Surge Scientific · Model ICO170 · CO₂ Incubator · Direct Heat + 180°C HTD
CO₂ Incubator
170 L · Dual IR · 180°C Dry-Heat Sterilization · 7-inch Touchscreen
±0.1°C Stability · ±0.3°C Uniformity · <5 min Temp Recovery · <4 min CO₂ Recovery · Dual IR Sensor · HEPA Filter · Stackable
A 170-liter cell-culture incubator engineered around the specs that actually determine whether your cultures survive a protocol: ±0.1°C temperature stability, dual infrared CO₂ sensing with ±0.1% accuracy, under-5-minute temperature recovery after a 30-second door opening, and the rare feature that separates clinical-grade incubators from research-grade: built-in 180°C high-temperature dry-heat sterilization. Six-sided direct heating, fan-assisted circulation, HEPA filtration, and a 7-inch touchscreen running full chart-logged telemetry — ready to culture for tissue engineering, IVF, oncology, stem cell, and biopharma workflows.
Why Door-Open Recovery Time Is the Real Spec
Every CO₂ incubator spec sheet lists the same numbers — temperature range, CO₂ range, humidity. What separates a CO₂ incubator that produces consistent cultures from one that doesn't is what happens the moment someone opens the door. In a busy lab, the door opens ten or twenty times per day. Each opening dumps warm CO₂-enriched air out of the chamber and replaces it with room-temperature ambient. If the incubator takes 20 minutes to recover to 37°C and 5% CO₂, your cultures just spent 20 minutes drifting — stressing the cells, pausing growth, and quietly eroding protocol reproducibility.
The ICO170 is engineered specifically against this failure mode. Temperature recovers to 37°C in under 5 minutes after a 30-second door opening, and CO₂ recovers to 5% in under 4 minutes. Six-sided direct-heat construction puts heating elements on every chamber surface — no cold spots, no slow zones, even thermal response everywhere in the 170 L chamber. The fan-assisted circulation pulls the recovering atmosphere back to uniformity before the next door opening. And the dual infrared CO₂ sensor (not thermal conductivity) delivers ±0.1% accuracy regardless of humidity level — the single-beam TC sensors in budget incubators drift 1–2% as humidity cycles.
Fast Recovery Times
<5 min temperature recovery to 37°C and <4 min CO₂ recovery to 5% after a 30-second door opening. Less disruption per open, more consistent cell growth across the shift.
Dual IR CO₂ Sensor
Dual infrared CO₂ sensor delivers ±0.1% accuracy across 0–20% range. Unlike thermal-conductivity sensors, IR measurement is immune to humidity drift and temperature-resistant for HTD cycles.
180°C HTD Sterilization
Built-in 180°C high-temperature dry-heat disinfection complies with pharmacopoeia standards for sterility. No secondary contamination risk post-cycle — chamber is immediately usable.
7-inch Chart-Logging Touchscreen
7-inch touchscreen shows real-time temp, humidity, CO₂, O₂ (opt), alarms, and status. Chart view of all parameters for trend analysis. USB + Ethernet export for data management systems.
"The incubator doesn't decide how often the door opens — it decides what happens after." — The ICO170 is what separates a 20-minute recovery cycle after every door opening from a 5-minute one. Multiply by 10 door openings per day, multiply by 5 days per week, and that's a lot of cell growth not happening in the "other brand" incubator.
