Liquid nitrogen container, Which size to buy?

Hi, im a culinary student at the moment and im very intrested in the use of liquid nitrogen, the containers are very expensive and thats why I want to chose the right size,

2 Lt containers seen very portable and more afforadable but since i never have use liquid nitrogen I dont know if that will be enoght for most of the recepies that i could need it for..

Which size could fit me better for all the recepies in chefsteps?

Thanks!

PD: I seen grant using a container that is maybe 6 Lt, am I right?

Find more posts tagged with

What About Tools?

Comments

tshewman

That size would do for many of the recipes...........once and then you are out. It also makes refilling much more expensive. I have a 25L dewar and founnd a supplier where I pay ~$1/L so it is decent. The costs is cooling down the dewar as they fill it. I would recommend visiting a school close by and seeing if they have any dewars they are not using (you might be surprised). Keep an eye out on auctions sites (that's how I got mine) as they can be reasonable in price (but still not cheap). Personally I wouldn't recommend one under 20L and the larger the better. JMHO

stenehjemj

With a small dewar, storage becomes an issue. The evaporation rate on a 2L dewar is fast. You would have to fill it and use it right away. This can be a pain.

Miguel_Gutierrez_152503

Thanks for sharing Todd! I look foward in trying to get a good deal, any brand recomendation?

tshewman

I don't have any favorites.

Rich_McDonough_67546

I just bought a 10L International Cryogenics Dewar on eBay (brand new but chipped paint) for $250 as well as two Kryogenifex bartop dewars (i.e. for short term storage) which hold about 4L each for just $55 the pair (they retail at $750 each on the Kryogenifex website!). I didn't go bigger than 10L because I figured that would be the largest size I could comfortably pour safely. If you go too big you need a removal system which is either expensive or requires a reasonable degree of DIY skills. I think the one in the photo above is a 4 litre Taylor-Wharton.

Rich_McDonough_67546

I forgot to say that my 10L dewar has a stated 62 day hold time, though of course that's if you never use it, and that ain't gonna happen...

Lennart_Rehm_219476

Hey,

Sorry for bumping up an old thread: I am currently trying to learn about the "economics" of liquid nitrogen, especially in the context of cryofrying. Apart from the initial cost for the stuff itself, what costs does one have to factor in? Also, how much LN do you run through during the process of, say, freezing the surface of a sous vide steak?

Thanks people!

Lennart

Rich_McDonough_67546

That's a very difficult general question to answer because it depends a huge amount on how you work. For example, I mainly use it for cocktail work and so when doing an event I may fill a 4l bar top dewar from the 10L dewar. As the 4L gets down to -196C you loose a lot in billowing vapour. How much? No idea! I then recover it with a ladle. Every time the (relatively warm) ladle goes in, more LN boils off. I can leave it in when the level gets low enough but not when full or risk sticking to it... Overall a 4L dewar will last me one event for 12 people making 8 cocktails, some using LN in the making but mostly chilling the glassware. If it's sitting in the larger (better insulated 10L dewar untouched it lasts for weeks. Here (Hanoi, Vietnam) it only cost just over US$1 per litre including delivery so cost is not a problem! To chill a single steak? Guessing but maybe 300-500ml depending on the start temp and size of the steak? You'll likely lose more in the transfer from vessel to vessel than in the actual chilling of the steak to be honest. Not very precise but I hope this is useful!