
Bulletin TI-GCGS-E Installation, Operation and Maintenance Manual
Technical Information GC Gas Stations GC-4000, FID-4000
1-800-343-4048
6
Filling the Water
Reservoir
Compressed air - The Parker Balston GC Gas Stations require a source of clean compressed air for
optimal operation. The compressed air should be as close to instrument quality as possible, and
supplied at a pressure and flow rate above that required at the point of use. The temperature and/or
dewpoint of the supply air should be at room temperature (or lower), and it should be relatively free
from compressor oil, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. Contamination of the catalyst bed may
occur if it is exposed to certain compounds (see warning below). If the compressed air supply has
excess water, oil, or particulate contamination, install extra prefiltration upstream from the unit (see
Recommended Accessories).
Chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds and chlorofluorocarbons (or freons) will permanently
contaminate the hydrocarbon catalyst module in the GC Gas Station. Extreme care should be
taken when specifying an air supply for the generator to ensure that these compounds are not
present in the air supply nor likely to get into the compressor providing air to the generator.
The hydrocarbon catalyst module can also be contaminated by high concentrations of lead,
sulfur, or phosphorous compounds, heavy metals, and long chain polymers. Care should be
taken to avoid introducing these compounds into the Parker Balston GC Gas Station. None of
these compounds are to be stored near the inlet to the compressor supplying the system with
compressed air. The intake for the compressor should be vented to the outdoors.
Piping Components, GC Source Gas / Zero Air - Connect the compressed air supply to the inlet port
for the Parker Balston GC Gas Station, which is 1/4” NPT and is located as shown in Figure 4. Inlet
tubing and fittings should be clean and rated for 125 psig (8.5 Barg), minimally. The tubing and
fittings used downstream from the GC Gas Station should be clean stainless steel or pre-cleaned
refrigeration-grade copper (1/8” OD) and rated for 125 psig (8.5 Barg) . Connect downstream
delivery lines (Zero Air Outlet) to the 1/4” NPT port on the outlet filter of the generator.
Do not use plastic tubing downstream from the generator. Out gassing from the plastic may
contaminate the zero-grade gas. Use PTFE tape on all inlet and outlet NPT fittings. (Thread
sealing compounds may contaminate the process stream). The use of plastic piping components
or unclean copper or stainless steel piping components will result in the FID Gas Station failing to
meet zero air purity specifications.
Piping Components,GC Gas Station / Hydrogen - The outlet connection for the GC Gas Station/
Hydrogen is a 1/4 compression fitting. All tubing and fittings downstream from the hydrogen
generator should be clean stainless steel to minimize contamination of the hydrogen stream. If
copper tubing has been used with hydrogen in the past and has yielded acceptable results, there is
no need to alter an existing piping configuration to install the hydrogen generator.
Flow Controller - A flow control device should be installed downstream from the zero air and
hydrogen outlets if one is not integral to the instrumentation used (P/N Model W-FM7583). If
the flow capacity of the generator is exceeded, the GC Gas Station / Zero Air will fail to meet its
hydrocarbon specification.
Pressure Regulation -The GC Gas Station / Hydrogen pressure can be regulated up to 100psig. The
output pressure can be monitored using the front panel digital display. There is an internal Pressure
Relief Valve that is preset to 175 psig in case of excess internal pressure build up. The expelled gas
is channeled through the pressure relief valve. The GC Source Gas Zero Air can also be regulated
down from its supply pressure. However, the zero air outlet pressure is not displayed on the
generator and is not regulated by the generator.
Use only 5 Meg-ohm/cm (0.2 µS) deionized water in the generator to prevent contamination
of the cell assembly. Water containing metallic impurities will damage the cell and will be
cause for voiding the warranty. Cell contamination is a cumulative and irreversible process,
eventually resulting in an OVERVOLTAGE condition and cell failure. Use only clean glass or
plastic (HDPE only) containers to supply water to the generator.
If poor quality water is added to the generator a “Change water” message will be displayed.
User must then drain the water from the Fill reservoir, through the right-side drain port. Once
the poor quality water is drained, the deionizer resin cartridge must be changed as shown in
the Maintenance section.