Degasser Troubleshooting Tips:

HP/ Agilent Stand Alone Degasser Troubleshooting Notes:

RED LED ON = Serious Error and the Degasser is no longer working. This is most often due to a leak in one or more of the vacuum chambers, failure of the pump and/or solenoid valve, or worn or contaminated vacuum tubing. Note: If you work in a regulated environment, then this means your qualified HPLC system is now 'out-of-compliance' and should not be used.

Yellow LED ON continuously usually indicates that the degasser is not able to meet or maintain the factory vacuum specification. It is probably failing and is 'out-of-compliance'. It should be repaired before more damage is caused and the LED turns RED.

Liquid Coming Out of the front Degasser Vent Tube: Any liquid, droplets or residue seen exiting the degasser's pump vent tube indicates that a serious failure has occurred inside the vacuum module (e.g. a loose vacuum line, leaking or ruptured vacuum chamber). If seen, stop using the degasser at once as continued use may result in even more damage. The vacuum pump and other parts are now contaminated. The degasser is now 'out-of-compliance' and should be professionally diagnosed and repaired.

Air Bubbles seen Exiting the low pressure translucent tubing from the degasser: This usually indicates that: (1) the flow rate may be set too high; (2) One or more of the low-pressure fittings entering or exiting the degasser is not tightly sealing against the ferrule allowing air to enter the tubing (carefully remove the fitting, check for damage to the threads or ferrule, re-install) or (3) one or more of your degasser's vacuum chambers is damaged.

Never replace just the vacuum pump in an HP /Agilent brand system without first fully diagnosing which parts are contaminated and/or damaged. Replacing only the vacuum pump and not all of the damaged parts often leads to complete contamination and damage to the new vacuum pump and other components (a costly mistake). We are experts in this area and understand how these systems operate, how they can fail and how to correctly repair them. Chiralizer Services can correctly diagnose the problem, clean and repair it for far less money than what the original manufacturer or other third party repair facilities charge. We have over 25 years professional experience serving these modules.

WATERS ALLIANCE & ACQUITY Brand Integrated Degassers:

Unstable baselines which are not caused by worn pump seals, cavitation or failure to prime the system may indicate a failed degasser.

Critical Degasser ERRORS on Your Waters brand HPLC system may Include:

• "DEGASSER HARDWARE FAULT";
  
• A Loud knocking or whining sound coming from the vacuum degasser pump (* always indicates that the vacuum pump is damaged and requires replacement, however the cause of the failure must be found and fixed first, before replacing the pump);
  
• Liquid coming out of the vacuum pump exhaust line (a sign of damage to one or more vacuum chambers);
• "Degasser High Leak Rate" Error;
• "Vacuum h/w Fault" or Degasser H/W Fault 1, 2 or 3;
  

These errors usually indicate that your degasser vacuum pump is failing, a vacuum chamber is leaking, air has filled one or more of the vacuum chambers or you have contamination in the vacuum system / vacuum leak(s) in the vacuum chambers. Note: If you work in a regulated environment, then this means your qualified HPLC system is now 'out-of-compliance' and should not be used.

Before starting to  troubleshoot the problem, please make sure you have properly filled ALL of the vacuum channels with mobile phase and fully purged them of air. Air in any chamber or incorrect priming of the HPLC pump may result in brief degasser errors which are not in fact caused by the degasser (they are caused by incorrect operation of the HPLC).

• Note: For many years we have encountered Waters customers who are unaware of the fact that ALL of the vacuum degasser channels in their HPLC system must be filled with liquid AT ALL TIMES. Running with air in one or more vacuum chambers will put additional stress on the vacuum system and result in early failure or failure to achieve vacuum errors. Please follow the instructions and be sure to always purge fresh mobile phase (every day) through ALL vacuum channels, even if you do not plan to use them. Never plug an unused vacuum channel. Connect any unused vacuum channels in-series with one you use, to keep the channels filled at all times (and improve degassing efficiency!).
  

The Waters ALLIANCE degasser components are installed on a removable tray in the pump module. You can easily remove this tray as one assembly and send it to us for diagnosis and repair. Waters ACQUITY modules usually have the component parts installed inside the Solvent Module (e.g. BSM and QSM). The parts can be easily removed (Vac Pump, tubing and Vac chamber module) and sent to us for diagnostic testing (that way you only pay to repair what is broken and not pay for parts you do not need). The standalone "Inline Degasser AF", DG2 modules are very small and light-weight so it is best to ship the entire module to us for correct diagnosis and fastest service.

