It’s the start of that time of the year—vacation time!!! With spring almost upon us, it’s hard to concentrate when we are already envisioning ourselves basking in the warm sunshine. However, before you shut off the lights in the lab to enjoy some relaxing time away, it’s also important to shut down your machine properly so it’s ready to run upon your return.While it’s always a good idea to leave your sequencer idling at the end of your work day to preserve the argon laser, there are some additional steps you should follow if your machine will be on an extended vacation for more than two weeks. In these cases, it’s best to run a water wash wizard to rinse out the pump.
Leave the array on the machine, but make sure there is sufficient buffer in the buffer jar and buffer tray to prevent pump or capillary from drying out. Shut down the software, computer, and completely turn off your machine. If you’re not going to use your machine for more than a month, you may want to perform an array wash procedure in addition to these steps.
In summary, as a general rule of thumb, follow these guidelines:
For 1 - 13 Days
It is fine to leave the machine idling and no special steps are necessary. Please ensure that you have adequately filled the buffer jar and tray to recommended fill lines to avoid pump or array drying out.
For 2 – 4 weeks
Use the water wash wizard to rinse out the pump. Your array may be left on the machine, but ensure that you have adequately filled the buffer jar and tray to the recommended fill lines. Shut down the software, computer, and turn off the machine.
For 1 month or longer
Follow the procedure for a 2-4-week absence. Additionally, you will need to wash your capillary array to preserve it.
If you return from your vacation and discover that your sequencer is still on vacation, it’s probably a good time to call in a service professional from SeqGen. We will arrive in a timely manner to diagnose the root cause of the sleepy machine and return it to working, OEM specifications.
