> Waters still sells the PicoTag workstation (as of 1997 catalog), which is
> what most people that I know use for hydrolysis.
Waters discontinued production of Pico Tag workstations a year ago.
However, they will support it for a couple of years. At least,
that's what techsupport promises.
>
> The biggest problem we have ever had with the PicoTag unit is the Mininert
> valve caps used to seal the hydrolysis tubes. They have a tendency to crack
> and leak, with replacement caps at over $100 EACH to replace.
$188 each.
Those valves really constitute a problem. The Mininert valves from
Pierce don't work, they have shorter necks. What I did, I used caps
from Vari-Clean 40 ml sampling vials (Piierce catalog # 13510) to
repair Waters valve caps. Briefly, how it's done: you completely
disassemble Mininert caps and throw away the black part, and then use
the same part from Vari-Clean stuff to assemble the new one. They're
exactly the same. And BTW, the Vari-Clean vials fit perfectly in
Pico-Tag workstation. One additional comment, wrap the valve cap with
teflon tape. It helps enormously. If you do it properly, you will
not see any leaks any more.
M. Alterman, Ph.D.
Director,
Biochemical Research Service Laboratory
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045
Phone: (913)-864-4166
(913)-864-4247 lab
FAX: (913)-864-5396
http://www.idl.ukans.edu/anylresc/brsl/brsl.html