Long Time Away - Floored by Liquid Nitrogen Costs

[scott kozub]

So due to family and health issues I have taken a break from knife making for a couple years now. I'm finally well enough to get working on my shop again and start making knifes. I started calling around to get costs for LN and was shocked at the price increase. I have a 25l Dewar. When I first got it it would cost me about $130 to fill. My local supplier stopped carrying it because I was the only only one purchasing it. I called a couple places for pricing and was quoted $280 to $330 before tax. After tax it'd be $316 to $373. This works out to $12-$14 per liter!!!

I prefer liquid nitrogen to dry ice because it allows me to work with more steels but also keep it on hand. Unfortunately, in Canada dry ice is a "Hazardous Product" and can only be obtained from gas suppliers which means I can only get it during the week. By purchasing LN, I always have some on hand as it'll last a few months.

What prices are you paying for LN? Does anyone have a decent supplier in southern Ontario / Niagara?

Has anyone ever explored the option of a cryo cooler? One of the units that can liquify the oxygen in the air. I looked into this years ago. Figured if I could find one cheap I could mount it above my dewar and just let it run. Ya I'd be paying hydro but I'd only need to generate say 5l to 10l at a time. Liquid oxygen is just about as cold as LN. I don't like the idea of having a bunch of liquid oxygen though in case of fire.

 

[DevinT]

Try to find a guy that services bull semen for cattle ranches.

The super expensive stuff has to do with medical grade LN2, which is the same except for the price.

You might be able to find a used super deep freezer capable of dry ice temperatures.

Hoss

 

[Ken H>]

Wow - $14/liter - that's expensive. Dry ice is available around here at most grocery stores. When I got my 10 liter dewar a couple years ago I called around for LN prices and found the prices to vary LOTS. Close to me a welding supply at $6.50/liter, with a couple other places at $4.5/liter. Then found a big welding supply about 30 mile distance for 50¢/liter. It's now went up to 85¢/liter which still isn't bad at all. Cost me more to drive to get the 10 liter dewar filled than the LN cost.

Good luck on finding a place with the semen storage with LN at a better price.

 

[Scaniaman]

Try my 30 dollars per liter plus a 16 dollar fixed fee.

 

[Larrin]

I think I’m paying about $2/L.

 

[D Bloch]

Asking Universities if they are willing to sell some might be an idea (if there is one nearby), here in Germany I know of a TU (technical university) that sells LN for 0.50€/L which is about the same price that large quantity - buyers get from gas suppliers

 

[HSC ///]

about $70 for 10 liters and the delivery guy comes to my house
this is in the south of France
but I get several thousands of dollars in sales over the 2+ months I have it so it's a non issue in terms of cost.
last fill was Jan 17 and I still have some in the dewar

back in Arizona 2 years ago I think it was around $2.50 per liter

 

[Horsewright]

Try to find a guy that services bull semen for cattle ranches.

The super expensive stuff has to do with medical grade LN2, which is the same except for the price.

You might be able to find a used super deep freezer capable of dry ice temperatures.

Hoss

Large animal Vets generally have it around too. They use it for freeze branding stock.

A guy could get hooked up with one as they usually just pour it out on the ground afterwards to evaporate. No reason a guy couldn't be standing by with a dewar. They're not gonna be a constant source but if the stars lined up right ya could probably get it for nothing.