAUTION
Wait for the source block and the probe heater assembly to cool before you
remove the ESI probe.
