Frozen semen - Transport - Storage

[alexandra]

I have not really found a topic that combines newby questions.

Frozen Semen is not so common in Germany and hence I am not very informed about storage, transport etc.

Here my questions:

What kind of containers could be used for transport (disposable ? not disposable ?)
How long can you store semen in such type of containers ?
Could you name companies / producers / models which you found working and useful ?
Costs of such containers ?

Same type of question for “simple” storage Containers for a few doses:
What kind of containers could be used ?
How long can you store semen in such type of containers ?
Could you name companies / producers which you found working and useful ?
Costs of such containers ?
What are the refill times ?

Maybe links, where I could look for used ones ? MAybe even in the USA is an option for me (Advantage of good fx rate and maybe much more commen than here in Germany).
Is buying used ones a good idea or a too high risk ? Can these things break ?

You see: this is a huge black box topic for me and any information (links to information ?) are highly appreciated…

[Home_Again_Farm]

Here is a good website with various tanks. On the chart, the tanks on top are long term storage tanks, the vapor shippers are on the bottom:

http://sementanks.com/COMPARISONCHART.htm

They can break - in that they can lose their vacuum seal, so buying one used can be a risk. My first tank was used, but I found it through my repro vet (he knew its history) and I had a cattle semen storage guy check it out thoroughly for me. Eleven years later it is still good.

[alexandra]

Wow, just looked at the cheapest of those in the list.
Would be conveerted to Euro about 400 and I checked german sites for it: 821 Euro !!
So buying in the US and even sending it empty via FED Ex or such would save a huuuge amount. Maybe someone could even bring it over for me as regular luggage. Or I come over.

[Anne]

Alexandra, I will be coming to Paris in September and am happy to bring a tank over for you if you like.

[alexandra]

Thank you very much for the offer. I have a collegue that works at the moment in the US and travels on regular basis. Poor guy already brought car parts for my dad with him

Before I decide on anything, I would like to learn a bit more - also on different brands etc.

[Home_Again_Farm]

Alexandra, I have two of the MVE tanks — 1 20/20 and 1 Millenium. Both have served me well.

[siegi_b]

I have an MVE tank as well and it needs to be refilled every 90 days or so, if I remember correctly. My vet keeps it for me and so I don’t have to worry about the refills.

Not sure it would be fair to ask somebody to bring a tank with them by air - those things are quite heavy and the boxes they comes in are BIG! Check the specifications on the websites to see how much the different styles weigh.

Viel Spass!

[RyTimMick]

Hi Alexandria,

You need a vapor shipper to ship frozen, and it stores from 8-10 days. It needs a mushroom shipping container to protect he tank. The regular storing dewars store for about 90-120 days between fills. They are much larger and require a crate. DHL ships to you guys regularly. I have product coming from Germany monthly with my company, and it is managed by BTX (tech trans). They can crate it and deliver it. If you need their information I can get it for you.

Tim

[back_in_the_saddle]

By the time the company ships the friend the tank, and by the time the airline charges the luggage fee, it may be less expensive to have the company ship the tank to you from the start.

Now, if the company doesn’t ship international, that’s another situation.

Equine Repro mentioned somethiing about tank thickness being different between the different companies so something to check out.

[rodawn]

Alexandra, what Tim said.

Might I suggest you give Kathy St. Martin or Jos Mottershead a call or email - equinereproduction.com . They have good prices on very high quality tanks - they are not necessarily the cheapest on the market, but they are very high quality and when it comes to keeping your semen stored properly, QUALITY beats PRICE any day.

[kokoda]

Alexandra:

Both of our tanks are from MVE (storage and shipping). Differences are basically storage size and amount of time it holds a charge. You will need to have access to liquid nitrogen. If you’re looking for a shipper, then you’ll also need the outside mushroom container to protect the tank during shipping.

A mutual friend of ours will be here the end of next week and if you knew what you wanted, I could get it shipped here and she could take it back with her. Be happy to help … just let me know!