SHIMADZU Brand Degassers:

Most Shimadzu brand degasser modules (e.g. DGU-20A3, DGU-20A5, DGU-20A3R, DGU-20A5R, DGU-12A, DGU-14A...) can be diagnosed and repaired in our shop. A red error light indicates that the system has failed and requires repair. Our fees are often half the price charged by others and we stock many of the factory parts used in these modules. Fast turnaround of one to two business days on most repairs. 

Note: For many years we have encountered Shimadzu customers who are unaware of the fact that ALL of the vacuum degasser channels in their HPLC system must be filled with liquid AT ALL TIMES. Running with air in one or more vacuum chambers will put additional stress on the vacuum system and result in early failure or failure to achieve vacuum errors. Please follow the instructions and be sure to always purge fresh mobile phase (every day) through ALL of the vacuum channels, even if you do not plan to use them. Never plug an unused vacuum channel. Connect any unused vacuum channels in-series with one you use, to keep the channels filled at all times (and improve degassing efficiency!).

Repair Services Available :

• HPLC Degassing Module Repairs, Vacuum Pumps and Chambers.

  The most common part to fail inside most manufacturer's HPLC Degassing modules are the vacuum pumps. These are consumable parts which are not designed to last very long as they operate under very stressful conditions. If well maintained, they often wear out after four to six years of service. We offer brand new as well as refurbished replacement vacuum pumps of the same or optionally with an upgraded specification for better performance. Our prices are much lower than the original manufacturer's and if you would like to save even more money, then we offer fully refurbished parts at a discount too.

  Examples of HPLC Degasser Vacuum pumps, Chambers and Valves for systems we stock and service Include:

  • Vacuum Pumps, Solenoid Valves and Vacuum Chambers for the Agilent (HP) G1322A, G1379A, G1379B, G4204A, G4220A, G4220B and G4225A Degassers. Degasser parts for the 1050, 1100, 1120, 1200, 1220, 1260 and 1290-series. P/N G1322-60000, G1379-60000, G1311-60007, 5067-4796, G1322-60003, G1379-60003, 5067-4734, 5067-4795;

  • Waters Alliance 2690, 2695, 2790 and 2795 HPLC, Acquity, ILD and DG2 Inline Degasser AF Vacuum Pumps (700001352) and Vacuum Chambers (289000622), Upgrade Kits. Parts Available to Improve Performance;

  • Thermo Accela 600 and 1250 Integrated Degasser Repairs (Integrated Degassers);

  • Shimadzu Vacuum Pumps, Vacuum Chambers, Vacuum Tubing all in stock;
    

  • Degassing Module Repair for other brands available (e.g. Hitachi, Shimadzu, PE).

  We also stock many replacement parts such as solenoid valves, vacuum control boards, vacuum chambers, tubing and other related items needed to repair these modules in our shop.

  Due to the small size and weight of the HP, Agilent and Shimadzu brand standalone degassers (i.e. G1322A, G1379A, G1379B, G4225A, DGU-Series), we suggest you ship the degasser module to us. Once it is in our workshop, we can determine what repairs or parts are actually needed. We will correctly determine which parts of your degasser are defective and send you a formal quotation to replace the defective parts and test the system. We do charge a nominal diagnostic fee to evaluate, clean and test your degasser, but you retain control over the decision to have it repaired or not. Sometimes a cleaning is all it needs.

  • Professional Diagnostic Testing of Your Degassing Module is Available;

  • Repair, Cleaning and/or Replacement of Defective Parts;

  • Optional Replacement of Large Volume Vacuum Chambers (i.e. 12 ml) with 0.5 ml Chambers to reduce flush times (i.e. solvent wasted) and improve performance;

  • Optional High Performance Vacuum Pump and Chamber Upgrade Kits;

  • Complete Fixed-Price Retrofit Upgrades Available with Better Performance for the Agilent / HP G1322 and most of the Waters Alliance Degasser Modules (These are recommended when your degasser is in very poor condition. All new, higher performance parts are used and the cost is about half of what a new system would be);

  • Options for Professionally Refurbished Parts to Save You Money;

  • Lowest Prices, Highest Quality & Quick Repair Turnaround Times (Usually 1-2 Business days!).

For more information, please give us a call or send us an email containing your complete contact information, the model and S/N of your degasser to discuss your needs and we can forward you a diagnostic quote with shipping return instructions.