Metrohm 945 Professional Detector Vario - Conductivity &... User manual

945 Professional Detector Vario
945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry
Manual
8.945.8003EN / 2014-06-23

Metrohm AG
CH-9100 Herisau
Switzerland
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
[email protected]
www.metrohm.com
945 Professional Detector Vario
945 Professional Detector Vario –
Conductivity & Amperometry
2.945.0030
Manual
8.945.8003EN / 2014-06-23 zst

Teachware
Metrohm AG
CH-9100 Herisau
[email protected]
This documentation is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Although all the information given in this documentation has been
checked with great care, errors cannot be entirely excluded. Should you
notice any mistakes please send us your comments using the address
given above.
Documentation in additional languages can be found on
http://documents.metrohm.com.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ Table of contents
945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ III
Table of contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Instrument description ......................................................... 1
1.2 Intended use ......................................................................... 2
1.3 Safety instructions ................................................................ 2
1.3.1 General notes on safety ........................................................... 2
1.3.2 Electrical safety ........................................................................ 2
1.3.3 Tubing and capillary connections ............................................. 3
1.3.4 Flammable solvents and chemicals ........................................... 4
1.3.5 Recycling and disposal ............................................................. 4
1.4 About the documentation ................................................... 4
1.4.1 Content and scope .................................................................. 4
1.4.2 Symbols and conventions ........................................................ 5
2 Overview of the instrument 6
2.1 Front ...................................................................................... 6
2.2 Rear ........................................................................................ 8
3 Installation 9
3.1 Base tray and bottle holder ................................................. 9
3.1.1 Basic information on base tray and bottle holder ..................... 9
3.1.2 Mounting base tray and bottle holder (optional) ...................... 9
3.2 Connecting the instrument to a computer ....................... 14
3.3 Connecting the instrument to the power supply ............. 14
3.4 Conductivity detector ......................................................... 15
3.4.1 Connecting the detector capillaries ........................................ 15
3.5 Amperometric detector ...................................................... 18
4 Start-up 19
4.1 Instrument test with dummy cell ...................................... 19
4.2 Testing the leak sensor ...................................................... 21
4.3 Testing the preheating capillary ....................................... 22
4.4 Testing the detector outlet capillary ................................ 23
4.5 Testing the measuring cell ................................................. 24
4.6 Deaerating the measuring cell .......................................... 26
4.7 Connecting the electrode cables ....................................... 27
4.8 Attaching the front cover .................................................. 29

Table of contents ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
IV ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030)
5 Operation and maintenance 30
5.1 General notes ...................................................................... 30
5.1.1 Care ...................................................................................... 30
5.1.2 Maintenance by Metrohm Service .......................................... 30
5.1.3 Operation .............................................................................. 30
5.1.4 Shutting down ...................................................................... 31
5.2 Conductivity detector ......................................................... 31
5.2.1 Maintenance ......................................................................... 31
5.2.2 Remedying blockage ............................................................. 31
5.3 Amperometric detector ...................................................... 32
5.3.1 Maintenance ......................................................................... 32
5.3.2 Preheating capillary maintenance ........................................... 32
5.4 Quality management and qualification with Metrohm .. 33
6 Troubleshooting 34
6.1 Problems with the hardware ............................................. 34
6.2 Problems with the baseline ............................................... 34
6.3 General remarks regarding sensitivity fluctuations ......... 37
6.4 Problems with sensitivity ................................................... 37
6.5 Problems with the pressure ............................................... 38
6.6 Problems with the measuring signal ................................ 38
6.7 Problems with the chromatogram .................................... 39
6.8 Other problems ................................................................... 40
6.9 Systematic error diagnostics ............................................. 41
7 Technical specifications 43
7.1 Reference conditions .......................................................... 43
7.2 Power connection ............................................................... 43
7.3 Conductivity detector ......................................................... 43
7.4 Amperometric detector ...................................................... 44
7.5 Leak sensor ......................................................................... 45
7.6 Ambient conditions ............................................................ 45
7.7 Housing ............................................................................... 46
7.8 Interfaces ............................................................................. 46
7.9 Safety specifications ........................................................... 46
7.10 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) ................................ 47
8 Warranty (guarantee) 48

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945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ V
9 Accessories 50
Index 52

