DCS Problems ....

[John Shott]

DCS Users:

As you may be aware, we currently do not have DCS available for these 
critical tools.  Yesterday morning, we found that the cylinder heater 
that keeps the DCS sufficiently warm to keep adequate vapor pressure had 
gotten too hot ... 28C rather than 18C.  That was enough that when DCS 
got into the regulator and gas panel (which is closer to 18C) we got 
liquid condensation.

In these cases, it is best to use the onboard venturi vacuum generator 
to pump this out to make sure that there is no liquid trapped in the 
delivery line (which will result in erratic flow and flow faults).  
Unfortunately, the burn box that treats the effluent from the venturi 
has developed blockage and is in need of a thorough cleaning.  We will 
take that opportunity to replace the quartz liner and heater element 
that will avoid a future problem.

We are currently dis-assembling, thoroughly cleaning, and reassembling 
that burn box.  We are hopeful that we may have this unit fully cleaned 
and rebuilt by the end of business tomorrow.

We apologize for this outage, but will hope to be back in service soon.

Let me know if you have any questions,

John