Incubator fan problem..

I don't see why running your fan 24/7 would make your temps go up, that makes me think there is something going on with your heating since your thermostat isn't making up for the difference. You had to have had hot spots since you weren't seeing that till your fan was turned on all the time, fans even out the temps, not raise them. My guess is all that heat was sitting at the top of your incubator since there was no fan to keep it moving. What kind of thermostat are you using? It must be an on/off thermostat which is not a good idea for an incubator, you don't want your temps to fluctuate and that's exactly what you get with an on/off thermostat.

Also, the fan should not create heat, if it does it should be negligible. Computers need the fans to cool them, using a fan that gets hot would fry any computer. Get a nice computer fan, a nice one only costs about $10, and wire it with an old cell phone charger, that will help insure that a smaller amount of energy will be transferred to the fan. And I would never run an incubator without a fan, that is a very bad idea.

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Originally Posted by zach_24_90

I think I'm gonna go grab a fan controller tomorrow and wire it in that way I don't have to keep the fan spun up on full speed. I think that's what was causing it to overheat. I just need a little airflow cause it's just a mini fridge

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You don't need a fan controller, just a decent computer fan and an old cell phone charger.

Certain Fans have different ways of operating, Some operate hotter than others. Lower the CFM is on the fan and being Bering operated itll have less heat output.

But no matter waht fan you get they all give off heat, which is why its recommend to keep them on at all times and adjust thermostat accordingly to get your temps you like. The fans help keep the rising circulating to keep it even.

Temps at the top of my incubator are 90-91 but on the shelf on top is only 89.


What type of Fan are you using.

These are the ones i use and the bearings only reach 96F. Their ran off a computer powersupply i had laying around jumped. I have only 2 running
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150007

I had the same problem. My fan (which is a little larger than the average comp fan) was running hot and was heating up the inside of the incubator so I ran the power cord through a dimmer switch and set it to a little over 50% and now it's perfect.

First off what kind of incubator are you using? Second what kind of fan? Third a proportional versus non proportional stat does make a difference in temp spikes. I have a walk in incubator which is 6ft wide by 5 ft deep by 7 ft tall give or take. I only jave one small computer fan running constant. Now the way i have it set up is the fan is at the top blowing down at the space heater. Im using a johnsons non proportional stat and my temps stay at 88 to 89 degrees. If your fan is at the bottom it may be causing your spikes depending on size of incubator. Another thing could be the fan motor irself could be generating heat. But i doubt it. Still a possibillity. Alittle more info on your incubator would be helpful.

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

I don't see why running your fan 24/7 would make your temps go up, that makes me think there is something going on with your heating since your thermostat isn't making up for the difference. You had to have had hot spots since you weren't seeing that till your fan was turned on all the time, fans even out the temps, not raise them. My guess is all that heat was sitting at the top of your incubator since there was no fan to keep it moving. What kind of thermostat are you using? It must be an on/off thermostat which is not a good idea for an incubator, you don't want your temps to fluctuate and that's exactly what you get with an on/off thermostat.

Also, the fan should not create heat, if it does it should be negligible. Computers need the fans to cool them, using a fan that gets hot would fry any computer. Get a nice computer fan, a nice one only costs about $10, and wire it with an old cell phone charger, that will help insure that a smaller amount of energy will be transferred to the fan. And I would never run an incubator without a fan, that is a very bad idea.

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I second this. This is how i have my incubator set up, and my temps hold almost exactly at 89. I would look into making some upgrades to it. Just to make sure that you don't have any of these worries any more.

my incubator is a typical DIY minifridge setup. 2ft of 11in flexwatt taped down the back. all spare room is filled with water bottles and hot/cold gel packs.. fan mounted on the front door pointed at the back wall helps to create a circular air motion... idk haha i opened the door put my hand on the fan and it was burning hot therefore acting like a heat source in the closed incubator.. maybe a bad fan? idk

this is the fan http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2102825

on a side note... i decided to leave it setup the way it has been running for months and months now and its doing just fine. temps inside the egg box are holding 87.8-88.2

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Originally Posted by zach_24_90

dk haha i opened the door put my hand on the fan and it was burning hot therefore acting like a heat source in the closed incubator.. maybe a bad fan? idk

this is the fan http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2102825

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120V AC fans run hot. I'm betting many of the people in this thread saying their fans do not get hot are using 10-12V DC computer fans.

Like I said I ran the power cord for my 120vac fan through a dimmer switch and fine tuned the output so it wouldn't heat up the inside of the incubator past what the thermostat was set for.

Well that's that then haha I will get that fixed and try that out.