Turning into an incubator

[atp151415]

I have this mini fridge and would like to make an incubator out of it and was wondering how you guys think i should heat it and also if you know how to wire a comp fan. Last time tried it blew up and my power went out lol. I was thinking just like two feet of 11in. flexwatt in the back and will definitley use a helix to control it. Then maybe just stack the tubs on top of each other since it might only be two clutches. The dimensions of the inside are 15 in. wide and 21 in. tall.

[ShawnT]

I have one like that....I didn't use a fan. Worked out perfect this year...but definitely going to need a bigger one for next season

[atp151415]

nice one!

wow it looks just like mine on the inside just opposite opening door

[tideguyinva]

wow looks very similar to mine also, yet to be used.

[Somed00d]

Computer fans are really simple to wire. There generally have anywhere from 2-3 wires. Red is for 12v and black is the ground wire. If you have a yellow wire just tape the end so it dosn't short out, it is used by computers to determine the fan speed. Go to a local thrift store or radio shack and get a 12v DC wall adapter. like this:


then cut the end off and attach the wires, you need to attach the red to the 12v side which I believe should have a white stripe on it. If you can't figure out which is 12v try both ways it will not do any damage, if you want to be safe you could get someone to help you with a multimeter. Also you can try smaller voltage power adapters if you want the fan to spin slower.

As for heat tape I would use 1-2 feet of 11" on the back. I use 4ft of 11" to heat a large (12 or more clutches can easily fit) coke fridge incubator and it works well, the amount of heat tape in the picture shown by tideguyinva is a bit overkill but as long as the thermostat is good there will not be any problems. It may heat up too fast for a on/off style thermostat unless you wire in a dimmer.

You should have 10-15 watt's of heating per cubic foot of space, Roy Stockwell a well known and respected hobbiest here in canada gave those numbers he is known for building incubators. If you go by that you should be ok with 2 ft of 11" flexwatt (40w)

I hope these tips help.

Richard

[tideguyinva]

overkill doubt that I just want it good. Either way its hooked to a herpstat proportional thermostat so I think I will be fine. If not I will take a foot off.

[starmom]

... Either way its hooked to a herpstat proportional thermostat so I think I will be fine. If not I will take a foot off.

Save your foot and call Dion and have him help. He'll make it right and you'll still be bipedal

[Somed00d]

overkill doubt that I just want it good. Either way its hooked to a herpstat proportional thermostat so I think I will be fine. If not I will take a foot off.

overkill is not bad when using a herpstat, since it is proportional it doesn't matter. However If you notice any temperature fluctuations you can set the power matching mode to compensate so it doesn't use as much power to heat up. The instructions that came with the herpstat tell you what to do in that case.

If your using an on/off thermostat and the heating element is too large you will find that once the thermostat turns off the temperature keeps rising.

Richard

[Chandler reptiles]

Radio Shack also makes a fan that you can wire up and just plug in with no issues.


I think all the mini fridges on here are just about the same one