In order to prolong the life of your MINI GC (original, Plus, or Go Direct), or to prevent having to send it in for repair, make sure to note the following practices.

1. After receiving your Mini GC, it is ideal to begin with at least one experiment from the experiment book that accompanies the instrument. This will give you the best idea of compounds that come out cleanest, along with their temperature/pressure profiles.

For examples associated specifically with the capabilities of the Mini GC Plus, see What are some sample temperature/pressure profiles for the new compounds that can be investigated with the Mini GC Plus?
For examples associated specifically with the capabilities of the Go Direct Mini GC, see What are some sample temperature/pressure profiles for the compounds that can be investigated with the Go Direct Mini GC?

2. The Hamilton syringe that is shipped with the device has a brown plastic bumper guard on the needle, also known as a needle stop. Do not remove this guard. Injections go straight into the column, and you can damage the instrument by forcing the syringe too far into the device.

3. Make sure you have referred to the list of acceptable compounds in the user guide before attempting to inject new compounds. The latest information for the Mini GC can be
found at www.vernier.com/gc-mini, the latest information for the Mini GC Plus can be found at www.vernier.com/gc2-mini, and the latest information for the Go Direct Mini GC can be found at www.vernier.com/gdx-gc

4. If you inject samples that contain more than 5% water, you will shorten the life of the detector, or you could even ruin it altogether. To get the longest life out of your Mini GC, inject no more than 0.2 microliters of a pure organic sample or, when analyzing mixtures, be certain that the injected aliquot contains no more than 0.2 microliters of any one compound.

5. Original versions of the Mini GC allowed the user to attach a carrier gas to the in-port. However, we removed the ability for users to do in with the Mini GC Plus and later versions of the instrument. In our testing, using a carrier gas did not improve chromatograms and, in some cases, gave poor data. The detector in the Mini GC is calibrated to work with room air, so we do not recommend connecting a carrier gas.

If you have a particular gas chromatography application in mind, but you are not quite sure if it is appropriate for the Mini GC family, please call Vernier Technical Support at 888-837-6437 and ask to speak with a chemist. You can also email us at chemistry@vernier.com