Sounds like you’re on a mission …?? :winkgrin:

[back_in_the_saddle]

Kathy can get alarms for the tanks as well. I think I remember those being about $500 US.

[Equine_Reproduction]

[QUOTE=rodawn;5718184]
Alexandra, what Tim said.

Might I suggest you give Kathy St. Martin or Jos Mottershead a call or email - equinereproduction.com . They have good prices on very high quality tanks - they are not necessarily the cheapest on the market, but they are very high quality and when it comes to keeping your semen stored properly, QUALITY beats PRICE any day.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the kind words, rodawn, but a couple corrections :). We don’t sell anything. One of the company that does sponsor our website and short courses is www.sementanks.com - and they “do” sell nitrogen tanks. They are, as Home Again noted, probably the least expensive retailer of MVE tanks out there. As you have noted, there definitely is a difference in quality and for the sake of $100, I’d go with quality over price as well ;).

[alexandra]

Thank you all,
Jan I am not on such an urgent mission (And you make me very curious about the mutual friend

I looked at the list that ML provided and was looking at the refill times as I think that would be an important factor for me.

So what are the differences in price are coming from if I see a cheap container can hold x days and another more expansive one less days ?

I may ask very dumb questions, but I searched with google and did not really come across information in one place so I am trying to collect bit and pieces here and there.

[imajacres]

[QUOTE=alexandra;5717441]
I have not really found a topic that combines newby questions.

Frozen Semen is not so common in Germany and hence I am not very informed about storage, transport etc.

Here my questions:

What kind of containers could be used for transport (disposable ? not disposable ?)
How long can you store semen in such type of containers ?
Could you name companies / producers / models which you found working and useful ?
Costs of such containers ?

Same type of question for “simple” storage Containers for a few doses:
What kind of containers could be used ?
How long can you store semen in such type of containers ?
Could you name companies / producers which you found working and useful ?
Costs of such containers ?
What are the refill times ?

Maybe links, where I could look for used ones ? MAybe even in the USA is an option for me (Advantage of good fx rate and maybe much more commen than here in Germany).
Is buying used ones a good idea or a too high risk ? Can these things break ?

You see: this is a huge black box topic for me and any information (links to information ?) are highly appreciated…[/QUOTE]

Have you asked cow people? They use frozen all the time ( at least here). Maybe they can send you in the right direction. That would be for the big storage tank, the dry shipper is what you need to transport it around.

[alexandra]

Cow people ist what I would look at for refilling it. I may aswell ask about my other questions aswell. Just thought would get some things explained here before Especially about brands, modells etc.

[Home_Again_Farm]

Alexandra, the longer the holding time, the more the tank will weigh. I find mine to be easy to move and the time between refills is fine. I can put it in my car and take it to pick up frozen semen from Judy Yancey, saving myself shipping fees. In Germany you should be able to do that with many different suppliers of frozen semen. I know I would have a harder time if my tank was much heavier than it is. So, that is one reason I opted for the smaller size.

You should ask cattle breeders in your area who supplies liquid nitrogen and find out what their schedule is. My supplier knows my tank size and has me on an automatic schedule.

[kokoda]

HAF brings up good points re: size. We have a large tank that we use for storage that is a real pain to move around and I can NOT move it alone. We have someone who comes in to charge it so it’s really just a storage tank that can be moved (by two people).

If you’re just looking to store a limited amount of semen and have access to having the tank easily charged, then a smaller tank should prove to be more convenient.

[RunningwaterWBs]

@imajacres;5718815

Have you asked cow people? They use frozen all the time ( at least here). Maybe they can send you in the right direction. That would be for the big storage tank, the dry shipper is what you need to transport it around.

This. Their price per straw may be a whole lot less than ours, but they don’t like losing what’s in their tanks any more than we horse people do.

[alexandra]

ten years ago (omg) I was actually at Semex Canada and standing in front of one of theirs. Phew - amazing ! And they had not just one of those huge ones.