Section 5: Instrument Maintenance - MicroCal VP-ITC User Manual

VP-ITC MicroCalorimeter User's Manual

Section 5: Instrument Maintenance

The maintenance requirements of the VP-ITC are simple, but essential for quality experiments.
•
The cells, injection and filling syringes must be kept clean.
•
The Plunger Tips for the Pipette Injection Syringe must be replaced regularly to prevent
excess wear that would allow the titrant to leak from the syringe.
•
Y-axis calibration is usually not a problem, but it is good practice to confirm the
calibration every 3 months.
•
The Injection Syringe needle must be straight.
•
The Plunger Screw must be kept straight.
•
The syringe height (i.e. position of the stir paddle from the bottom of the cell) should be
approximately 3 mm. Once the syringe height adjustment is set, it is not usually a
problem, but this distance is custom for each instrument. This means that the user must
set the height position of newly purchased replacement syringes.
This section is arranged as follows:
Section 5: Instrument Maintenance
5.1 Cleaning The Cells and Pipette ...........................................................................................................65
5.2 Replacing Pipette Plunger Tips ...........................................................................................................68
5.3 Y-axis Calibration ...............................................................................................................................72
5.4 Replacing Injection Syringes & Height Adjustment ...........................................................................74
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