[3dem] LN2 supply?

[Bridget Carragher]

Hello all,
We are building a new microscope suite for 3 Krios to add to the 3 we already have.  As everyone who does this will know, managing the LN2 for these instruments becomes quite a burden in terms of swapping tanks, and managing storage and exchange of these tanks.  So we are considering piping LN2 directly into the rooms.  Can anyone with experience please comment on:
- Costs of LN2 when considering that the pipes needs to be cooled down prior to fill and the pipe runs are fairly lengthy from the central storage tank to the rooms.
- Safety concerns in terms of filling accidents in the room displacing oxygen; is this a major problem compared to the 240L tanks
- Concerns that if anything goes wrong with the central storage unit all 6 instruments would go down
- Anything else?
If people want to send their comments directly to me I will collate and share with the list after a few days.
Thanks,
Bridget

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Bridget Carragher
Simons Electron Microscopy Center
New York Structural Biology Center
89 Convent Avenue, New York NY 10027 
(212) 939-0660;  bcarr at nysbc.org
National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy
http://nramm.nysbc.org
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