Chromatography Forum

Wondering if anyone has technical comments on using "MS NoVent" unit manufactured either by SGE or Agilent. We are considering purchasing one set for ease of changing columns in our GCMSD system without venting the MSD. Thanks a lot.

We purchased the no vent kit a few years ago. Yes it work well for stopping air getting into the system when changing septa and liners but the Agilent fitting was really difficult when it came to columns. The fitting is basically a butt connection and locating the column in a way without damaging the end of it was almost impossible. I think the SGE version is different as I think is the Agilent one. We now no longer use the no-vent as our column lasts about 6 months anyway and we use the change over as an opportunity to do a source clean.

The agilent one is all I've used. It works well if you need to change columns often like I do, sometimes multiple times a week, but it is difficult to get set up without damaging the end of the column, and is very difficult to replace the no-vent silica line once it has been set up. I tend to have to order a whole new kit, as the brown ferrules become stuck in the no-vent adapter and are difficult to impossible to get back out. I would recomend it if you need to change columns often, but be wary of having to remove the no-vent adapter from the MS transfer line.