Dear Marilyn,

you might order every glassy carbon configuration (various length, bottom flow design etc.) through 

IVA Analysetechnik Germany
<http://www.iva-analysentechnik.de/en-vers/index.html>
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They, of course, also sell the ceramic tubes. Separately. :-)

They get the reactors from the already mentioned HTW GmbH, Germany. However, since there a several different setups (solid, liquid, reverse He flow, metal and glassy carbon insert etc.) they typically know better what you need for your TC/EA configuration. In addition, they also check the tolerances of the reactors with respect to the TC/EA  very thoroughly. And finally, the price was often lower than buying one piece directly from the manufacturer HTW since they order larger stocks of these expensive babies (however, compared to Thermo prices this extra saving doesn’t really matter…).

And yes, I once fused a reactor into the ceramic tube because of the crust that develops over time on the glassy carbon reactor surface. There was no option to get it out of the ceramic tube without not destroying it after cooling. IVA sells ceramic tubes with a slightly larger inner diameter (I think this was Roland Werners idea) that gives you some extra space between the reactor wall and the inside of the ceramic tube. We run ours in reverse flow (bottom flow adapter) so this gives us some more injections before the helium flow starts to go down (than immediately clean it! - otherwise it will fuse into the ceramic tube….).

The other option we tested to get the blocked reactor out of the ceramic tube is just to run it even longer…eventually the crust, which is essentially Al4O4C (aluminum oxide carbide) and some Al4C3 (aluminum carbide), will crack the ceramic tube. You will create a helium leak and the IRMS should no really be connected by the ConFlo while doing that…but it might save the more expensive glassy carbon reactor by scarifying the ceramic tube.

regards,
Robert


Am 04.05.2016 um 23:42 schrieb Marilyn Fogel <[log in to unmask]>:

> Dear Isogeochemers:
> 
> Ever fuse a glassy carbon rod onto a ceramic tube? Not a good day to say the least. I have done my share of ruining these items over the years.
> 
> It appears that Thermo only sells the entire reactor, rather than just the glassy carbon rod. From a recent phone call, I learned that they hope to change this nonsensical behavior, but at present, only a >$2000 reactor will need to be purchased for the carbon rod.
> 
> Can you folks send over alternative vendors for the ThermoFisher TC/EA sized glassy carbon rod? I would appreciate it. If that’s not possible, please send donations to me through my bank in Nigeria. Checks are welcomed.
> 
> Regards, Marilyn 
> 
> Dr. Marilyn L. Fogel, Professor of Ecology
> Chair, Life and Environmental Sciences Unit
> School of Natural Sciences
> University of California at Merced
> 5200 Lake Rd., Merced California 95343
> Phone: 209-205-6743

-- 
PD Dr. Robert van Geldern
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) | GeoZentrum Nordbayern
Schlossgarten 5 | 91054 Erlangen | Germany 
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fon: +49-9131-85-22514 | fax: +49-9131-85-29294 | room: O 2.112 (office)