A well looked after piece of analytical machinery can last 15-20 years easily. I know of some IR-spec machines that must date from the 70s that are still amazingly useful if you know how to use them.

It depends on what you define as "useful". Typical cycle times for software replacement, for example, run 3 to 5 years. We still run mass spectrometers that I purchased in the late '80s, but I have to scavenge computer parts from discarded machines in order to keep the software portion of the instrument running. The biggest problem in analytical chemistry is that manufacturers obsolete systems in software; ie., they remove the drivers for older hardware from the newer revisions of their software, thus effectively limiting the useful lifetime of the hardware to most users. The hardware itself will normally last decades if properly maintained. For forecasting purposes we use a 5 to 7 year cycle, and then if we can go further we feel blessed.

we can use the analytical instrument approx.17-18 years , you need to specify the make/model of the analytical instrument for best answer

Many of the analytical instruments are working fine for 20 years and above but the software, computer, communication cable of old types will not support as best as the analytical instrument and also new generation computer, software and communication will not support for old analytical instrument

for e.g many of the lab are runnig the HP 5890 GC and 5971,5972 & 5973 MSD, at the same time some of the lab will not

replace the instrument in 13-14 years if you want align with new technology and developments

Note: Make / Model are important because some of the proven analytical instruments - model work more than our expectation but some are not

i hope this helps

Regards

selvan

I agree with Martin Krause:properly maintained, the analytical equipment can last for decades, In practical terms, the limiting factor is the software and computer connections. This is SO annoying.

Many instrument makers charge  customers large amounts of money for software and upgrades. Part of the reason for this is that the customer is a captive market, and part is that a lot of the software was developed without leveraging the more modern software development tools in the context of instrumentation.

An answer to the software problem is to use simple system integration tools such as the DAQ2GO, once a controller or software problem is encountered.. It can take in, process, and output many signal forms, do data treatment , reporting and archiving. Several common application worksheets are provided, and it can be programmed in Excel to do other things. Makes obsolesense via software age obsolete. Makes buying a lot of commercial instruments much less attractive. We have saved over $200,000 in instrumentation and software costs with this, and now we can do many things a commercial instrument cannot.

We use DAQ2GO to completely our GC's, HPLC's and mechanical testers. There are ready-to go Excel(R) Templates for each of these applications. These workbooks provides user interfaces, control the instrument(s), take, store and treat data. See, for example, youtube videos on the topic. Sometimes old stuff and sometimes a group of pieces put together to maKe a functioning unit have been used by us.  

 Instrument vendors have thrust on us two hoaxes: (1) "Instruments are Answer Machines".  That is a patently .WRONG.  Instruments are tools which can be used by appropriate personnel to generate useful information. (2) "Instruments need to be replaced fairly often because they become obsolete". This is fundamentally  FALSE. Instrument makers often make changes in software and drivers so instruments seem obsolete  as newer operating systems come along. This happens long before instruments wear out or are truly obsolete. This practice forces less informed customers into spending needlessly, buying very expensive instruments to replace  otherwise good instruments.