The Importance of GC FID Maintenance
Description
Flame ionization detectors (FIDs) are one of the most common gas chromatographic (GC) detectors. For best performance, they require some routine inspection and maintenance. We’ll discuss some common symptoms that may indicate a need for maintenance and the essential tasks to keep your FID running its best.
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Transcript
Hey there. Welcome to another Restek Tip. In today’s tip, we’ll be covering FID maintenance. Now, say you’re in a lab running tons of samples a day. Over time, these samples can really start to contaminate your GC system, including the FID. You may experience things like a high baseline, loss in sensitivity, noise peaks, or maybe the flame just won’t ignite. Sometimes, your FID can get so dirty that you will be able to notice sample buildup on the inside of the castle assembly. This is a great indicator that it’s time to do some FID maintenance!
If you have tried changing the jet, but these problems still persist, then it is time to replace some of the FID parts. This includes the castle assembly, the upper and lower PTFE insulators, the collector, the rubber housing gasket, and the FID jet. To swap out these parts, first cool the GC, turn off the instrument flow, remove the column from the detector, and cool the FID. Be sure to also turn off all FID gas flows as well. Next, we’ll start to disassemble the FID. Remove the ignitor and all torque screws from the FID body. Then, remove the knurled brass retaining nut and spring washer.
Before replacing the new parts, I like to clean out the FID body with a little bit of methanol. Once this is done, we can replace the castle, the PTFE insulators, the collector, and the rubber housing gasket. Now that we have replaced our parts, reattach the FID body to the GC and reconnect the ignitor to the castle assembly. Reinstall the column and return the GC and FID to its normal running conditions. Give the FID some time to condition at temperature to help drive off any volatile contaminants. Once this is done, your FID should be as good as new!
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