Can I use an oil-free pump for all MS applications?

Yes, dry pumps are increasingly preferred due to their clean operation and low maintenance. However, some legacy systems may still require oil-sealed pumps for compatibility.

How do Welch pumps reduce contamination risk?

Dry scroll pumps eliminate oil backstreaming. Combined with low vibration and stable pressure, this protects the MS system from sample carryover and hardware degradation.

Are Welch pumps compatible with major MS brands?

Yes. Welch vacuum systems are used with instruments from Thermo Fisher, Agilent, Bruker, and others. Compatibility charts are available on request.

What’s the typical maintenance cycle?

Dry pumps often run for 15,000+ hours before service. Oil-sealed pumps may require more frequent oil changes but are also designed for long-term reliability.

Mass Spectrometry | Welch Vacuum

About vacuum for mass spectrometry

Mass Spectrometry is used for many analytical purposes including:

Identify unknown compounds
Determine elemental composition
Determine the abundance of a compound in a sample
Determine the structure of a molecule
Measure the physical, chemical, or biological properties of a great variety of compounds

In analytical laboratories, the most common applications involving a mass spectrometer are Pharmaceutical, Biopharma, Drug screening, Environmental testing, Food & beverage testing, Petrochemical.

The vacuum system in a mass spectrometer typically operates below in the micron range to allow the free flight of molecular fragments to travel to the detector.

Mass spectrometers can analyze atoms, molecules and biological material ranging in size from protons to macro-compounds such as DNA. Compounds injected into Mass Spectrometer are fragmented into molecular fragments.

Selecting Vacuum Pumps and Systems for Mass Spectrometers

Common issues in vacuum pumps backing a mass spectrometer include hot running pumps, contamination of the oil, and chemical attack of pump internal components. Welch’s CRVpro series operates at lower operating temperature which reduces oil breakdown. The large oil reservoir in the pump dilutes chemical contaminants, which reduces chemical attack of the pump internal components. The hardened internal pump components resist chemical attack by chemical contaminants.

Welch offers a variety of rotary vane pumps to be used as backing pumps for various types of Mass Specs.

Refer to the table below for guidance in choosing the right vacuum pump for your mass spec device. For advice and guidance feel free to also reach out to our application experts, using the buttons above.

MANUFACTURER	GC-MS / SMALL TOF	GC-MS / SMALL TOF	ICP-MS / LOW END LC-MS	ICP-MS / LOW END LC-MS	ICP-MS / LOW END LC-MS	LC-MS
Welch	CRVpro 2(1.8 CFM)	CRVpro 4(2.8 CFM)	CRVpro 8(5.6 CFM)	CRVpro 16(12.8 CFM)	CRVpro 24(12.8 CFM)	CRVpro 30(22.1 CFM)