Thermo Scientific Locator User manual

LOCATO ®& LOCATO Plus
Cryobiological Storage Vessel
OPERATION MANUAL
AND PARTS LIST
TYPE CY50900
Liquid Nitrogen Level Monitor
OPERATION MANUAL
AND PARTS LIST
TYPE CN50900
LT509X9 • 10/19/09

2
Safety Information ..................................................................................................................................3
Alert Boxes ........................................................................................................................................3
Please Read ......................................................................................................................................3
General Usage ..................................................................................................................................3
Warnings ................................................................................................................................................4
General Specifications ..........................................................................................................................5
Environmental Conditions ..................................................................................................................5
Declaration of Conformity ..................................................................................................................6
Unpacking ..............................................................................................................................................7
Operation................................................................................................................................................8
illing Instructions ..............................................................................................................................8
Measuring Liquid Nitrogen Quantity ..................................................................................................8
Storing Samples in Vapor Phase ......................................................................................................9
General Cleaning Instructions............................................................................................................9
Replacement Parts ..............................................................................................................................10
LOCATOR Accessories ........................................................................................................................12
Accessory Liquid Nitrogen Level Monitor Operation............................................................................13
Intended Use....................................................................................................................................13
General Usage ................................................................................................................................13
unction ..........................................................................................................................................13
Installation Procedure ......................................................................................................................13
Level Monitor Remote Alarm ..........................................................................................................13
Connection to Remote Alarms ........................................................................................................14
Liquid Nitrogen Level Monitor’s Alarm Contact Specifications ........................................................14
Principles of Operation ....................................................................................................................15
Microprocessor unction..................................................................................................................15
Audible and Visual Alarms ..............................................................................................................16
Safety eature ................................................................................................................................16
Operation of Level Monitor ..............................................................................................................17
Liquid Nitrogen Level Monitor Troubleshooting....................................................................................19
Level Monitor Replacement Parts List and Accessories......................................................................19
Ordering Procedures ............................................................................................................................20
Warranty ..............................................................................................................................................24
Table of Contents

3
Safety Information
Your Thermo Scientific LOCATOR and LOCATOR Plus
Series have been designed with function, reliability and
safety in mind. or safe operation, please pay attention
to the alert signals throughout the manual.
Please Read
All cryopreservation vessels, regardless of who manu-
factures them, use a vacuum to provide the super insu-
lative properties needed to keep nitrogen in a liquid
form. They are very similar, in fact, to the thermos ves-
sels you may have used to store coffee, soup or milk.
Remember how fragile they were? Since no vacuum is
perfect or will last forever, we suggest that you monitor
the consumption of liquid nitrogen used by your vessel
on a regular basis, i.e. every 1-2 days. By monitoring,
you may be able to anticipate subtle changes in con-
sumption and possibly react to problems before they
arise. You may opt to use a level monitor for this pur-
pose. (See page 13 for level monitor operation.).
Also, if your samples are super critical, one-of-a-kind, or
irreplaceable, consider allocating your samples to 2 sep-
arate vessels. Remember the old adage about placing
all your eggs into one basket….
inally, because no vacuum will last forever, consider
having your vessel tested by the manufacturer or a qual-
ified cryovessel service technician every 7-10 years,
regardless of any problems (or lack thereof) you may
have had in the past. This will help insure your samples
against sudden loss of nitrogen due to vacuum failure.
General Usage
Do not use this product for anything other than its in-
tended usage.
Use of the equipment in a manner not specified by the
manufacturer may impair the protection provided by the
equipment.
Safety Information
Alert Signals
Warning
Warnings alert you to a possibility of
personal injury.
Caution
Cautions alert you to a possibility of
damage to the equipment.
Note
Notes alert you to pertinent facts and
conditions.

4
WA NING
• Liquid Nitrogen is extremely cold; it boils at -196°C.
• To avoid injury due to frostbite or ruptured vials use extreme care whenever handling liquid nitrogen, liq-
uid nitrogen storage or transfer vessels, or any objects which have come in contact with liquid nitrogen.
• Leave no areas of skin exposed.
• Always wear proper safety attire over clothing: face shield, cryogenic gloves, cryogenic apron.
• Do not tightly seal liquid nitrogen containers or prevent nitrogen gas from escaping.
• Always handle ampules with tongs. They may explode when removed from the vessel.
• Use extreme care to prevent spilling and splashing liquid nitrogen during transfer and removal of storage
contents and holders.
• Immediately remove any clothing or safety attire on which liquid nitrogen has been spilled or splashed.
• Get immediate medical attention for any frostbite injuries due to liquid nitrogen.
Warning
Caution
• Never overfill liquid nitrogen ves-
sels. Liquid nitrogen level should
never be above the tops of the
racks inside the vessel. The excess
weight may crack the neck and
result in vacuum failure.
• When inserting or removing
racks be careful not to come in
contact with the neck tube area
of the vessel. emove or insert
racks slowly in a vertical manner.
Scratches on the neck tube area
can cause premature vacuum fail-
ure.
•Do not tamper with or remove
vacuum port (covered by a black
plastic cap on side of vessel); this
will void warranty.
• Do not spill liquid nitrogen on vacu-
um port - this can cause vacuum
failure.
• Always keep liquid nitrogen vessel
in an upright position.
• Do not use this LOCATOR vessel
for transport.

