[Histonet] Leica Cryostat Service Recommendations

[Emily Sours]

We have the same cryostat, three years old and this is the first time
anything has broken on it.  The total cost for everything will be about $600
which is waaaay cheaper than a $4000 service contract (for one year!).
Also we use our cryostat almost every day, all day.  If you're using it that
little, and it's working fine, I would say hold off on the service
contract.  Just keep it clean and if it stops working, turn it off and let
it defrost for a few days.  Usually that fixes everything because it's just
iced over somewhere.
Leica service contracts are a complete waste of money--only get them if you
need to spend money (which was the case for us a few years ago,
unfortunately, it's not now!).
Also, don't get Leica to fix your cryostat! They charge twice as much as
anyone else.
One thing to remember to save your object cooling compressor motor, when you
restart your cryostat after defrosting, cool the chamber first, then
specimen head.  That way, the specimen head (object temperature) compressor
will not have to work as hard to keep itself cool while the chamber is
cooling.

Emily

A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted.
You should live several lives while reading it.
-William Styron



On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 3:11 PM, Amanda Madden <amkmadden <@t> gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Histonetters!!!
>
> I am writing today to ask about the necessity of having cryostats serviced
> regularly. We have a Leica CM 3050S that is about 2 years old now. I have
> been looking far and wide for recommendations about cryostat maintenance,
> but haven't found much information. Do you think it is necessary to
> purchase
> a service contract that includes having someone come out regularly to check
> on the equipment? We love our Leica rep, but I haven't wanted to contact
> him
> about this until I have a better idea of what other labs are doing. I
> should
> mention that ours is a very small lab, with sectioning time averaging
> only about 5 hours per week.
>
> Thanks for any advice!
> Amanda
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