Table of figures ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
VI ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030)
Table of figures
Figure 1 Front – Front cover attached ............................................................. 6
Figure 2 Front – Front cover removed ............................................................. 7
Figure 3 Rear .................................................................................................. 8
Figure 4 Connection detector–separation column ......................................... 17
Figure 5 Connection detector–suppressor ..................................................... 17
Figure 6 Connection detector–MCS .............................................................. 18

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1
1 Introduction
1.1 Instrument description
The 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperome-
try is an intelligent stand-alone detector equipped with a high-perfor-
mance conductivity detector and an amperometric detector.
As a stand-alone detector, it can be combined with instruments such as
those of the 940 Professional IC Vario family for which all available detec-
tor connectors have already been assigned to conductivity detectors
(AnCat systems or other multi-channel systems) and be used for the deter-
mination of electroactive substances in the mobile phase.
The 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry ena-
bles multiple detector installations also with the instruments of the 930
Compact IC Flex family and with the 883 Basic IC plus, which are
equipped with only one detector connector, which is normally occupied
by a conductivity detector. This makes it possible to run applications that
require both conductivity detection and amperometric detection.
The 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry is a
stand-alone detector that combines the advantages of the IC Conductivity
Detector and the IC Amperometric Detector with the combination possi-
bilities provided by 940 Professional IC Vario instruments. It is directly con-
trolled by the MagIC Net software.
The 942 Extension Module Vario, 891 Professional Analog Out and 800
Dosinos, Remote Boxes, etc. can all be operated through the 945 Profes-
sional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry. This opens up the
flexibility of Metrohm IC systems considerably.
The instrument is comprised of the following modules:
Conductivity detector
The conductivity detector continuously measures the conductivity of the
liquid passing through and outputs the measured values in digital form
(DSP – Digital Signal Processing). The conductivity detector exhibits out-
standing thermal stability and thus guarantees reproducible measuring
conditions.
Amperometric detector
With the 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry,
electroactive substances can be determined in the mobile phase of an IC
system. Determination makes use of amperometric methods, which com-
bine outstanding sensitivity with a high degree of selectivity. The installed

1.2 Intended use ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
2￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030)
potentiostat generates the voltages for the direct current amperometry
(DC), for the pulse amperometry (PAD) and the flexible integrated pulse
amperometry (flexIPAD) as well as for the recording of cyclovoltammo-
grams. The installed preheating capillary ensures a constant eluent tem-
perature on the cell.
1.2 Intended use
The 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry is
used as an independent detector in an IC system. With its two different
detector types, it is used on the one hand for the precise measurement of
conductivity during ion chromatography determination of anions and cati-
ons and on the other hand for the determination of electroactive substan-
ces in the mobile phase of an IC or general liquid chromatography system.
The present instrument is used for working with chemicals and flammable
samples. Usage of the 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity &
Amperometry therefore requires the user to have basic knowledge and
experience in handling toxic and caustic substances. Knowledge with
respect to the application of the fire prevention measures prescribed for
laboratories is also mandatory.
1.3 Safety instructions
1.3.1 General notes on safety
WARNING
This instrument may only be operated in accordance with the specifica-
tions in this documentation.
This instrument has left the factory in a flawless state in terms of technical
safety. To maintain this state and ensure non-hazardous operation of the
instrument, the following instructions must be observed carefully.
1.3.2 Electrical safety
The electrical safety when working with the instrument is ensured as part
of the international standard IEC 61010.
WARNING
Only personnel qualified by Metrohm are authorized to carry out service
work on electronic components.

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945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 3
WARNING
Never open the housing of the instrument. The instrument could be
damaged by this. There is also a risk of serious injury if live components
are touched.
There are no parts inside the housing which can be serviced or replaced
by the user.
Mains voltage
WARNING
An incorrect mains voltage can damage the instrument.
Only operate this instrument with a mains voltage specified for it (see
rear panel of the instrument).
Protection against electrostatic charges
WARNING
Electronic components are sensitive to electrostatic charges and can be
destroyed by discharges.
Do not fail to pull the mains cable out of the mains connection socket
before you set up or disconnect electrical plug connections at the rear
of the instrument.
1.3.3 Tubing and capillary connections
CAUTION
Leaks in tubing and capillary connections are a safety risk. Tighten all
connections well by hand. Avoid applying excessive force to tubing
connections. Damaged tubing ends lead to leakage. Appropriate tools
can be used to loosen connections.
Check the connections regularly for leakage. If the instrument is used
mainly in unattended operation, then weekly inspections are manda-
tory.

