I am looking for an environmental test chamber to expand the tests capabilities of my shop.
Very often I am asked to measure circuit behavior at low/high temperature and I would like to offer something more professional than air hot gun/freezing spray…
Here the some requirements/nice to have I am after:
Temperature range -20C to 105C (minimum)
Not to big (25 liters should be enough)
Dedicated aperture for DUT cables connection.
Controlled humidity is a nice to have.
I have seen there are plenty of options on Alibaba.
In case someone has tried some of them, having a brief review will be really appreciated.
Thank you all!
I looked at various overseas ones, but found a reasonable deal on a local (== within Canada, as shipping is much easier then) used one.
FWIW there isn’t as much going on with them as I expected, the electronics part is mostly off-the-shelf. The refrigeration part can be serviced by most local type of shops as it’s similar to any dual-stage unit like medical supply might be using. Basically if the compressor and other key parts are good I doubt you’d have trouble keeping it running. Here are some shots of what’s inside of one in case it’s useful as a bit of a reference for what you’re paying for.
I’d be pretty comfortable with both a used one & the alibaba ones, having seen what’s inside them. For me the freight costs made a significant difference, as did finding one the right size & circuit requirements (this one is powered with 120V/20A so makes it easy for me). Concern around the observation window material & what refrigerant are in use made me a little more unsure about the overseas ones.
I just listen to the Vapor Phase Amp Hour episode. This is totally the acquisition to justify upgrading both soldering and temperature testing capability!
