Maintenance

Maintenance tasks

All group members share various duties including taking care of the lab equipment and instruments. The general rule is, of course, to leave something in the same state you'd like to find it: clean, tidy, and ready to go.

• Q-tof micro mass spectrometer (Zohrab)
• LCQ mass spectrometer (Ori)
• Full-sized glovebox (Jingwei)
• Small glovebox (Scott C)
• SPS (Jingwei)
• Gas cylinders (Lars)
• Waste management (Zohrab)
• MSDS (Rhonda)
• Chemical inventory (Rhonda)
• Base bath (Jessamyn)
• Vacuum pumps (Everyone!)

Encounter something you can't easily solve? The electrical shop can help fix instrumentation, and if it's MS-related, contact Ori. If you're unsure who to contact, see Scott.

Mass spectrometers

Ballast pump for 15 minutes weekly. Police use of instrument, ensure users are filling out logbook, leaving instrument tidy, etc.

Big glovebox

A paper copy of the manual () is in the office and a copy is available on DVD.

1. Preparation () of atmosphere indicator (). This will be stored in the glovebox in an Erlenmeyer flask with a ground glass stopper but no grease. The material does not need to be filtered as indicated in the prep.
2. Bi-weekly testing of atmosphere, or when appropriate if a problem is suspected. You do not need to use very much! Add approximately 0.5 ml of indicator to a small vial and allow it to evaporate. If the solid left behind is green or blue you are good to go. If it is yellow or orange or red the box will need to be regenerated.
3. Regeneration of atmosphere when needed (process can be found on page 48, Chapter 10, of the manual. Seems to be about once a month during heavy use).
4. Periodic tidying and clean-up when necessary.
5. General troubleshooting and problem solving (Chapter 21 of the manual lists various error codes along with possible cause and first steps to fixing the problem).

Small glovebox

As for the big glovebox, above (manual ). The regeneration tank and regulator are kept by the big glovebox, so they need to be disconnected and wheeled to the MS room. Make a connection with the regeneration line and start the process - make sure this is last thing in the evening, so regeneration can complete overnight and the cylinder can be removed first thing in the morning.

SPS

A paper copy of the manual () is in the office and a copy is available on DVD. The McIndoe Group is in charge of the toluene and dichloromethane lines.

Gas cylinders

Delivery of new cylinders from stores as needed.

Waste management

Organize the pick-up of waste from the lab. Website: http://ohs.uvic.ca/hazwaste/onlinedisposal.html. Username: ****, password: ****** (look on Sharepoint for passwords, etc.).

MSDS

File all MSDSs.

Inventory

Manage the inventory entries. Everyone should fill out the sheet when an order arrives; the person with the inventory task should periodically take this list and update it on Sharepoint.

Base baths

Glassware cleaning protocol ().

Base baths are located under both sinks in the lab area. They require changing when the solution becomes black and/or when glassware is no longer being effectively cleaned.

** Whenever working with the base bath wear proper footwear, a lab coat, safety glasses and thick rubber gloves **

To change a base bath: empty the bath of all glassware, use a beaker to transfer the dirty solution from the bath to an empty 4L solvent container (you'll need two of these). DO NOT POUR DIRECTLY FROM THE BATH, there are holes in the rim of the bath container and you will spill dirty base bath everywhere. Clearly label the waste containers and mark them for waste pick up. Rinse out the bath container and add 500 g KOH. Fill the bath with 2 x 4 L bottles of 95% ethanol and stir with large glass rod until everything is dissolved (this may take a while). If not all of the KOH will dissolve add a minimal amount of water until it does.

Vacuum pumps

Any vacuum pump you're responsible for needs ballasting regularly, and the oil changed when it becomes very dark in colour. Ballasting is just allowing air to leak in to the pump; the pump becomes hot and any residual solvents are purged from the oil. Do this weekly for about 15 minutes; just turn the switch indicated below; the pump should start running noisily.