1.4 About the documentation ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
4￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030)
1.3.4 Flammable solvents and chemicals
WARNING
All relevant safety measures are to be observed when working with
flammable solvents and chemicals.
￭Set up the instrument in a well-ventilated location (e.g. fume cup-
board).
￭Keep all sources of flame far from the workplace.
￭Clean up spilled liquids and solids immediately.
￭Follow the safety instructions of the chemical manufacturer.
1.3.5 Recycling and disposal
This product is covered by European Directive 2002/96/EC, WEEE – Waste
from Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
The correct disposal of your old equipment will help to prevent negative
effects on the environment and public health.
More details about the disposal of your old equipment can be obtained
from your local authorities, from waste disposal companies or from your
local dealer.
1.4 About the documentation
CAUTION
Please read through this documentation carefully before putting the
instrument into operation. The documentation contains information
and warnings which the user must follow in order to ensure safe opera-
tion of the instrument.
1.4.1 Content and scope
This document describes the 945 Professional Detector Vario – Con-
ductivity & Amperometry, its assembly and connection to the IC instru-
ment, as well as the installation, operation and maintenance of the indi-
vidual components. Technical specifications, troubleshooting and informa-
tion concerning scope of delivery and optional accessories make up the
rest of the manual.
You will find additional information on the installation and maintenance
of the IC instrument and the Sample Processor in the respective manuals.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 5
Additional information on the configuration and operation with
MagIC Net can be found in the "MagIC Net Tutorial" or in the MagIC Net
online help.
1.4.2 Symbols and conventions
The following symbols and formatting may appear in this documentation:
Cross-reference to figure legend
The first number refers to the figure number, the sec-
ond to the instrument part in the figure.
Instruction step
Carry out these steps in the sequence shown.
Method Dialog text, parameter in the software
File ▶ New Menu or menu item
[Next] Button or key
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible life-threat-
ening hazard or risk of injury.
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible hazard due
to electrical current.
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible hazard due
to heat or hot instrument parts.
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible biological
hazard.
CAUTION
This symbol draws attention to possible damage to
instruments or instrument parts.
NOTE
This symbol highlights additional information and
tips.

2.1 Front ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
6￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030)
2 Overview of the instrument
2.1 Front
23
1
4 5 678
Figure 1 Front – Front cover attached
1Power LED
Amperometric detector standby indicator.
2Amperometric detector
Permanently installed.
3Conductivity detector
Permanently installed.
4Power LED
Instrument standby indicator.
5Front cover
For the amperometric detector.
6Knurled screw
For removing the front cover.
7Coupling
For connecting the detector outlet capillary
of the conductivity detector. Labeled Cond.
Eluent out.
8Detector inlet capillary
Of the conductivity detector. Permanently
mounted.

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945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 7
12345
678109
Figure 2 Front – Front cover removed
1AE connection socket
For connecting the auxiliary electrode.
2Power LED
Amperometric detector standby indicator.
3Cell holder
With chip for the automatic detection of the
measuring cell.
4WE connection socket
For connecting the working electrode.
5RE connection socket
For connecting the reference electrode.
6Coupling
For connecting a connection capillary to the
measuring cell. Labeled Eluent to cell.
7Tray 8Drain nozzle
For draining liquid from the tray. Plugged
with a stopper.
9Thread
For the knurled screw used for fastening the
front cover.
10 Coupling
For connecting the detector inlet capillary.
Labeled Eluent in.

2.2 Rear ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
8￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030)
2.2 Rear
1234567
8910
Figure 3 Rear
1Cable feed-through
Output for the detector cable.
2Cable feed-through
Output for the detector cable.
3PC connection socket
For connecting the instrument to the com-
puter with the USB cable (6.2151.020).
4USB connection sockets
Two USB connection sockets, labeled USB 1
and USB 2.
5Extension Module connection socket
For connecting a 942 Extension Module
Vario or an 891 Professional Analog Out.
Labeled Extension Module.
6Detector connection sockets
For the connection of the installed detector,
labeled Detector 1 and Detector 2. The
detector connection sockets which are not
used must be covered with a lid.
7Leak sensor connection socket
For connecting the leak sensor connection
cable, labeled Leak Sensor.
8Power switch
For switching the instrument on and off.
9Power socket
For connecting the power supply cable
(6.2122.0x0).
10 MSB connection sockets
Two MSB connection sockets (labeled MSB 1
and MSB 2) for connecting MSB devices.
(MSB = Metrohm Serial Bus)