5
General Specifications
LOCATO LOCATO LOCATO LOCATO LOCATO LOC ATO LOCATO
4 4 PLUS 6 PLUS 8 8 PLUS J . J . PLUS
HEIGHT 37.5” 40” 38” 37.5” 40” 27.5” 30”
(Including lid)1(95.25 cm) (101.6 cm) (96.5 cm) (95.25 cm) (101.6 cm) (69.85 cm) (76.2 cm)
DIAMETE 22” 22” 26” 22” 22” 22” 22”
(55.8 cm) (55.8 cm) (55.8 cm) (55.8 cm) (55.8 cm) (55.8 cm) (55.8 cm)
VESSEL 110L 111L 165L 110L 111L 50L 51L
VOLUME
LN290L 91L 134L 90L 91L 40L 41L
CAPACITY,
LIQUID PHASE
STO AGE
VAPO PHASE 25L 26L 39L 25L 26L 20L 21L
LN2CAPACITY
STATIC LN2.65 .80 .80 .40 .58 .65 .80
EVAPO ATION
ATE - L/DAY
LIQUID PHASE 2916 3240 4860 1800 2000 1296 1620
CAPACITY ampules* ampules* ampules ampules ampules ampules* ampules*
(Ampules actually or 3600 or 4000 or 6000 or 1600 or 2000
submerged in liquid ampules** ampules** ampules** ampules** ampules**
nitrogen)
VAPO PHASE 2268 2592 3888 1400 1600 972 ampules* 1296
CAPACITY ampules* ampules* or ampules* or ampules ampules or 1200 ampules*
(Ampules are kept or 3200 4800 ampules** or 1600
slightly above the 2800 ampules** ampules** ampules**
level of liquid nitrogen.) ampules**
1The liquid nitrogen level monitor will add 1 inch to these heights. The transportation cart will add 4 inches to
these heights.
* Using Nalgene cryoboxes with a 9 x 9 ampule configuration.
** Using Nalgene System 100 cryoboxes with a 10 x 10 ampule configuration. (Nalgene System 100 ampules or
equivalent are needed.)
Environmental Conditions
Operating: 17°C - 27°C; 20% to 80% relative humidity, non-condensing. Installation Category II (overvoltage) in
accordance with IEC 664. Pollution Degree 2 in accordance with IEC 664. Altitude limit: 2,000 meters.
Storage: -25°C to 65°C; 10% to 85% relative humidity.
Locator and Locator Plus units are intended for indoor use only.

6
(CE models only) We hereby declare under our sole responsibility that this product conforms with the technical
Units with electronic level monitor conform with the technical requirements of the following standards:
EMC: EN 61000-3-2 Limits for Harmonic Current Emissions
EN 61000-3-3 Limits for Voltage luctuations and licker
EN 61326-1 Electrical Equipment for Measurement, Control, and Laboratory Use; Part I:
General Requirements
Safety: EN 61010-1 Safety Requirements for Electrical Equipment for Measurement, Control and
Laboratory Use; Part I: General Requirements
per the provisions of the Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2004/108/EC, and per the provisions of the
Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC.
The authorized representative located within the European Community is:
Electrothermal House
Unit 12A
Purdeys Industrial Estate
Purdys Way
Rochford, Essex SS4 1ND
United Kingdom
Tel: [phone]
Copies of the Declaration of Conformity are available upon request.
Cryogenics Dewars (liquid nitrogen containers) meet the requirements of Annex V Medical Devices Directive
93/42/EEC
EC Certificate - CE 00127
Declaration of Conformity

7
Before using your new LOCATOR or LOCATOR Plus
vessel, carefully inspect the vessel prior to use. Check
for signs of damage which may have occurred in ship-
ment. It is advisable to fill (see filling instructions) all new
units with liquid nitrogen and watch liquid nitrogen loss
rate for a few days. If there are any problems, call
Customer Srevice as soon as possible.
The warranty registration card enclosed with the vessel
must be completed and returned to the factory within 30
days to make warranty effective. This information must
include the serial number, which is located on the label
on the vessel.
Unpacking
Note
The most prevalent cause of failure of
liquid nitrogen storage vessels is me-
chanical. The vessel neck tube sup-
ports the full weight of the inner shell
and all the liquid nitrogen it contains. A
side blow to the vessel causes the in-
ner shell to swing in a pendulum-like
motion causing the neck tube to be
damaged. Any storage vessel which
has been in an accident, has been
dropped or lowered to hit on its side
will tend to fail more rapidly than one
which has not.
Caution
Exercise caution when moving your
LOCATOR or LOCATOR Plus vessel.
LOCATOR and LOCATOR Plus cryobi-
ological storage systems are not
transportation vessels. Transport
carts are designed for mobility within
the lab or lab to lab only. Moving full
vessels long distances, over cracks in
floor, thresholds, on inclined ramps or
in elevators can cause premature vac-
uum failure.
Note
If you must transport samples under
cryogenic conditions, consider the Arc-
tic Express line of Dry Shippers avail-
able from Thermo Scientific.

