Hi, Bill.
I only have a single magnet, and I use a 60L dewar of LHe to fill it
every 4 months or so. When I called my vendor 2 weeks ago, I was told
"well, you only use 15 L a month, so I can only give you 15 L. I guess
we could stretch it and give you 30 L, but that's the best we can do."
She then proceeded to tell me that's been the policy since last summer.
(Hmmm, I've ordered and been delivered 3 60 L dewars since then without
any trouble.) I was pretty sure it was just this single salesperson, and
that if I had asked for a manager (which I plan to do next time, since
it turns out 30 L is not enough to fill my magnet), I might have gotten
a more rational response.
--Bill
-----Original Message-----
From: William C. Stevens [mailto:wstevens_at_siu.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 12:26 PM
To: ammrl_at_chemnmr.colorado.edu
Subject: AMMRL: helium rationing?
Hello all.
Several months ago, I heard that the helium shortages were about to
be a problem of the past. Yet, not only is my vendor cheating me by
sending 80L instead of 100L, they have put SIU on a 200L/month limit.
This almost caused me a major problem, but I managed to "divert" a
physics order to my NMR lab.
The physics guys said the problem is with our vendor, that everyone
else can get all the helium they need. They were very understanding
and said they'd have no trouble getting their needs met by another
vendor.
Are you having trouble with helium rationing or is my vendor the
problem?
Bill
William C. Stevens, Ph.D. Director
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901-4405
618-453-6498 voice -6408 fax 521-9892 cell
http://opie.nmr.siu.edu
Received on Tue Jun 12 2007 - 15:06:37 MST