DIY cooler incubator

Materials needed:

1) Cooler setup:

Cooler (inside measured 1'1" W x 1' H x 1'8" L) - Outdoor shop - $4.00
3 ft. of 11" flexwatt (I used 4" in this one, but 11" keeps heat easier) - $18.00
4 large bottles filled with water - FREE
Egg Crate Light Pannel - Home Depot - $10.00
Lexan Polycarbonate .093 8"x10" - Home Depot - $3.13
GE silicon 2 Window and Door - Home Depot - $3.72
Great Stuff insulation spray - Home Depot - $5.60

2) Light setup:

LED light (275-0017) - RadioShack - $1.99 (2 pack)
Battery CR2032 (230-0162) - RadioShack - $4.99
Battery holder CR2032 (270-0009) - RadioShack - $.99
SPST .5A Momentary Switch (275-0646) - RadioShack - $2.99 (2 pack)
hookup wire (278-1225) - RadioShack - $5.99
Gatorade cap
Large cap for wire/battery housing (I used cap from Great stuff)
Electrical tape - Home Depot - $1.97
Silver solder - Radio Shack - $5.49

Total Cost = $ 68.86

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0657.jpg

Tools needed:
Sharp Exacto Knife
Regular Knife
Wire cutter/ stripper
Sharp Scissors
Pencil
Q- Tips
Soldering iron

You will also need:
Prepared egg box- http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=71770
Thermometer/hygrometer with probe (Acu-Rite preferred)
Good Thermostat (Helix or Herpstat preferred)




Construction:

1. Create the window -
Cut out a square in the front center of the cooler measuring 9"x7". On the inside of the cooler cut a 1/2" wide by 1/2" deep frame
around the already cut square. Place the Lexan Polycarbonate
window into the frame on the inside of the cooler. Use the silicon
to seal the window in place, applying it on both sides of the window. I used a Q-Tip to smooth out the silicon bead, creating an airtight seal.
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0659.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0666.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0667.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0669.jpg

2. Create the light -
I used 2 different colored wires for clarity when creating the circuit. Cut a piece of RED wire 3". Cut 2 pieces of BLACK wire, one 3" and the other 2". Strip both sides of each wire. Solder one end of the 2" BLACK wire to the + side of the battery holder and the other end to one of the metal tabs on the push button. Solder one end of the 3" BLACK wire to the remaining metal tab on the push button, and the other end to the smaller leg of the LED light. Lastly, solder one end of the 3" RED wire to the larger leg of the LED light, and the other leg to the - side of the battery holder. Wrap all connections with electrical tape so none of them come in contact with each other, ruining the circuit.
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0658.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...tschematic.jpg

Poke a hole through the top center of the cooler lid. Run the LED light through, and leave the battery and switch on the top of the lid. Fill the hole with Great Stuff to seal it off. Use the a large cap to enclose the battery and wiring
(Optional) Poke a hole in the gatorade lid and push the light
through. Glue the gatorade lid to the bottom of the cooler lid.


3. Assemble the insides -
Cut a small slit for the flexwatt cord on the top side of the cooler.
Tape the flexwatt down on one side, across the bottom, and up the other side. Place the bottles filled with water on top of the flexwatt. Cut a piece of egg crate light pannel to fit inside the cooler, and place that on top of the bottles of water. This is where your prepared egg box will be.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0664.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0665.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0671.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0672.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0673.jpg



You are finished! Good job.:D
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_0670.jpg

**Note: You can use this to set up a plastic coleman type cooler as well. Just change the measurements to suit your needs, and maybe add a small fan for even heat distribution.**

This needs to be sticky.. Very informative and detailed.. Would be PERFECT for those who just have a clutch or 2

Great job and sticky worthy :gj:

The broken link for one of your picture has also been corrected ;)

Hey guys thanks for the feedback! Thanks Deborah for fixing the link:gj: as well as stickying it!

I love DIY and have used many of them so I am glad to contribute.

-Jordan

might i ask what the "great stuff" is for?

