[Histonet] Cryostat troublshooting. CM3050

[Hans B Snyder]

Hello Patrick,

We have this same cryostat except it's the CM 3050S.  Ours also has
this issue usually after it's been running for many months with a
defrost.  The typical cause of your problem is the cylinder on which
the block holder is attached has ice crystals or is "frozen".  I feel
the cause of this is because the glass was left open too long while
cutting.  This allowed moister from the room to condense on the
cylinder and subsequently causes a stop go motion.

 Since I am in charge of all histology equipment maintenance, my
solution is to turn off the cryostat, take the microtome out of the
cavity and let it dry overnight.  Then in the morning, I physically
dry the microtome.  Using cryostat oil, oil all the moving parts
including the cylinder, then wipe off excess.  Before putting the
microtome back into the cavity, the cavity itself must also be
thoroughly dried.  The final cool down process usually takes about 1-2
hours.

Feel free to email any specific questions.

Hope this helps.
Hans B Snyder
Histologistics
60 Prescott Street
Worcester, MA 01605
508-308-7800
hans <@t> histologistics.com


On Wed, Jan 7, 2015 at 6:42 PM, Lewis, Patrick
<patrick.lewis <@t> seattlechildrens.org> wrote:
> H everyone,
>
> We have been using this old CM3050 cryostat for our Frozen OCT blocks.
>
> I am cutting at 5 uM.
>
> My issue is that when I use the hand rotator to cut my sections it doesn't seem to advance with each rotation.  It can take as many as 4 rotations to go from one section to another.
>
> What would cause this, and is there an easy solution to this problem?
>
> I can use the button to automatically move the chick holder all the forward and back from blinking to blinking, so I am wondering if ice crystals or debris can be ruled out as  the issue.
>
> Any advice welcome.
>
> Thanks
>
> Patrick.
>
> ps: when I do get the blade to cut into the block, I have to wonder if the section I am getting is really 5 uM, or is it thicker.  Sometimes you can tell if the section looks particularly thick, but other times it's hard to tell.
>
>
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