slick4591":2hrdeokf said:
This is what I bought back in January. The bad side to this one is you have to break the cane in half in order for it to fit. Other than that I really like it because I don't deal with very much semen.
http://www.amazon.com/Cryogenic-Contain ... B00B4YO1QA
That tank only holds for 88 days, which is way too soon for most (especially if you have a rep fill it). I have seen those used when we buy semen and pick it up at a farm show. The stud service will hand me the tank so I can take it to my car where our normal tank is, transfer the semen, then take the tank back to them. It is small and light, and good for short holding periods.
We have an MVE, and like it. Our first tank was only 3 years old when it started to slip (losing nitrogen faster and faster), and we contacted the Genex rep we bought it from and she dropped one of her used ones off for us to use while ours was shipped back to be checked. Our tank was bad, so they mailed us a brand new one! I like that kind of service. We are in our tank a bunch with all the AI, and our tank lasts 160 days easily. Our ABS rep sends a bill every year, and comes out and fills it every 4 months. We still check it often, with the last episode, but the less you have to fill it the better. If we take it up to Genex in Strafford, it cost $25 to fill it there. Our rep is cheaper.
Now, when we first bought our tank, we only had a few cows. But we were told to buy bigger than you think you need, because you will fill it and wish you had more room. We have hit that point already! But, we have one goblet filled with semen on a bull we collected, one we raised and won the State Fair with. The other problem is when you buy 5 straws, or even 10, you usually are left with one or two, and move on to the next bull. This year I have been trying to make the bulls we have a single straw on fit into a cow, just to use it up and make room. I like the other better, buying a bull for a particular cow!