On May 1st I asked the AMMRL community for their experiences with Prodigy
probes and the problem of vacuum leaks resulting in arcing during
decoupling experiments, most obvious during HSQC. I was curious how
widespread the issue was, whether newer modes had fewer problems, and
finally how long repairs typically took.
I received responses from six individuals recounting similar tales and
experiences as we have experienced. Several mentioned being aware of
others also having the issue. It does not seem to be an uncommon problem.
The age of the probe may or may not have a correlation with the problem as
probes ranged from early adopters in 2012 to as recent as 2016/2017.
I received three responses from individuals with Prodigy probes who have
had no issues.
Regarding servicing of the probe, service times ranged from more than a
year to as few as two months. It seems turnaround is more rapid for
European customers as the probe needs to be serviced in France for this
issue. There is some suggestion that the lengthy repairs were a result of
Burker having to find out what the problem was and determine a fix for it.
Supposedly, the cause has been identified and a fix developed so that
turnaround is much faster.
As far a servicing the issue, there seems to be a sequence of steps
necessary. Bruker can remotely connect and evaluate your system to
determine evidence of a leak. Once a leak is identified, it requires a
service visit to pinpoint if the leak is internal to the probe or
external. Internal leaks are first evaluated in Billerica (for US
customers) and it's possible they they can fix the problem there. If not,
it heads off to France and this is where the repair times are more in the
6-9 month range.
There were several who suggested that the issue could be resolved with a
room temperature burn-in of the coils. Arcing can result from build up on
the coils over time. It was told that while a leak was present, there was
little point in doing this and that this is something only an engineer
could safely perform.
So where am I in my adventure? Bruker has determined I have a small leak
and an engineer is coming to perform our 40K service. Burker has offered
to include in that visit a vacuum check to pinpoint the leak location. If
it is necessary for the probe to be sent in for repair, I intend to ask
them to try the room temp burn-in before that. Just in case.
Thanks again
--
Ken Sharp-Knott
Department of Chemistry
Analytical Services
Virginia Tech
(540)267-6502 (Cell)
(540)231-0885 (Office)
Received on Fri May 08 2020 - 06:18:16 MST