Folks,
I'm hoping to get a little advice on whether we're being screwed on our
cryogen costs.
Here at the CFA, we have one, lone 200-WB magnet. We put in maybe 30 L of
LiqN2 every week, and 30L of LiqHe every month.
I have no problem with our He supplier. We get a 30L tank on two days
notice, and are charged a flat rate of around $110 (~$3.50 per liter). We
use the entire tank when it arrives, and its taken away again soon after.
There are no delivery charges, Hazfees, extra charges, monthly fees,
surcharges, or anything else.
LiqN2, on the other hand, comes in 230L tanks, which nominally cost $55.
Because we only have one magnet to fill, the tank sits around and we lose a
lot due to evaporation - so we only get 2 fills out of each tank. I doubt we
can do much about that. So we order two tanks a month. However, the combined
add delivery fees, and other misc charges mean we end up spending 1.5 - 2
times as much per month on Liq N2 as we do on He.
I'm about to investigate alternative Liq N2 suppliers, but I was wondering
if any of you, from small institutions with only 1 or 2 magnets, no on-site
Liq N2 "tap", etc, have any comments which may indicate I'm expecting the
unreasonable.
Many Thanks,
Ross
--
Ross Mair email: rmair_at_cfa.harvard.edu
Staff Scientist CFA Phone: (617) 495 7218
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics CFA Fax: (617) 496 7690
60 Garden St, MS 59, MIT Phone:
Cambridge, MA 02138 MIT Lab Phone: (617) 452 3002
USA MIT Fax: (617) 253 0760
Received on Thu Mar 31 2005 - 18:20:30 MST