Anyone with more experience mind giving me some advice? I’m looking to set up a 2L short path distillation system and am considering a -80C mechanical cold trap. Wondering if they are worth the cost compared to a basic dewar style trap with dry ice. Is the benefit mainly convenience of not having to buy and store dry ice or liquid nitrogen, or are there performance benefits to mechanical traps as well?
No there is n t a performance benefit
Unless really large
I use both on the same rig at the same time
The dry ice first to the mechanical to the pump technically the metal ln2 are best but then you need to haul ln2
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Yes, just walk in and flip the switch!
Out of curiosity, how much does an average cold trap chiller thing(sorry don’t know the terminology) cost?
I want to see if it’s worth it. The nearest place to get dry ice at a decent price is an hour and a half away. My other local options are grocery stores where it’s 2-2.50 a pound
Basically protects your pump to the max, never have to worry about filling up a normal style cold trap. More so a headache reliever then a performance improver. Unless you consider protecting your pump to the max performance.
Should still be worth getting your grocery store dry ice, maybe 50-100 bucks per run
Ya that’s true
But depending on cost of automated cold trap, at 50-100 a run it might pay itself off after 10-20 runs. But I’m just guessing the price here
If anyone has a clue, plz let me know
Avoid these like the plague.
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Those traps don’t really protect your pump. Vacuum pump plane the surface molecules right out of the and dump them back into the pump.
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I like dry ice and ethanol. it cheap, easy and should last many hours before you need to refill a little bit of dry ice. Plus you save money on your electricity bill
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I scored two savant refrigerated vapor traps awhile ago on ebay for $200 ea with glass. If you look used you can find some good deals.
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I use an immersion chiller and dry ice, i use alot less dry ice. It costs me about 40$ to make 3liter so 100 runs a year and it paid for it self. Since i run 5+days a week i now use alot less dry ice but like rogue lab said for first pass i run 2-3 trap and the chiller is the last in line. I was not happy with mt savant trap that i got for free
I like immersion chillers alot.
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Ya i got mine for free and i love it another month and will have paid for it self in dey ice. Then itll be for sale
The immersion chillers are great but pricy in the -80C region
And often the chilling head is to long to fit right into the coldtrap
Itrealy needs to be submerged completely so measure before buying
They are useful for many other things
The savants are the best of the brands sold but get your hands on the -100C /110C type
Also check what the pricing is on co2 tanks for soft drink machines use
With a dry ice making block you can produce instant dry ice with proper ventilation
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It costs more to make your dry ice. When you make it it’s about 40% efficient. Vs when you buy it it’s 99% efficient. So really if you make it yourself you’ll pay more per lb and lose half to inefficiency
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This is something I recomend to those that have hours drive to get it
Or to those that can t even get it at all
Yes it s more expensive but it s an option I like people to know exist
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I know this is a very old topic but would you care to elaborate why to avoid these?
Just had one of these fall into my lap and it looks like a beast but I’ve never used one… 
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Haven’t used that particular model, but in general if they are well built they work a treat!
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