Soterios' Wine Fridge Incubator Build

[Soterios]

Howdy. It's that time again, and this year I'll be hearing the pitter patter of baby snake feet. Wait....that's not right.... you get the idea.

Found a broken wine fridge on craigslist. Paid $20 for it, but it's in such great shape I couldn't pass it up.

Tools Required:

-Various Sockets and Screwdrivers to Remove Guts from the cooling system
-Crimping tool for the Wire/Heat Tape interface
-Sealant/Caulk to fill some holes
-Soldering Iron
-Elbow Grease

Here it is, with the six shelves taken out for measurements.



Ripped out the compressor/cooling plate/reservoir and desoldered most of the useless connections on the computer panel. I left the light switch and controller on it. I also sealed the few holes that were in it.



I ran 6" THG Heat Tape, attached with Aluminum Foil Tape, Connected with the THG Heat/Wire/Clip/Insulator assembly. All from Reptile Basics

Regulated by a Helix Thermostat, direct of Helix.



Conveniently, one of the coolant lines to the cooling plate left a nice hole perfect for the probe and wires.



To help insure things run smoothly, I'll be running the Helix, this Accurite Outdoor Thermo/Hygro, and probably another remote sensor.



Example tubs inside



Door Closed



The original light and timer still work, so when I push the 'Light' button, the light comes on, and comes on when I open the door.

I will probably be adding two computer fans to the build. I thought I had a DC/AC adapter and extra fans laying around. So I'll be making a trip to RadioShack.

Ran it all last night. It cranked up to 89 without any trouble and sat there well. I can't wait to cook some snakes this spring.

Total Cost: Roughly $180

Thanks for looking. Hope this might help someone looking to do it on there own.