You make some good points there Karm.
Basiclly it boils down to trade offs on how you want to run your bench.
For me LN2 is 100% the way to go, but so often there is a catch to using it for me. Having to go out and get the Dewar filled and get scalpped by Airgas, I really need to put some foot work down and find a better LN2 supplier. Setting aside time where I won't be interrupted. All that and the Dewar gets empty all to fast LOL !
My Cascade uses two normal power plugs, 1 for each stage, I assume a 3 stage would need 3. Some homes/appts may have a problem running a machine like these and pop fuses or breakers.
Power costs might be an issue also, but I do not run mine 24/7 and perhaps 3-4 hours at a time. At my place the swimming pool pump is the biggest power draw. But you never really know because you can run the machine for very long periods and don't see the cost until the end of the month, and that could be OUCH ! if not careful.
If you could get a deal where having a large Dewar delivered to your home every month that might be prefered, where I am at thats not all that easy to do. But a carefully planned bench session and that would be a go.
Being able to dial in your temps with LN2 is also perfered, with mine unit its -111.7c unloaded and thats it. And also dealing with cold bugs is np with LN2 but could be a huge pain with Cascade, you can't just take a blow dryer to warm up the pot.
So in the end it's all about trade offs. For me it's convience of using the Cascade and ease of use. I use it more becasue I can simply turn it on and away I go, then off and I am done. Never worry about phone calls or having to do something around the house while in the middle of a bench run.
Does it mean I am done with LN2, far from it. I can just get in more benching with the Cascade now at temps that I want to run at.
I highly doubt that this Cascade will ever need a recharge or retune, it is built very well. Things like these don't need recharges unless you have a leak. This has held up for 3 years so far with no leaks so I think it can last longer with out a problem. Retuning a unit like this is not really needed, unless I decided that I want to go for a higher load capability. But I don't really see a need for that anytime soon.
To me it's all about the quality of the build and the steps the builder has taking to make sure things will run smooth for a long time. Good brazing and extended leak/pressure testing are all good signs.
If you ever get a chance to see this unit up close you will understand what I mean about quality of the build. I have seen other units built in a weekend and hardly leak or pressure checked at all, poor looking brazes which looks like nothing but trouble imo., better live close to that guy because you may need to go see him again
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