[Nhcoll-l] -80 Freezers

Tue May 14 15:32:18 EDT 2024

Hi Ani,

We've had Stirling SU780XLE, Thermo TSX70086, and Avantor "house brand"
units running here at ASU NEON Biorepository over the past 5 years. All
have similar energy use ratings, recovery times, warranties etc.  Overall
performance has been great - in 5 years we've had one unplanned service
event.

Some items we considered -
Where will the unit be located. Is noise a concern? 110V or 220V power?
Could the freezer need to be relocated for any reason?
Is it helpful to be able to run the unit at different temperatures for any
reason?
Does a manufacturer offer better "off the shelf" racks etc. to
accommodate your specific sample container. Is this system interoperable
with other freezers if there is a failure and you need to move samples
quickly?
Is it necessary to eventually standardize to any particular brand or size?
These Stirling and Thermo freezers both hold 700 standard cryoboxes but are
different storage volumes overall. A different size may be more useful for
odd-shaped or irregular sample containers.
Does the University have a purchasing agreement in place with any supplier?
Sometimes we get freebies like racks, extended service agreement, initial
setup etc. if there is a promotion.
Availability of local service vendors specific to that particular freezer.

Please feel free to DM if you want any other details.

Thanks,
Azhar

On Tue, May 14, 2024 at 11:00 AM Shoobs, Nate <shoobs.1 at osu.edu> wrote:

> We have a fancy new ThermoFisher TSX60086A -86, and it had a 2nd stage
> inverter failure a few weeks ago, about 2 years into its service life.
>
>
>
> Despite all the bells and whistles (including a sleek looking ~smartphone
> app~ that automatically notifies me of temp fluctations), troubleshooting
> it was a major pain that involved exporting logs via USB 2.0 port on the
> unit itself, emailing them to the fisher reps, and manually silencing
> alarms from the touch screen on the front door every few hours for a few
> days.
>
>
>
> Thankfully it was repaired under warranty, but I’d avoid this model if I
> were buying another one. If we hadn’t had another lab’s freezer in the
> building as backup, we would have lost all the recent samples from two
> divisions!
>
> The moral of the story, I suppose, is that the new machines are not always
> more reliable. I think chest units are a bit more reliable.
>
> -Nate
>
>
>
> --
>
> [image: The Ohio State University]
> *Nathaniel F. Shoobs*
> Curator of Mollusks
> College of Arts & Sciences Dept. of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal
> Biology
> Museum of Biological Diversity, 1315 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212
> 614-688-1342 (Office)
> mbd.osu.edu
>
>
>
> *From: *Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of
> Bentley, Andrew Charles <abentley at ku.edu>
> *Date: *Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 1:35 PM
> *To: *Hristova, Ani <hristov1 at msu.edu>, nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <
> nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
> *Subject: *Re: [Nhcoll-l] -80 Freezers
>
> Ani We have been very happy with the new iteration of the Thermo Fisher
> -80 chest freezers. Granted we have not had them for very long (maybe a
> year) – they were purchased to replace failing older models. They are a lot
> more efficient
>
> Ani
>
>
>
> We have been very happy with the new iteration of the Thermo Fisher -80
> chest freezers.  Granted we have not had them for very long (maybe a year)
> – they were purchased to replace failing older models.  They are a lot more
> efficient in that the compressors do not run constantly.  The freezer shuts
> down when it reaches temperature and only kicks in again once it warms up
> by a degree or two.  This puts a lot less strain on the compressors and
> will hopefully mean they will last a lot longer.
>
>
>
> Chest freezers are so much more efficient than uprights in holding
> temperature.  Uprights lose so much temperature when the door is opened as
> the temperature literally just falls out of the freezer.  Attached is a
> quote we received from Fisher at the end of 2022 for both upright and chest
> however this includes out considerable University of Kansas preferred
> supplier discount – maybe UMich has something similar though
>
>
>
> Hope that helps
>
>
>
> Andy
>
>     A  :             A  :             A  :
>  }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>     V                V                V
> Andy Bentley
> Ichthyology Collection Manager
> University of Kansas
> Biodiversity Institute
>
> Dyche Hall
> 1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
> Lawrence, KS, 66045-7561
> USA
>
> Tel: (785) 864-3863
> Fax: (785) 864-5335
> Email: abentley at ku.edu
>
> ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/orcid.org/0000-0002-3093-1258__;!!KGKeukY!xmvazUF93_okHOUA9Ok8vbkgpNfsOwsgaiU_1k6B-o31Kc9ucrdSWNaZ35JnsUMCMYn5JB-ZtQlrrqHzLg$>
>
> http://ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/ichthyology.biodiversity.ku.edu/__;!!KGKeukY!xmvazUF93_okHOUA9Ok8vbkgpNfsOwsgaiU_1k6B-o31Kc9ucrdSWNaZ35JnsUMCMYn5JB-ZtQne10HsOQ$>
>
>     A  :             A  :             A  :
>  }<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<(((_°>.,.,.,.}<)))_°>
>     V                V                V
>
>
>
> *From:* Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> *On Behalf Of *Hristova,
> Ani
> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 14, 2024 11:32 AM
> *To:* nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> *Subject:* [Nhcoll-l] -80 Freezers
>
>
>
> Hi everyone,
>
>
>
> The MSU Museum Vertebrate Collection is looking to replace our current -86
> freezer used for DNA, tissue, and the like. Could you share tips or best
> practices that you used in choosing your freezers? For example, information
> like: most important product specs, particularly reputable brands, brands
> to stay away from, any issues you’ve encountered?
>
>
>
> Thank you, and I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
>
>
>
> All the best,
>
> Ani
>
>
>
> *Ani Hristova*
>
> PhD Candidate
>
> Department of Integrative Biology
>
> Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program
>
> Michigan State University
>
>
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