A Critical Seal

In an Agilent split/splitless inlet, a critical seal is made between the bottom of the inlet body and the top of the inlet seal. This seal must be leak-free to maintain pressure and to prevent the air leaks that can compromise chromatography and shorten column lifetime. Traditionally, a lot of force was recommended to create this metal-to-metal connection, which caused installation variability among operators and a significant amount of wear and tear on the sealing edge of the inlet.

Restek’s innovative Dual Vespel Ring inlet seal solves both these problems and eliminates the need for a spacing washer, giving you a better seal with fewer parts (Figure 1). Because there is no metal-to-metal contact, the Dual Vespel Ring seal requires much less torque to install, reducing variability among operators. The Vespel ring on the bottom creates another leak-free point and functions as a spacing ring, eliminating the need for a washer. This seal is also more forgiving than a metal-to-metal seal; the soft Vespel material will not damage the bottom of your inlet and it will seal more easily on inlets that have existing damage.

Figure 1: Vespel rings on both the top and bottom surfaces simplify installation by reducing the torque requirement and eliminating the need for a washer.