Walk-in chambers provide a large-volume test chamber for applications where conventional climate chambers are not sufficient. They are suitable, for example, for bulky test specimens, large test batches, as well as for long-term tests, accelerated stability testing, shelf-life tests and storage applications.
BINDER walk-in chambers for controlled test conditions
The BINDER WIC series maintains stable temperature and relative humidity even over extended periods, thereby ensuring reproducible test conditions. There are three standard sizes to choose from, with interior volumes of 12, 18 or 24 m³. Furthermore, the chambers can be configured in a modular fashion up to a volume of 60 m³ and flexibly adapted to spatial constraints, test volumes and specific applications.
- Temperature range from 5 °C to 50 °C, optionally down to -20 °C
- Wide humidity range from 20–90% r.h.
- Reliable operation with high reliability
- Interior and floor made of stainless steel
- Custom-fit shelving systems in stainless steel and aluminium, configurable to suit customer requirements
- Flexible positioning of doors, windows, hatches and climate control units
- Redundant climate control systems for maximum process reliability
The benefits of choosing BINDER
The right walk-in chamber for your test volume
Three pre-configured standard sizes are available to help you find your way around quickly. They are based on the modular WIC system and cover typical requirements for walk-in chambers, ranging from compact test tasks to large-volume applications.
Modular climate chambers for specific test requirements
Not every test requirement fits a standard size. That is why the BINDER WIC Series can be configured on a modular basis. Length, width, height, doors, windows, hatches, partition walls and interior fittings can be adapted to the available space and the required test volume.
- Chamber size up to 60 m³
- Adjustments to length, width and height are possible
- Freely selectable doors, windows and hatches
- Partition walls and interior fittings
- Conditioners can be positioned at the front or rear
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With BINDER’s service solutions, you can ensure the reliability and availability of your units. Whether it’s maintenance, calibration or technical support – we help you to avoid downtime, guarantee accurate results and keep your units in constant working order.
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Questions about the product
Make a request nowVideo: Walk-in chambers – quick to set up and safe to use
The video shows how to set up a BINDER walk-in chamber in six simple steps and provides a concise overview of the modular concept for stability testing and storage applications.
Typical applications for walk-in chambers
Walk-in chambers are mainly used in the pharmaceutical, medical technology, food and electronics sectors. They are employed whenever stability testing, shelf-life and ageing tests are required. Compared with conventional climate chambers (reach-ins), walk-in chambers offer considerably more space and can be a good alternative, particularly when testing or performing storage for large quantities or bulky test loads.
ICH stability testing
Stability testing is used to determine the expiration dates of drugs based on experiments. To this end, the products are stored in climate chambers under defined climatic conditions (temperature and humidity). The storage conditions are defined in guidelines from the ICH (International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use) and must be strictly adhered to. If the door is opened in order to load or remove specimens, the climate chamber must be able to restore the specified climatic conditions within two hours.
BINDER walk-in chambers are ideal for long-term and accelerated stability testing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and products in accordance with the ICH Q1A (R2) and VICH GL3 guidelines.
Aging tests in medical technology
Surgical instruments need to meet the very highest quality standards and be checked extensively before they can be used in human or veterinary medicine, or in dentistry. Walk-in chambers are used here too – for example, in order to perform aging tests. Aging tests are carried out in two different ways: in real time and accelerated. Accelerated aging tests are used to simulate the real-time aging of medical devices. The devices are stored in the walk-in chamber under defined climate conditions (temperature and relative humidity) over a certain period of time. These conditions are defined in the testing standard ASTM F1980 (Standard Guide for Accelerated Aging of Sterile Barrier Systems and Medical Devices).
Accelerated shelf-life testing in the food industry
In the food industry, shelf-life testing is carried out to determine the shelf life of a product under different storage conditions and therefore calculate the best-before date. Accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) is used to obtain meaningful results quickly. It involves using a walk-in chamber to simulate temperature, relative humidity, and light. The samples are stored at different temperatures, such as 20°C, 30°C, and 40°C, and exposed to a high level of light intensity. Finally, color loss is measured as changes in hue (ΔH) as a function of different time intervals. Chemical, microbiological, and physical changes are measured at specific time intervals until the product is no longer edible.
Stability testing of cosmetics
Cosmetics undergo stability testing in order to determine how the formulation and packaging of the products behave under specific climatic conditions. The aim is to meet the necessary physical, chemical, and microbial quality standards and to ensure the integrity of the products and packaging in order to guarantee the shelf life and safety of cosmetic products. Stability tests are required for every new cosmetic product that is placed on the market and must also be carried out in the event of changes to the manufacturing process, packaging, or selection of raw materials. The tests are performed in accordance with international regulations and standards such as ISO/TR 18811 (Guidelines on the stability testing of cosmetic products) and the guidelines issued by Cosmetics Europe (formerly Colipa). Stability testing is generally carried out under “accelerated” conditions. The products are exposed to higher temperatures, higher humidity, and intense light in order to estimate the shelf life.
Life Science and microbiology
Constant climate chambers are used in microbiological applications in order to cultivate bacteria. Controlled high humidity prevents the culture dishes from drying out in this case. Climate chambers can also be used to breed insects or plants. In these applications, particular attention must be paid to the required air change rate and the need for light, especially when cultivating plants. Both the ventilation and the heat input from the illumination pose significant challenges with regard to maintaining the climate. Depending on the selected climate point (combination of temperature and humidity), BINDER walk-in chambers can provide air change rates of approx. 20 m3/h or heat compensation of approx. 500 W.
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Here you will find further information on walk-in chambers.
