DIY Incubator Question

Hello! I recently lucked on to some cheap wine coolers for sale on craigslist. Having acquired two identical wine coolers, PigsNPythons (Jordan) and I are planning to turn them into an incubator. The dimensions on the outside of the wine cooler are 24.2 x 22.4 x 31.9 inches. I know we want to run flexwatt down the length of the back of the wine coolers. My question is, should I get 4 inch or 11 inch flexwatt for an incubator this size? Thanks!! If you need more info on the size I am talking about, the wine coolers are Haier model HVFM20ABB.

I'd go for the 11" personally - it has a larger surface area to heat more at once. The 4" would probably have to run hotter longer to get equal temps. Also make sure you use a high quality t-stat and you'll be set to go!

11" all the way. And I personally would go with 2 feet of it. I have built bators out of very similar sized refrigeration units and was much more happy with two feet in them instead of one.

In the back of this pic you can see one of the units I built. Love the glass doors!! I noticed your unit has them too!!
http://www.sammygreggreptiles.com/dc.../10001/hr1.jpg

Thanks for the input everyone! I just wanted to make sure 11 inch wasn't overkill for such a relatively small space. As for the t-stat, no worries there, going to run it off a Herpstat Pro.

Thanks for the picture Shrap! I was a little worried about the sort of 'bump' in the back of the cooler, but I see your's has it too and the flexwatt appeared to be staying down fine. I am super thrilled about the see through doors, we were looking for cheap wine coolers FOREVER and finally found two identical ones for cheap. They were a little dusty/dirty, but they cleaned up nice!

Now to order the heat tape and assemble everything. I plan to install some suction cups or something of the like to hold an accurite or two up against the door. Also, does cutting a small hole in the insulation of the door sound fine for running heat tape cord out and probe cord in? Sounds much easier to me than drilling holes.

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Originally Posted by PythonChick

Also, does cutting a small hole in the insulation of the door sound fine for running heat tape cord out and probe cord in? Sounds much easier to me than drilling holes.

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To be perfectly honest I have no idea what kind of an effect, if any, that would cause.

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Originally Posted by Shrap

To be perfectly honest I have no idea what kind of an effect, if any, that would cause.

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I remember reading somewhere on a step by step cooler incubator guide that you cold just cut a very small section out of the insulation if you were using an old fridge... Hmm... I guess we will find out! Thanks again for the input!