This one is almost identical to mine **broken link removed**
The main difference is mine is the series II plus model and is run from a dedicated pc using Elmer perkins total chrom soft ware. Mine has two detectors ports but only one has a detector fitted at the moment. My detector is a FID (Flame Ionization Detector), the detector uses a Hydrogen flame. I dont know for sure but the ones with the radioactive dectors are normally run with a mass spectrometer, but I could be wrong as these GC's have so many options and configurations you can use. I have three coils for mine, a Polar, non polar, and a wax column.
I know the carrier gas it can use is Nitrogen (the one I want) Helium (too expensive) and Hydrogen (the best but the risk of a leak in the oven or coil isnt worth the risk for what I need). It also needs clean dry air, you can get cylinders but most use a dentist type compressor which is cheaper long term and easier. I have had the full system around 9 months, but apart from when I went to get it I havnt run it. I had to buy the gas gauges and coils etc and the machine and controller box with pc, so now to complete the system I need another £400-£500. Most the cost apart from £150 for the compressor is for the initial bottle deposit, the rental isnt bad per month for the bottles and the refills are pretty cheap. I estimate a I would get through around 2 bottles of Nitrogen a year and 1 Hydrogen, I could afford that as it would mean my business would be up and running.
But being summer most of my money has been spent extracting oils etc and solvents as well as other bits and pieces I needed for a analytical lab. Now winter is coming I might be able to save up more, it was a tough choice but while I had access to plant etc I thought it better to extract them while they were in season, once I get the machine running I can check purity etc and test the soaps. I have sales lined up but wanted to be 100% legal as most of my soaps and detergents fall into the cosmetics definition or border it, so the rules on things like 'natural' and organic are stringent and the cost of sending samples off is mad (£200-£300 per sample). So I washed tractors and any did any job I could find that no one wanted to do and saved up the £4000 over a year to get my lab this far.
I have most the reagents I need and most of the major ingredients, is mainly the gas holding me back at the moment.
I also got a decent vacuum pump and casting system so i can make my own molds for custom soap bars for hotels etc. I isolated a compound from a certain seaweed that grows local and its a great natural detergent, very very good at removing dirt and is mild on the skin. BUT unless I can test each batch I am wide open on the legal side, also for peace of mind I want to test each batch and KNOW its high quality and safe. I nearly did what most do and just by in melt and pour soap base and add the fragrance and oils etc.The problem with that is just about all hobby soap makers and proctor and gamble do that!
I wanted a high quality traditional product made from scratch but with high quality control. Some of the top Scottish hotels are really interested in the samples I had done, but seeing as i have somehow got this far I dont want to destroy all the work by messing up with a bad batch!
It takes almost 7 weeks to cure a real soap and 24 hours for melt and pour, but I can charge way more for mine and the quality stands out. Mine also dosnt contain ANY man made detergents like SLS! So most are suitable for even the most sensitive skins (depending on essential oil required etc). I also make a kick ass detergent that the local museum has used to restore some really old fabrics in a castle, I used an extract of the soap plant which is very very mild, to this I added a hydrophobic molecule so when they use it the fabric dosnt get too wet.
Sorry I have made it sound like a sales brochure lol.
The answer to the question is no mine dosnt have the radioactive detector
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Funny enough I got into it by accident when someone got me a small kit, I decided I could do better. I did sell for a while at a local market and trade was getting good, but after looking into the rules and regs I decided not to risk selling until I could do it properly and cover myself legally (well my mum is the company as I am too young). Its a great feeling making something and have people come back time after time raving about it, its sort of why I have gone the chemistry and Biology route, the electronics has allowed me to make alot of the equipment I needed to refine my process.
My essential oils are all extracted by me I dont by any in so I know exactly whats in them and where they come from. Purest say an essential oil is steam extracted and solvent extracted oils are known as concretes, but I use both processes and the solvent one is better if you use the right solvents and distill etc correctly, that way i can use say tomato extract (from the stem and leaves) and just extract the compounds that give the smell, that way most people who are allergic to tomato can use my product without a reaction and yet its a natural product. Tomato and basil is one of my top sellers smell wise.
ERM
Sorry mods I went way off topic