Conclusions on 8 Years Operation of the LEP 4.5 K Refrigeration System at CERN

After 11 years of operation the Large Electron/Positron collider (LEP) was stopped in November 2000. Since 1993 a cryogenic system has been used to supply up to 72 superconducting (SC) cavity modules, using four large liquid-helium refrigerators at 4.5 K. We review eight years of operation of one of the world's largest helium cryogenic systems, its evolution and cooling capacity availability correlated to the LEP increasing energy program. Failure statistics, availability, recovery time after breakdowns and reliability are analyzed, and the most relevant problems encountered during the operation and their cure exposed. The operational organization is also briefly described.