Agilent Technologies 7890A User manual

Agilent Technologies
Agilent 7890A
Gas Chromatograph
Operating Guide

Notices
© Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2007-2010
No part of this manual may be reproduced
in any form or by any means (including
electronic storage and retrieval or transla-
tion into a foreign language) without prior
agreement and written consent from Agi-
lent Technologies, Inc. as governed by
United States and international copyright
laws.
Manual Part Number
G3430-90011
Edition
Third edition, June 2010
Second edition, September 2008
First edition, March 2007
Printed in USA or China
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
2850 Centerville Road
Wilmington, DE 19808-1610 USA
Agilent Technologies, Inc.
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Warranty
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ject to being changed, without notice,
in future editions. Further, to the max-
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Safety Notices
CAUTION
A CAUTION notice denotes a hazard. It
calls attention to an operating
procedure, practice, or the like that, if
not correctly performed or adhered to,
could result in damage to the product
or loss of important data. Do not
proceed beyond a CAUTION notice
until the indicated conditions are fully
understood and met.
WARNING
A WARNING notice denotes a hazard.
It calls attention to an operating
procedure, practice, or the like that, if
not correctly performed or adhered to,
could result in personal injury or
death. Do not proceed beyond a
WARNING notice until the indicated
conditions are fully understood and
met.

Operating Guide 3
Contents
1 Introduction
Where to Find Information 8
Online User Documentation 8
Chromatography Using a GC 10
The Front View of the Agilent 7890A GC 11
The Back View of the Agilent 7890A GC 11
The Inlets 12
The GC Column and Oven 15
Capillary Flow Technology 16
Detectors 17
The Operating Panel 18
The display 18
Status lights 19
Beeping instrument 19
Blinking setpoint 20
The keypad 21
2 Operating Basics
Overview 24
Instrument Control 25
Correcting Problems 26
To Start Up the GC 27
To Shut Down the GC for Less Than a Week 28
To Shut Down the GC for More Than a Week 29
3 Running a Method or a Sequence from the Keypad
Loading, Storing, and Running Methods from the Keypad 32
To load a method 32
To store a method 32
To manually inject a sample with a syringe and start a run 32
To run a method to process a single ALS sample 32
To abort a method 33
Loading, Storing, and Running Sequences from the Keypad 34
To load a sequence 34
To store a sequence 34

4Operating Guide
To start running a sequence 34
To pause a running sequence 35
To resume a paused sequence 35
To stop a running sequence 35
To resume a stopped sequence 35
Aborting a sequence 35
To resume an aborted sequence 36
4 Keypad Operation
The Run Keys 38
The Service Mode Key 38
The GC Component Keys 39
The Status Key 40
The Info Key 41
The General Data Entry Keys 42
The Supporting Keys 43
Method Storage and Automation Keys 44
Keypad Functionality When the GC Is Controlled by an Agilent Data
System 45
About GC Status 46
Status Board 46
Alert tones 46
Error conditions 47
Blinking setpoint 47
About Logs 48
Maintenance log 48
5 Operating the 7693A Automatic Sampler
Placing Vials in the 7693A ALS 50
Placing vials in the sample tray 51
Placing vials in the turret (no sample tray) 52
Placing vials for sandwich injections 52
To Park the Injector 54
To Install a Syringe on the 7693A ALS 55
To Remove the Syringe on the 7693A ALS 58
To Configure Solvent/Waste Vials 59
7693A ALS Prerun Checklist 60

Operating Guide 5
To Move the 7693A ALS to the Other GC Inlet 61
Check your work 62
Impact on your data system 62
To Adapt the 7693A ALS for the COC Inlet 63
6 Operating the 7683 Automatic Sampler
7683 ALS Turret Types 66
To Change the 7683 ALS Turret 67
To Move the 7683 ALS to the Other GC Inlet 69
To Park the Injector 71
To Install a Syringe on the 7683 ALS 72
To Remove the Syringe on the 7683 ALS 74
To Configure Solvent/Waste Vials 75
To Load Vials in the 7683 ALS Turret 77
To Load Vials in the 7683 ALS Sampler Tray 77
7683 ALS Prerun Checklist 78
To Adapt the 7683 ALS for the COC Inlet 79
To Install a 200-µm Column With the COC Inlet 80
To Manually Inject Onto a 200-µm Column With the COC Inlet 80
7 About Methods, Sequences, and Data Analysis
What Is a Method? 82
What Is Saved in a Method? 82
What Happens When You Load a Method? 83
What Is a Sequence? 83
Automating Data Analysis, Method Development, and Sequence
Development 83

6Operating Guide

7
Agilent 7890A Gas Chromatograph
Operating Guide
Agilent Technologies
1
Introduction
Where to Find Information 8
Chromatography Using a GC 10
The Front View of the Agilent 7890A GC 11
The Back View of the Agilent 7890A GC 11
The Inlets 12
The GC Column and Oven 15
Capillary Flow Technology 16
Detectors 17
The Operating Panel 18
This document provides an overview of the individual
components that make up the Agilent 7890A Gas
Chromatograph (GC).

8Operating Guide
1Introduction
Where to Find Information
In addition to this document, Agilent provides several
learning products that document how to install, operate,
maintain, and troubleshoot the Agilent 7890A GC.
Before operating your GC, be sure to read the safety and
regulatory information included on the Agilent GC and
GC/MS Hardware User Information & Utilities DVD. The
most common safety hazards when working on the GC are:
•Burns caused by touching heated areas on or in the GC
•Release of pressurized gas containing hazardous chemical
compounds caused by opening inlets
•Glass cuts or puncture wounds caused by sharp capillary
column ends
•Use of hydrogen as a GC carrier gas
Online User Documentation
Now your Agilent instrument documentation is in one place,
at your fingertips.
The Agilent GC and GC/MS Hardware User Information &
Utilities DVD that ships with your instrument provides an
extensive collection of online help, videos, and books for
current Agilent gas chromatographs, mass selective detectors,
and GC samplers. Included are localized versions of the
information you need most, such as:
•Getting Familiar documentation
•Safety and Regulatory guide
•Site Preparation information
•Installation information

Introduction 1
Operating Guide 9
•Operating guides
•Maintenance information
•Troubleshooting details

10 Operating Guide
1Introduction
Chromatography Using a GC
Chromatography is the separation of a mixture of
compounds into individual components.
There are three major steps involved with separating and
identifying components of a mixture using a GC. They are:
1Injecting a sample into the GC. (This takes place at the
inlet.)
2Separating the sample into individual components. (This
takes place inside the column in the oven.)
3Detecting what compounds were in the sample. (This is
done in the detector.)
During this process, status messages from the Agilent 7890A
GC are displayed, and user changes to parameter settings
can be made through the operating panel.
Each part of this process is described in brief on the
following pages of this document. Refer to the Advanced
User Guide for more details.
Inlet
Oven
Detector
Operating panel