They Auctioned This $40,000+ Test Chamber For $1000

Quick Overview

The team successfully purchased an Envirotronics Environmental Chamber at auction for $1,180.55 CAD, significantly less than its estimated value of $30,000-$40,000 CAD, but they immediately faced major logistical and operational challenges, including the realization that the unit was too large for their door, required an external cooling tower, used an obsolete PC/software setup, and needed significant plumbing and refrigerant work before it could be used for testing.

Key Points: The Envirotronics Environmental Chamber was acquired at auction for $1,180.55 CAD, with an additional $1,104.47 CAD spent on delivery. The chamber is a two-stage cascade chiller system capable of reaching temperatures as low as -700C (-940F) and required an external cooling tower for operation. Upon arrival, the unit was discovered to be too large to fit through the existing loading dock door, requiring careful maneuvering with vehicle dollies. The chamber's control system relies on an old Dell PC running Windows Vista Business Edition, requiring replacement and new control software development. The chamber uses two stages of refrigerant; the first stage compressor draws 208V at 1.3A, and the second stage cooling fans draw 1000W each. The maintenance logs indicated the unit was stored outside for almost a decade, leading to corrosion on fittings like the water inlet/outlet ports.

Context: The video documents the Linus Tech Tips team acquiring a large, high-performance Envirotronics environmental testing chamber via auction. This chamber is designed to simulate extreme temperature and humidity conditions for testing electronics, particularly for use in high-reliability applications like those in the aerospace industry (implied by discussions about Boeing). The team's initial excitement over the low purchase price quickly shifts to concern as they uncover numerous logistical hurdles and necessary system upgrades required to bring the decade-old, massive piece of equipment online.