From time to time we play the “what’s it worth” game about the value of a used heat treat furnace, today we look at quite an unusual item. What we are looking at is an unused horizontal vacuum furnace with working dimensions of 36″ X 48″ X 30″, an operating temperature of 2500F, a diffusion pump, 2 bar quenching (either argon or nitrogen) and a Dry Coolers water cooling system. There is an interesting history behind this furnace, it was built in 2003 for the US government, tested and for reasons unknown to us it was never put into service and has sat in storage ever since then. New this would be $600,000 or $700,000 USD and it is a very desirable item, so what is it worth now?

It is difficult to say and that is partly because of the manufacturer. It was built by IVI Corp., of Pembroke, MA, USA, a long established furnace manufacturer who has been around since 1969. The issue is that IVI is a name that most vacuum heat treaters are not familiar with as the company seems to specialize in other technologies such as Ion Vapor Deposition (we hasten to add that it appears IVI is a top notch supplier just not known for this type of furnace).

The fact that the furnace has sat unused for so long, is a rather unknown brand and that the photo shows the furnace sitting in a field will all have an effect on the sale price (by the way it has been stored inside for all this time, the photo was taken when it was being moved). The vendor has assigned an asking price of $175,000 USD and if this furnace was a better known brand it would probably sell in one day. With a lesser known name our guess would be that it will sell, might just take a bit more time. We will update you down the road.

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