Key Features
- 170 L chamber capacity
- Direct heat + air jacket construction
- Six-sided heating — elements on every chamber surface
- Uniform temperature, no cold spots
- Fan-assisted air circulation
- Fast post-door recovery
- Temperature range ambient +3°C to 55°C
- PID temperature control
- Temperature uniformity ±0.3°C at 37°C
- Temperature stability ±0.1°C at 37°C
- Temperature recovery <5 min after 30s door open
- Dual infrared CO₂ sensor
- CO₂ range 0–20%
- CO₂ accuracy ±0.1%
- CO₂ recovery <4 min after 30s door open
- Humidity 95 ±5% RH
- Active external humidity reservoir
- HEPA filter — 99.97% at 0.22 μm
- 180°C dry-heat sterilization (HTD)
- Heated door prevents condensation
- Tempered glass inner door
- 304 stainless steel chamber (copper optional)
- Mirror-finish rounded-corner interior
- Easy-clean construction
- 7-inch color touchscreen
- Real-time + chart-view display
- Multi-parameter alarms — CO₂, temp, humidity, door
- Optional low-water and O₂ alarms
- Optional tri-gas (O₂ + CO₂ + N₂) configuration
- USB + Ethernet data export
- Wireless + cable firmware upgrade
- 3 shelves standard (6 or 10 optional)
- Segmented inner doors optional (3 or 6)
- Left- or right-hinge door
- Optional casters (40 mm)
- Access port — 30 mm inner diameter
- Stackable — two incubators without shelving
- Low noise <50 dB
- Dual voltage 110V / 220V, 50/60 Hz
- Low power draw — <60W at 37°C operation
Ideal Applications
Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine
Stem cell culture, organoid work, and regenerative medicine — where optional tri-gas (O₂ control) matters because physiological O₂ is 1–13%, not the 21% of ambient air.
IVF & Clinical Labs
In vitro fertilization, embryo culture, and clinical labs where 180°C sterilization compliance and zero-contamination recovery are protocol requirements, not nice-to-haves.
Oncology, Neuroscience, Drug Dev
Cancer cell culture, neuroscience research, tissue engineering, microbiology, and pharmaceutical drug development — wherever long-duration stable cell culture decides the experiment outcome.
What's in the Box
The ICO170 ships with a standard configuration ready for routine cell culture — 3 shelves, 304 stainless steel chamber, tempered glass inner door, HEPA filtration, 7-inch touchscreen. Multiple configuration options available to match your specific workflow.
Technical Specifications
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Model / SKU | ICO170 |
| Chamber Capacity | 170 L |
| Heating Method | Direct heat + air jacket (six-sided) |
| Convection | Fan-assisted circulation |
| Temperature Range | Ambient +3°C to 55°C (ambient 5–35°C) |
| Temperature Controller | PID |
| Temperature Uniformity @ 37°C | ±0.3°C |
| Temperature Stability @ 37°C | ±0.1°C |
| Temperature Recovery | <5 min to 37°C after 30s door open |
| CO₂ Sensor | Dual infrared (IR) |
| CO₂ Concentration Range | 0–20% |
| CO₂ Accuracy | ±0.1% |
| CO₂ Recovery | <4 min to 5% after 30s door open |
| CO₂ Connector | 8 mm tube (inner diameter), 0.1 MPa |
| Chamber Humidity | 95 ±5% RH |
| Humidification | Active — external humidity reservoir |
| HEPA Filter | 99.97% at 0.22 μm foreign particles |
| Sterilization | 180°C high-temperature dry-heat (HTD) |
| Display | 7-inch color touchscreen |
| Inner Door | Tempered glass (heated — anti-condensation) |
| Chamber Material | 304 stainless steel (copper optional) |
| Standard Shelves | 3 (optional 6 or 10) |
| Inner Door Options | Unsegmented standard · 3 or 6-segmented optional |
| Access Port | 30 mm inner diameter |
| Alarms | CO₂ · high/low temp · door-open · humidity · low water (opt) · O₂ (opt) |
| Data Transfer | USB · Ethernet |
| Firmware Upgrade | Wireless or cable |
| Noise Level | <50 dB |
| Input Voltage / Frequency | 110V / 220V, 50/60 Hz |
| Power — 37°C Operation | <60 W |
| Power — 180°C Sterilization Cycle | <1500 W |
| Inner Dimensions | 557 × 518 × 597 mm |
| Outer Dimensions | 718 × 744 × 956 mm |
| Weight (accessories excluded) | ≤80 kg |
| Stackable | Yes — two units without shelving |
| Door Hinge | Left or right (configurable) |
| Casters | Optional — 40 mm |
| Warranty | 1-year all-inclusive |
Surge Scientific Warranty & Support
This instrument is sold through Surge Scientific, your trusted laboratory equipment partner. Our product specialists are available Monday–Friday for assistance. The ICO170 is backed by a 1-year all-inclusive manufacturer's warranty. Contact us at info@surgescientific.com or reach out directly to our support team at 855.943.3344 for pre-sales questions, tri-gas/O₂ option pricing, chamber material selection (copper vs. stainless), installation guidance, and technical assistance.