Cambridge University He3 Dipper Repair

ICE was approached by Cambridge University to repair one of their He3 dippers, purchased from us almost 10 years ago. The dipper had sustained some damage through many years of use causing it to struggle to reach and hold base temperature.

The researchers working with the probe informed ICE that the lower end of the probe had been bent slightly and it they believed that it may be touching the IVC. The probe was brought to ICE for an inspection which revealed one of the support legs and the pickup tube were bent and broken and some of the tubing at the top of the dipper was loose and poorly supported.

ICE unwired the dipper, straightened the lower end, repaired the support leg and pickup line, gave some additional support to the top tubing to prevent a future break and then rewired the dipper with new wires. After this we then lapped the IVC to ensure a tight seal, leak tested the probe and polished it. The probe was restored to be as good as new, hopefully extending its life for many more years.