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945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 9
3 Installation
3.1 Base tray and bottle holder
3.1.1 Basic information on base tray and bottle holder
The base tray (6.2061.110) and bottle holder (6.2061.100) protect IC
instruments from dust, dirt and leaking fluids. The supply bottles for eluent
and auxiliary solutions can be positioned neatly on the bottle holder.
In a complex IC system, several different instruments may be used, such as
an analyzer, an extension module and a detector. These instruments can
be set up in one or more stacks. We recommend that a base tray and bot-
tle holder be mounted for each stack of IC instruments.
The bottle holder and base tray must be removed or set up every time one
of the following instruments is to be mounted on or under a 940 Profes-
sional IC Vario:
￭One or more 942 Extension Module Vario.
￭One 944 Professional UV/VIS Detector Vario.
￭One 945 Professional Detector Vario.
￭Or another instrument with the same-sized footprint.
3.1.2 Mounting base tray and bottle holder (optional)
The base tray and bottle holder come fully assembled on a new ion chro-
matograph. If you wished to install an extension module on the ion chro-
matograph, you would have to remove the bottle holder and put it back
on top of the topmost instrument. If you wished to install an extension
module below the ion chromatograph, you would have to remove the
base tray and set it under the lowest instrument.
3.1.2.1 Removing/mounting the base tray
The base tray must be removed if you want to install another instrument
under the IC instrument.
CAUTION
Do not allow capillaries or leak sensor cables to be pinched!
Pinches in the leak sensor cable or the capillaries fed through the guide
ducts between the base tray and the instrument may lead to malfunc-
tions.
Unplug the leak sensor cable. Remove all of the capillaries from the
capillary ducts.

3.1 Base tray and bottle holder ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
10 ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030)
Removing the base tray
Before you can remove the base tray, the following preconditions must be
met:
￭The instrument is switched off.
￭The bottle holder is cleared.
￭All of the cable connections on the rear have been disconnected.
￭The capillaries are removed from the guide ducts between the instru-
ment and the base tray.
￭There are no loose parts in the instrument.
To remove the base tray, you need a 3 mm hex key (6.2621.100).
123
1Tilt the instrument sideways and lay it down flat.
2Loosen the four cylinder screws with the 3 mm hex key and remove
them and their washers.
3Remove the base tray.
The base tray must always be mounted under the lowermost instrument
of the stack.
Mounting the base tray
Before you can mount the base tray, the following preconditions must be
met:
￭The instrument is switched off.
￭The bottle holder is cleared.
￭All of the cable connections on the rear have been disconnected.
￭There are no loose parts in the instrument.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 3 Installation
945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030) ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 11
￭The instrument is lying on its side, and the bottom surface is visible.
To mount the base tray, you need a 3 mm hex key (6.2621.100).
1Place the base tray in such a way that the openings in the base tray
match exactly the screw threads in the bottom of the instrument.
2Slide the washers onto the cylinder screws, insert the screws and
tighten them with the 3 mm hex key.
3Set the instrument back up on the base tray.
Stack other instruments in the required order. Mount the bottle holder
(6.2061.100) onto the topmost instrument on the stack (see "Mounting
the bottle holder", page 13).
3.1.2.2 Removing/mounting the bottle holder
The bottle holder must be removed if you want to install another instru-
ment onto the IC instrument.
Removing the bottle holder
Before you can remove the bottle holder, the following preconditions
must be met:
￭The instrument is switched off.
￭The bottle holder is cleared.
￭Drainage tubing is disconnected from the drainage tubing connection
of the bottle holder.
￭The capillaries are removed from the guide ducts between the instru-
ment and the bottle holder.
To remove the bottle holder, you need a 3 mm hex key (6.2621.100).

3.1 Base tray and bottle holder ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
12 ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 945 Professional Detector Vario – Conductivity & Amperometry (2.945.0030)
12 3
1Remove the two covering stoppers.
2Loosen the two cylinder screws with the 3 mm hex key and remove
them.
3Remove the bottle holder.
Stack other instruments in the required order. Mount the bottle holder
(6.2061.100) onto the topmost instrument on the stack.