Note: This message can be falsely declared if your instrument has been idle for a period of time. To reduce the chance of false declarations always run a line charge or two at the beginning of a routine especially after a period of idle time (e.g., after a weekend or a long holiday).
The ALERT message “Tube (X) weak. Tubing replacement recommended” is due to one or more of the pump tubes giving a low pressure reading during the testing of the pump tubes at the start of the analysis. When the message presents as an ALERT the problem can be ignored temporarily and addressed after the analysis is complete (Do not repeatedly ignore this message or you risk the pump tubes breaking and causing corrosion within the peristaltic pump). If the holding pressure of the pump tubes was very poor you would see an E13 Pump Tube Failure message. This ALERT is cautioning you that the pump tubes are not holding pressure well. It is possible though that if the tubing is dry (e.g if the instrument has been idle for a week) and if the lines have not been fully charged with the solutions the air in the lines can cause a weak tube message.
To diagnose the cause, first connect the TDF70 Flush Tube Assembly to all of the supply ports with the middle connector attached to the water container. Then in the Diagnostics menu, run a Line Charge (ALL) several times to ensure the lines are filled with water. Next run a Pump Tube Test, also found in Diagnostics. This will display pressure results for each of the 6 pump tubes. The minimum to PASS is a reading of at or above 8 psi. If the results are between 5.0 – 7.9 psi you will see a WARNING. If the results are less than 5.0 psi the test will display FAIL. Running this test in Diagnostics will confirm the problem, or show that is corrected with proper charging of the lines.
For more information on the weak tubes ALERT see Service Procedure TS001 E13 Fault Diagnosis. If the instrument fails the Pump Tube Test, generally the solution is to replace the pump tubes, but there can be other causes as described in TS001. Depending on the software on your instrument you would need either TDF68 Silicone Pump Tubes (software version 3.60 or earlier) or TDF99 Pump Tubes (software version 3.70 or later). Here also are procedures for installation: TS003 Service Procedure for Silicone Pump Tube Replacement and for the TDF99 Pump Tubes use TS028 Service Procedure for Long-Life Pump Tube replacement which show the location of the pump tubes and how to replace them.
The ALERT message “Tube (X) weak. Tubing replacement recommended” is due to one or more of the pump tubes giving a low pressure reading during the testing of the pump tubes at the start of the analysis. When the message presents as an ALERT the problem can be ignored temporarily and addressed after the analysis is complete (Do not repeatedly ignore this message or you risk the pump tubes breaking and causing corrosion within the peristaltic pump). If the holding pressure of the pump tubes was very poor you would see an E13 Pump Tube Failure message. This ALERT is cautioning you that the pump tubes are not holding pressure well. It is possible though that if the tubing is dry (e.g if the instrument has been idle for a week) and if the lines have not been fully charged with the solutions the air in the lines can cause a weak tube message.
To diagnose the cause, first connect the TDF70 Flush Tube Assembly to all of the supply ports with the middle connector attached to the water container. Then in the Diagnostics menu, run a Line Charge (ALL) several times to ensure the lines are filled with water. Next run a Pump Tube Test, also found in Diagnostics. This will display pressure results for each of the 6 pump tubes. The minimum to PASS is a reading of at or above 8 psi. If the results are between 5.0 – 7.9 psi you will see a WARNING. If the results are less than 5.0 psi the test will display FAIL. Running this test in Diagnostics will confirm the problem, or show that is corrected with proper charging of the lines.
For more information on the weak tubes ALERT see Service Procedure TS001 E13 Fault Diagnosis. If the instrument fails the Pump Tube Test, generally the solution is to replace the pump tubes, but there can be other causes as described in TS001. Depending on the software on your instrument you would need either TDF68 Silicone Pump Tubes (software version 3.60 or earlier) or TDF99 Pump Tubes (software version 3.70 or later). Here also are procedures for installation: TS003 Service Procedure for Silicone Pump Tube Replacement and for the TDF99 Pump Tubes use TS028 Service Procedure for Long-Life Pump Tube replacement which show the location of the pump tubes and how to replace them.