The newest LNI Swissgas generators deliver 100 to 350 L/min of LC-MS grade nitrogen from a single floor-standing cabinet, with 150 L/min of dry instrument air alongside it on the NGA models. A multi-instrument LC-MS/MS suite runs on one supply instead of a rotation of dewars.
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Every LC-MS/MS source you add is another 16 to 32 L/min of nitrogen, plus dry air for curtain or drying gas on top of it. At three, four, six instruments, a liquid nitrogen supply stops being a utility and becomes a delivery schedule the lab lives around: boil-off whether or not the instruments run, rental and demurrage per vessel, and a source that drops if one tank runs dry mid-batch.
A dewar rated for a week runs dry sooner when six sources pull from it. An LC-MS/MS source starved of nebulizing or curtain gas stalls the run, and the Q4 backlog behind it keeps growing while the next delivery is scheduled.
Pharma, clinical, and tox labs push year-end sample volume through the same LC-MS/MS bench a dewar swap just took offline.
Bench-top units are right for one or two instruments. Past that, one central supply with a manifold is simpler to run, simpler to service, and easier to grow.
All three units combine an inverter-driven scroll compressor, membrane nitrogen separation, refrigerated drying, and carbon polishing in a single floor-standing cabinet — no external compressor, no cryogenics, no cylinders. The two NGA models add a second outlet for dry instrument air; the NG model puts the whole cabinet to work on nitrogen and delivers the highest flow of the three.
Designed and built by LNI Swissgas in Italy. Specified, commissioned, trained, and maintained by SLI, its authorized US distributor, serving laboratories nationwide.
If your lab already has clean instrument air, the nitrogen-only NG CASTORE XL iQ 350 puts the entire cabinet to work on nitrogen and gives you the most flow per square foot. If you are supplying both gases, an NGA model does it from one unit. A 350.480 build of the nitrogen-only unit is offered for buildings with a different three-phase service — we confirm the electrical match for your building before anything is quoted.
Separate 1/2" N2 and dry-air outlets feed a manifold, so source gas and curtain or drying gas for every instrument come from the same unit. The scroll compressor inside supplies its own feed air; no house compressed air is required.
Two units link over RS-485 and share the load proportionally and alternately. If one generator is down for service, the other keeps supplying the line; together they meet demand a single unit cannot.
In PID Pressure mode the inverter-driven compressor speeds up or slows down with the gap between set and measured pressure, resting in stand-by above the setpoint. The controller accounts for an external buffer tank up to 2,500 L.
When power returns after an outage, the generator comes back in the same state it was in before, working or off, without someone walking to the gas room.
Voltage-free contacts signal on, ready, and alarm status to a BMS or alarm panel; an opto-isolated input allows remote start and stop. RS-485 is standard for supervision.
The touch-screen shows hours to Service 1, 2, and 3 (2,500 h, 5,000 h, 10,000 h). Pre-alarms flag due maintenance while nitrogen keeps flowing. SLI preventive maintenance is scheduled against those counters.
The bench-top NG CASTORE XS and XL iQ line (15 to 70 L/min) and seven instrument-specific NGA variants still cover single-platform labs — start with our nitrogen generator for LC-MS overview, or see full specifications for every model on the NG Series nitrogen generators page. The assessment tells you which side of that line your lab is on.
LNI's instrument-specific units draw 16 to 32 L/min of nitrogen per LC-MS/MS source depending on the platform. The illustration below uses 20 L/min per source with 25 percent headroom. Your assessment replaces it with the OEM figures for your exact instruments and your real peak, not the average.
| Configuration | N2 available | Dry air available | Illustrative LC-MS/MS sources | Typical fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGA CASTORE XL iQ 250 | 100 L/min | 150 L/min | up to ~4 | Growing lab consolidating from bench units |
| NGA CASTORE XL iQ 350 | 200 L/min | 150 L/min | up to ~8 | Core LC-MS/MS suite on one manifold |
| 2× NGA CASTORE XL iQ 350, parallel | 400 L/min | 300 L/min | up to ~16 | Central supply with service backup |
| NG CASTORE XL iQ 350 (N2 only) | 350 L/min | — | up to ~14 | Suites with existing instrument air |
A three-phase supply (the unit ships with a 32 A industrial plug on a 3 m cable; we confirm the electrical match for your building during the assessment), an indoor location between 36 and 95°F, a floor rated for more than 1,000 kg, roughly 8 in. of clearance at the sides and 4 in. behind, and ventilation for 18,800 to 25,600 BTU/h of heat. Placement and utility connections stay with your facility; SLI specs them so there are no surprises.
The purchase price is the visible number. These are the ones that show up in your week.
| Liquid N2 dewars / cylinders | NGA CASTORE XL iQ central supply | |
|---|---|---|
| Supply | Boil-off, rental, delivery, demurrage per vessel | A three-phase outlet, nothing to schedule |
| Adding an instrument | More vessels, more swaps, same delivery cadence | Another drop on the manifold, inside the unit's headroom |
| Mid-batch risk | Source can drop if a tank runs dry | Continuous while powered; parallel pair covers service downtime |
| Dry air | Separate compressor or separate cylinders | Same cabinet, second outlet |
| Cost shape | Recurring and inflating | Capital once, then a fixed utility cost |
| Who supports it | A delivery driver and a phone queue | An SLI Sales Engineer, on site, with PM on the service counters |
On-site nitrogen commonly pays for itself within a couple of years for labs with steady consumption, after which gas becomes a fixed utility cost instead of a recurring, inflating bill. A central unit feeding several sources gets there sooner than one generator per bench. We build your ROI from your actual gas usage, not industry averages.
National suppliers drop a crate at your dock and leave the rest to you. Here is what working with SLI actually looks like.
A Sales Engineer reviews every MS platform on the floor, your current N2 and air sources, and peak demand.
We size the 250, the 350, or a parallel pair that covers it with headroom, and write up what your facility needs.
We commission the unit on site, set pressure and control modes, and bring it up to spec with you.
Your team is trained on the touch-screen, counters, and alarms before we leave the building.
Preventive maintenance scheduled to the service counters, calibration, and parts for laboratories nationwide.
SLI provides consulting, commissioning, training, and preventive maintenance. Physical placement, plumbing, and electrical connection stay with your facility, and your lab re-establishes its own methods. We share the best practices that make that easier.
A Sales Engineer reviews every LC-MS/MS platform on your floor and your gas setup, then writes you a nitrogen and dry-air specification. Not a brochure and not a sales call: a document you can budget from, compare suppliers against, and keep, whether or not you buy from us.
The six numbers a Sales Engineer needs to size a central supply appear immediately, and your Sales Engineer emails you the Laboratory Gas Requirements by Instrument guide so you can look up each platform on your floor.
Your Sales Engineer will email you our Laboratory Gas Requirements by Instrument guide — nitrogen, hydrogen, and zero-air requirements for analytical instruments from Sciex, Agilent, Shimadzu, Thermo, Waters and others, with the matching generator for each. In the meantime, here is the LC-MS Suite Sizing Checklist: the six numbers we will ask for, so the specification is right the first time.
Prefer to talk it through now? 713-653-3424
Tell us what is on your floor and a Sales Engineer will write you a specification for it, with an itemized quote alongside, within one business day.