8
illing Instructions
To avoid damage to your LOCATOR or LOCATOR Plus
cryogenic storage vessel which may result in premature
vacuum loss, it is important that the following procedure be
used when adding liquid nitrogen to a warm vessel:
1. Add only a small amount of liquid nitrogen (5-10 liters)
to a new or warm vessel.
2. Allow this small amount of liquid nitrogen to sit in the
covered vessel for a minimum of 2 hours. This will limit
stress caused by the sudden temperature change as-
sociated with adding liquid nitrogen to a warm vessel.
3. Add an additional 15 liters of liquid nitrogen to the ves-
sel.
4. Allow vessel to sit for 48 hours and monitor liquid nitro-
gen consumption with a wooden yardstick or Level
Monitor.
5. ill LOCATOR or LOCATOR Plus as indicated. (See
Caution at left.) Remember to allow for displacement
of liquid nitrogen when racks and boxes are inserted.
6. Insert and remove racks slowly. Allow liquid nitrogen to
run out of boxes and off of racks.
Measuring Liquid Nitrogen
Quantity
1. Use a wooden yardstick to measure liquid nitrogen lev-
el. NEVE use a hollow tube or plastic dipstick to mea-
sure the liquid nitrogen level.
2. Level will be indicated by frost line which develops
when dipstick is removed.
3. Level Monitor can be used for constant measurements.
See page 14.
Operation
Caution
• Never overfill your LOCATOR or
LOCATOR Plus vessel with liquid
nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen level in
your tank (with racks inserted)
should never be above 20 inches
(50 cm) for LOCATOR 4 and LOCA-
TOR 8, 10 inches (25 cm) for
LOCATOR Jr., 22 inches (55.8 cm)
for LOCATOR 4, 6 and 8 Plus and
12 inches for LOCATOR Jr. Plus.
illing the tank up to or above the
bottom of the neck tube may cause
immediate or premature vacuum
failure to occur.
• When inserting or removing racks,
be careful not to come in contact
with the neck tube area of the ves-
sel. Remove or insert racks slowly
in a vertical manner. Scratches on
the neck tube area can cause pre-
mature vacuum failure.
• Do not spill liquid nitrogen on vacu-
um port (covered by a black plastic
cap on side of vessel) - this can
cause vacuum failure.

9
Storing Samples in Vapor
Phase
1. Remove the 2 bottom-most cryoboxes from each
rack.
2. Measure the height of 2 cryoboxes stacked on top of
each other.
3. ill vessel with liquid nitrogen to the height obtained
from step 2 using a yardstick to measure liquid level
in vessel.
4. Place racks into vessel without the 2 bottom-most
cryoboxes.
— Samples are now above the liquid nitrogen and are
stored in the vapor phase.—
Important—A level monitor should always be used when
you store your samples in the vapor phase because of
the already low levels of liquid nitrogen. Please refer to
page 10 for the correct level monitor for your system.
General Cleaning Instructions
Wipe exterior surfaces with lightly dampened cloth con-
taining mild soap solution.
Model # Description – For Standard
Covers Only
CV509X12A Replacement cork and glue for
OPE ATION

10
Model # Description - For Standard Covers Only
CV509X12A Replacement cork and glue for LOCATOR 4, LOCATOR 4 Plus, Jr. and Jr. Plus
CV509X11A Replacement cork and glue for LOCATOR 8 and LOCATOR 8 Plus
CV509X41A-70 Replacement cork and glue for LOCATOR 6 Plus
ADX31 Glue for corks
LOCATO and LOCATO Plus Vessels and Covers
TANK ONLY
No Racks STANDARD COVERS W/LEVEL MONITOR
TYPE or covers COVERS
LOCATOR JR. CS509X11A CV509X10 CN509X1
LOCATOR JR.
Plus CS509X20A-70 CV509X10 CN509X1-70
LOCATOR 4 CS509X12A CV509X10 CN509X4
LOCATOR 4
Plus CS509X21A-70 CX509X10 CN509X4-70
LOCATOR 6
Plus CS509X22A-70 CV509X40-70 CN509X11-70
LOCATOR 8 CS509X13A CV509X9 CN509X7
LOCATOR 8
Plus CS509X23A-70 CV509X9 CN509X7-70
All level monitors listed operate on 15Vdc (+/- 10%) 0.2 amps 3.0 Watts.
Replacement Parts
Note
LOCATOR and LOCATOR Plus ves-
sels include racks and covers. Howev-
er, these items may also be ordered
separately.
Note
Cork and glue cannot be replaced on covers with level monitor or level monitor will malfunction.
Contact Customer Service for return authorization to send cover in for repair.
Japan, North/South America, Europe 100-240Vac
CHINA
CN509X1CN
CN509X1-70CN
CN509X4CN
CN509X4-70CN
CN509X7CN
CN509X7-70CN