Last weekend, my 1 year old @StirlingULTra -80*C freezer failed in the worst way: the firmware crashed and the mechanics stopped cooling. The screen was stuck on -80*C, and there were no alarms. The only reason I discovered the problem was from seeing pools of water inside. (1/8)

Upon OFF/ON reset, it booted back up to say 5*C. ~$2,800 of commercial goods useless. Hundreds of noncommercial cells, reagents, and samples completely trashed or questionable at best. No power outage, no user error. The freezer simply glitched and stopped working. (2/8)

Why do I think it’s a firmware issue? Simple OFF/ON reset “fixed” it, and it was back down to -20*C in 2hr, and -80*C next morning. The freezer log shows >= 0*C data point for then correct day/time (Nov 8) upon reset. Curiously, previously entry was -80*C on Aug 26?!? (3/8)

Contacted Stirling right away. Got a response the next morning. Gave them all info they asked for, but radio silence for the next 3 days (and counting). In the meantime, talked to other labs on the campus with the freezers, one which previously had the exact same problem. (4/8)

Buying science equipment is plagued by limited reviews. I’ve had bad experiences with ThermoFisher TSU series -80*Cs, and the #SciTwitter reviews on the Stirling were pretty positive, so I was convinced. I’m writing this here to give info back to the community. (5/8)

They must have known of this problem, since the other lab experienced the same exact issue before me. But no direct warnings by the company. Had I known, I would have replaced the batteries on my secondary thermometer sooner (don’t make this mistake like me!) (6/8)

While the mechanics of the Stirling may be good, I now suspect they have critically faulty firmware. @AnnaBruchez was also a victim, and we’re especially concerned since Stirling freezers have been touted for use in the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine cold-chain. (7/8)

I gave myself a few days to cool off, collect info, and give the company a chance to respond, but all they’ve said is that they’ve entered my incident into their system. More details and updates on my lab website: http://www.matreyeklab.com/stirling-80c-freezer-failure/867/

Take warning, science friends! (8/8)

Tweets escalated things, as I just got two phone calls: They'll update freezer firmware tomorrow. Also, **they don't cover any contents lost from freezer fails**. But, uh, they did offer to extend the 2yr warranty on things like "door handles and electronics" to 3yrs. ... Wow.

Another phone call: If you received this email ~ 8 days ago, it was to FIX THE VERY ISSUE I EXPERIENCED. It would have been nice if they had actually said so, as it would have averted my disaster. Way to try to keep it on the DL.

At least this guy was honest; I appreciate that.