Breaking Balls DIY Upright Cooler Incubator
Hey there ladies and gents!
Finally finished my DIY incubator project :) Here's the promised DIY thread with lots of pics. I'll be happy to help anyone that needs any questions answered. I think it turned out rather well. I have about a degree of variance from top to bottom. I might install a second fan up top but I am waiting for the temps to stabilize since I just added the water jugs.
And then there were two. One worked so I sold it and actually made some profit assembling my incubator!
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...1-03194511.jpg
Dropped the cover to expose the nasty wiring mess.
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23205117.jpg
Removing the condenser and fan unit (Recycle!)
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23205126.jpg
Pulling the drain tube/wire/coolant line channel cover
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23205141.jpg
Removing the compressor (make sure the refrigerant has been recovered)
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23205803.jpg
Retaining the stock junction box and spare outlet to power the inverter
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23212738.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23213308.jpg
Cleaning up the wiring so stock lighting functionality can be retained
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23215557.jpg
Removing the vinyl beverage wrap too forever! (Hint: Use a heat gun!)
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23224933.jpg
Soldering the 11" Flexwatt
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-29192347.jpg
Always use electric tape on the connections
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-29193018.jpg
A 3' piece of 11" Flexwatt on each side
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-29212403.jpg
Wires running through grommets from the junction box to the interior of the incubator
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-29212446.jpg
Silicon on all the interior edges
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-08131419.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-08132521.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-08131435.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-08132453.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-08132554.jpg
Hardware for the fan mounting
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-10014719.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-10014730.jpg
200mm Rifle Bearing computer fan (Large size, low noise, low rpm, high cfm)
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23193952.jpg
Rewired inverter to power the rheostat and fans
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23194028.jpg
Rheostat powered up
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23194059.jpg
Rheostat controls fan speed as well as allows on/off of each fan
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23194005.jpg
The rheostat and fans
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...2-23193939.jpg
Installing the lower fan
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-10014745.jpg
Fan mounted
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-10015354.jpg
Stealth mounted in the stock cooler grill to allow external adjustment
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-13143344.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-13143414.jpg
Top wiring cleaned up and mounted
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-13143445.jpg
Top fan and cleaned up wiring
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-13143454.jpg
Cleaned up wiring running into the channel
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-13143510.jpg
All finished except one thing
]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...3-13143542.jpg
Vinyl is being cut for a new piece of plexiglass for the lighted sign on top. The black will block light and the blue will shine through the Breaking Balls logo. Coca-Cola font :)
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...or/Capture.png
Hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to message or ask questions on the thread if you need anything.
Regards,
B
Re: Breaking Balls DIY Upright Cooler Incubator
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jinx667
Awesome.
I need to find me one of those coolers. Still checking Craigslist every few days. Reminds me I need to go check now....
The original one I grabbed ended up working! So my $40 purchased turned into a $400 sale netting $360 in profit. I see them from time to time on there but sometimes people want ludicrous amounts for broken ones. A fellow ball python enthusiast hooked me up with the one I have now. It actually didn't work... lol. Good luck!
Regards,
B
Re: Breaking Balls DIY Upright Cooler Incubator
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cmack91
Looks good Brian:gj: how many man hours did you put into it?
Too many but scattered around quite a few weeks with a few hours here and there. We probably could have whipped it out in a weekend of non-stop work but my brother and I have conflicting schedules. This meant we worked on it a bit here and a bit there. The longest task was actually removing the vinyl wrap... lol. The small detail stuff added up though. I still have a can of spray paint to finish the lower grill and handle. They both could use it :)
Regards,
B
Re: Breaking Balls DIY Upright Cooler Incubator
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jinx667
Did you just measure and order the new vinyl/plexi from some place online or local?
The plexi can be had at a local Home Depot / Lowes. The vinyl is being cut by a friend. It is super easy to set up your own logo.
Regards,
B
