Temperature characteristics of crystal storage devices in a CP100 dry shipping Dewar

With the advent of 'courier crystallography', the safe and reliable transportation of cryo-cooled crystals in dry Dewars has become an important factor in the outcome of an experiment. The results of measurements of the long-term temperature characteristics of a dry Dewar are presented, together with the variation in properties of a 'cryo-vial', a 'kryo-vial' and a Rigaku MSC ACTOR 'puck'. The short-term effects of removing and replacing the top-hat ('cryo-cap') holder from the Dewar have also been investigated, and the implications for best practice on synchrotron trips are discussed.