Cleaning The Hot Plate - Agilent Technologies PlateLoc User Manual

84 Chapter 6: Routine maintenance
PlateLoc User Guide

Cleaning the hot plate

About this topic
Before you start
Procedure
During the seal cycle, a heated metal plate (hot plate) inside the sealing
chamber descends and presses the seal onto the plate. Although the hot
plate is coated with non-stick material, residual seal material and dirt
can collect on the hot plate over time and reduce seal quality.
To ensure quality seals, you should check the hot plate and clean it if
necessary. This topic explains how to clean the hot plate inside the
PlateLoc.
Make sure you have the following:
Ammonia-based cleaner
Thick scrub pad that is safe for non-stick cookware
Clean cloth
!! INJURY HAZARD !!
interior after the device is warmed up. Do not touch the hot plate
with your bare hands.
!! DAMAGE HAZARD !!
the hot plate. Doing so can damage the hot plate surface.
!! DAMAGE HAZARD !!
onto the hot plate or any part of the PlateLoc. Excess fluid can react
with and damage the hot plate coating.
To clean the hot plate:
1. Turn on the PlateLoc.
2. Turn on the air to open the PlateLoc door.
3. Gas-Purging PlateLocs only. Turn off the argon source (house or
cylinder).
4. Set the sealing temperature to 30–50 °C to warm up the hot plate.
5. Wait for the temperature to reach 30–50 °C.
Warming up the hot plate softens the seal material and can facilitate
the cleaning process.
6. Dampen the scrub pad with a small amount of the ammonia-based
cleaner.
7. Vigorously scrub the bottom of the hot plate with the scrub pad to
remove residual seal material and dirt.
Note: You might have to scrub the back edge of the hot plate to
remove debris.
8. Visually inspect the hot plate for remaining seal material or debris.
9. Wipe the hot plate with the clean cloth.
Use care when accessing the PlateLoc
Do not use an abrasive cleaning tool on
Do not spray the cleaning fluid directly