Finished the Incubator!

[PythonChick]

I wanted to extend some more thanks to everyone who offered their input on my earlier incubator related questions. We finally put everything together today, so I thought I would post of pictures of the in between steps we took and the finished product. It was a lot simpler than I expected it to be. All that is left is to put in the shelves (We are going to used the shelves that came with the wine coolers) and hook up the thermostat.

First, we had to clean everything:


Then we removed the light and taped the remaining fixture out of the way:




Then we installed the flexwatt, and just ran the cord out the bottom corner of the cooler. The seal doesn't seem to put much pressure at all on the cord, though if it seems to cause any issues we plan to just cut away a small strip of the insulation on the door. This is also where we plan to run out thermostat probe in:



And the two finished products:


Any thoughts or comments or suggestions are welcome.Thanks for looking!

[temec]

I like it.. very clean for a DIY aswell

[wilomn]

Those are neat. Where did you get them?

[PythonChick]

I like it.. very clean for a DIY aswell

Thanks!

Those are neat. Where did you get them?

Got them for $30.00 each on craigslist. I had been watching the local adds for something cheap to use as incubators for a while. They came with the shelving and were actually still working wine coolers. We almost felt bad not using one for its intended purpose. Still, we are guessing we can get 5-6 egg tubs in each, and the flexwatt was relatively cheap. The flexwatt came from Reptile Basics. Altogether I would say it was a great deal, and it only took us about 45 minutes to thoroughly clean them and install the heat tape.

[stevenkeogh]

You may want to think about installing a fan to circulate the air and eliminate any thermal layering.
-Steven

[PythonChick]

You may want to think about installing a fan to circulate the air and eliminate any thermal layering.
-Steven

Thanks, we thought about installing a fan. If we did, would you recommend one of the small computer type fans? Also, would you just sit it int he bottom of the incubator facing up or mount it somewhere inside?

[SatanicIntention]

I would recommend a 3" computer fan from Radio Shack. Anything bigger and it would create too much heat.

I use a 4" model of the same fan for my large glass-front cooler(about 6ft high). I will be putting another in at the bottom facing up for more air circulation. There's already one installed at the top facing down.

Get one 3" for each incubator and install it in the top pointing down. Just wire it to a normal extension cord(the male end) and plug it into a regular outlet. They work fine. The fans should run around $12-$15 each.

[SnakeDoc]

Very nice pair you have there. You've done exactly what I did, watch craigslist and found what you needed. The most costly part of mine was the Helix thermostats but they are very worth it! Congrats!!!

[llovelace]

Couldn't she install the fan where the light was, since wiring is already there?

[Bruce Whitehead]

Good job. What a great find too.

You can fill them with wine when there aren't any eggs in them.

You know, to celebrate all the successful hatchlings.

Bruce