How to remove and clean the sample cone on an ACQUITY QDa II Detector - WKB319889

OBJECTIVE or GOAL

Remove and clean the sample cone on an ACQUITY QDa II Detector.

ENVIRONMENT

• ACQUITY QDa II Detector

PROCEDURE

For safety reasons, you must, depending on the maintenance task, either put the instrument into Standby mode or turn the instrument off before you perform any maintenance on the source. The following procedures instruct you on what you need to do and when.

1. In the software, click Standby to put the instrument into Standby mode.
   Warning: To avoid injury, do not remove the ion block, sample cone, restricter, calibration pin, or source ion guide when the instrument is in Standby mode.
   To remove these components, you must power-off the instrument and wait five minutes for it to vent.
2. Power-off the instrument by pressing the power button on the instrument's front panel.
3. Open the instrument door.
4. Disconnect the probe capillary from the LC system.
5. Disconnect the source enclosure's electrical cable from the front of the instrument by loosening the screws and pulling the cable from the socket.
6. Loosen the two thumbscrews on the front of the source enclosure.
7. Remove the source enclosure by pulling it away from the instrument using both hands, and then place it on a flat surface.
   Tip: To help loosen the source enclosure, gently rock the enclosure while pulling it away from the instrument.
8. To avoid burn injuries, allow the ion block assembly to cool before removing the sample cone.
9. Remove the PEEK cone clamp and the gas cone by pulling the cone clamp away from the instrument.

10. Remove the sample cone from the right-hand side of the ion block.

11. Ensure that all O-rings are removed from the source components.
12. Immerse the sample cone in a vessel containing 1:1 methanol/water. Tip: If the components are obviously contaminated, use 45:45:10 methanol/water/formic acid.
13. Place the vessels in the ultrasonic bath for 30 minutes.
14. If you used formic acid in the cleaning solution, do as follows:
a. Rinse the components by immersing them in separate glass vessels containing water, and then place the vessels in the ultrasonic bath for 20 minutes.
b. Remove any residual water from the components by immersing them in separate glass vessels containing methanol, and then place the vessels in the ultrasonic bath for 10 minutes.
15. Carefully remove the components from the vessels and blow dry them with inert, oil-free gas.
16. Fit the sample cone O-ring and push the sample cone over the restricter.
17. Refit the PEEK cone clamp and the gas cone assembly to the ion block.
18. Refit the source enclosure, close the door, and then turn on the QDa.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The part number for the sample cone is 700014297.

Video Transcript