[Histonet] Leica Cryostat Service Recommendations

[Amanda Madden]

Thank you everyone for, as usual, all of the fantastic advice! Glad to know
that we can save some money and still know that we're taking good care of
our favorite tool!!

Amanda

On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 3:47 PM, Connolly, Brett M
<brett_connolly <@t> merck.com>wrote:

> I'll second that, we have 4 of these (all > 6 yrs. old) and are very
> happy with them.
> We do not have service contracts and, when needed, have a local company
> come in for repairs and PMs.
>
> Good tip Emily about the object cooling compressor, thanks!
>
> Brett M. Connolly, Ph.D.
> Molecular Imaging Team Leader
> Merck & Co., Inc.
> PO Box 4, WP-44K
> West Point, PA 19486
> brett_connolly <@t> merck.com
> T- 215-652-2501
> F- 215-993-6803
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Emily
> Sours
> Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 3:24 PM
> To: Amanda Madden; histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
> Subject: Re: [Histonet] Leica Cryostat Service Recommendations
>
> 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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