Having difficulties with your experiment? Need guidance on maintenance tips and tricks?

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View the relevant questions below:

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Getting started

General

What is the recommended maintenance schedule?
ComponentProcedureRecommended Frequency
Inlet componentsFlush (clean) the path from the sample transfer line to the sourceDaily
Housing AdapterClean the inner and outer electrodesAs needed
Clean the drain adapterAs needed
Clean the entrance plateAs needed
Replace the entrance plate O-ringAs needed
Main control boxReplace one or both fusesAs needed
RF transformer boxClean the air filterEvery 4 months
Is it normal for my signal to drop?

FAIMS Pro significantly improves the signal to noise ratio but with an expected signal drop off. Magnitude is sample dependent. Increasing sample loaded on column up to 2x may improve performance.

What level of FAIMS gas should I use?

For nano-spray applications, the user defined FAIMS gas should be set to zero, with static condition.

What level of FAIMS gas should I use?
How do I clean the electrodes?
  1. Prepare a 1% Liquinox solution in water.
  2. Remove the electrode assembly from the FAIMS housing adapter, and remove the electrodes from the assembly as described in the FAIMS user guide (page 70-71, and 74).
  3. Wipe the inner and outer electrodes using a foam tipped swab which was dipped into the 1% Liquinox solution. Only clean inner and outer electrodes using this procedure. The foam tipped swab (P/N 00203-99-00031) can be ordered with the cleaning kit (P/N 70111-62112).
  4. Use 2 separate beakers to sonicate inner and outer electrode in 100% water for 10 min.
  5. Replace water with 50:50 methanol:water and sonicate again for 10 min.
  6. Use a stream of N2 gas to dry the electrodes, or let them air-dry on a lint-free cloth.
  7. Reassemble the electrode assembly and put it back on the FAIMS housing adapter.
How do I troubleshoot the DV Tune?

If the DV Tune is not passing, perform the following steps:

  1. Remove the electrode assembly from the FAIMS housing adapter and disassemble the electrodes as described in the FAIMS user guide (page 70-71, and 74).
  2. Inspect the electrode components to ensure no particulate is present on the surface of the components. Use a stream of N2 gas to remove particulate, if present.
  3. Reassemble the electrodes and install them on the FAIMS housing adapter.
  4. Run the DV Tune diagnostic.
Troubleshoot the DV Tune

With FAIMS attached, the spray voltage may need to be slightly higher compared to when FAIMS is not installed. This is because the FAIMS entrance plate voltage is set to 250 V. In order to keep the delta between spray tip and entrance plate similar with and without FAIMS, the voltage may need to be increased by 100-300 Volts when FAIMS is attached.

For EasySpray columns, start by using 1.8 – 2.0 kV without FAIMS, and 1.9 – 2.1 kV with FAIMS. Note that the maximum recommended spray voltage for EasySpray columns is 2.2 kV.