AA-7000 Series Spectrophotometers by Shimadzu Corporation

"This instrument, which we bought about 4 years ago, is excellent and relatively easy to use if you read and follow the manual step by step. With different settings you can cover a large range of concentrations for most elements and it is easy to switch between emission (for high concentrations) and absorption mode. There are a lot of in-build safety features and checks for example for gas leaks and the instrument doesn't let you go on if it detects a problem until it is solved. This makes it excellent to use for students who are not yet confident users of the instrument. The gas consumption in the Nitrous Oxide/Acetylene mode is quite high, which makes this mode a bit expensive, but use with Acetylene only is very cheap and efficient and can be utilised for many different types of analysis. I would recommend to buy an automatic gas flow adjuster for this mode, which we don't have. If you want to use the Nitrous Oxide setting regularly, I would recommend to buy an automatic burner cleaner, as there quite a bit of residue build up on the slot during analysis which has to be scraped off with a screwdriver ever 10-20 samples, which is a nuisance. We use the recommended Nitric acid in the rinse water but the slot still clogs. I am not sure if Shimadzu offers an automatic cleaner for the head though, I think they should install this serially. The autosampler ASC 7000 is a bit challenging sometimes, as it might get confused, so it is best not to touch it during analysis or the clock needs to be reset by disconnecting and reconnecting the autosampler. Maintenance is minimal and most of the time comes down to cleaning the head in an ultrasonic bath and filling up the distilled water in the rinse bottle. Support from Shimadzu, as always, is excellent, and most issues can be solved over the phone, which is free of charge for us. "

"This instrument very helpful, I can measure small concentrations of metal, we have furnace method for ppb, flame method for ppm, and also HVG method for some metals like As, we can use ASC system to introduce the samples automatically. It’s very important for to measure metal ions and the price is reasonable. "