Fantastic design, here is ours minus heat tape.. that should be coming in the mail soon

A cooler?! I think NOT...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/...6faee04b13.jpg
Take a peek in the window...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/...a514462ae7.jpg
A look inside
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/...c206fc1e0b.jpg

Thank you so much for creating this thread, you were a life saver, literally! We did away with the light source and even saved a bit of money. Our entire design w/o bins & flexwatt was $27 and change!! Not bad if you ask me. Our cooler is slightly larger then the one posted so its going to take 4ft of flex watt

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ADEE

Fantastic design, here is ours minus heat tape.. that should be coming in the mail soon

A cooler?! I think NOT...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3133/...6faee04b13.jpg
Take a peek in the window...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/...a514462ae7.jpg
A look inside
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/...c206fc1e0b.jpg

Thank you so much for creating this thread, you were a life saver, literally! We did away with the light source and even saved a bit of money. Our entire design w/o bins & flexwatt was $27 and change!! Not bad if you ask me. Our cooler is slightly larger then the one posted so its going to take 4ft of flex watt

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Great! I am glad it helped you out! The Great Stuff is for sealing holes, like the hole I poked for the light wires.

Nice coo...incubator btw;)

-Jordan

Thanks Jordan :D One more thing i can return wooo hoo, drops the price even more. How does your incubator look all lit up?

Will the multiple water bottles serve the same purpose as the larger bottles?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ADEE

Thanks Jordan :D One more thing i can return wooo hoo, drops the price even more. How does your incubator look all lit up?

Will the multiple water bottles serve the same purpose as the larger bottles?

---

Either large or small water bottles will work.

I must say it's pretty cool with the light! I will post pictures of it all lit up when I can.

I would love to see it all lit up, my husband will not shut up about how he could do the light easily lol ((rolls eyes)) Im sure it makes it MUCH easier to see in lol. Do you use clear top bins then?

Can you fit two bins in there stacked on top of one another? I can easily fit two 6qt bins in there and was thinking about doing it if you thought it would work ok without complications. Would save me on heat tape ;)

Very Cool. I've built a few of these cooler-bators out of Omaha Steak coolers. I didnt bother with the light or window. I used 11 inch heat tape cause its what I had. These are great little one clutchers. I was going to take pics and a DYI thread the last time I made one but I was in a rush to make it for a friend had a clutch of JCP eggs laying as he called me asking if he could borrow my incubator. I told him come on over and I'll make you one.

Thanks for posting a DIY with identical parts list and very similar design to the incubators I sell, and declined to write the DIY for when asked to by a mod here. I just hope people don't see this and assume my incubators are anything close to your quality piece of work. The Lexan polycarbanate was the giveaway. If this was your design I imagine you would use plexiglass or saran wrap.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ADEE

Thanks Jordan :D One more thing i can return wooo hoo, drops the price even more. How does your incubator look all lit up?

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Something like this:

**Image removed**

Ouch Jake... im sorry :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ADEE

Ouch Jake... im sorry :(

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Don't be. You didn't post some ridiculous thread for zero personal gain, at the expense of someone else's unsuccesful attempts and hard work. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

Don't be. You didn't post some ridiculous thread for zero personal gain, at the expense of someone else's unsuccesful attempts and hard work. ;)

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Wow, you are a baby.... I don't see the rack designers complaining.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mmchoppers

Wow, you are a baby.... I don't see the rack designers complaining.

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wow.. thats a bit rough :weirdface

How much is it for me to just ask skip the "making it" step and get someone to make it for me???? :P

Really? I've never seen someone post a DIY claiming they thought up a way to make a plastc 4 tub rack that could hold 4 Iris tubs. That's because there is already a guy who makes and sells them. I've posted cooler incubator DIYs and rack DIYs, among a few others. The issue is you ripping off a member's work and getting caught trying to pass it off as your own clever idea. When you're older, if you ever do come up with an original thought, and invest your time and money into seeing it through, you'll understand why I think your post is ridiculous.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 4theSNAKElady

How much is it for me to just ask skip the "making it" step and get someone to make it for me???? :P

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LOL His materials list ads up to $69 without egg boxes or a way to control heat. Without this I'd charge less than that, ready to plug in. :rofl: It's all about massive wholesale parts.

Jake while I can understand your frustration here, there are two things that come to mind. Number one would be that unless you hold a patent on this idea, anyone can independently come to the same or similar design you did and you've no control over that. Number two if you never posted a parts list or DIY on this particular incubator concept I'm not sure how you can feel this member directly took your build information.

Cooler builds are all over the net, only difference is a herpstat, a more expensive cooler, and a little more effort. I applaud the build, but its not an original idea.

I know the cooler incubator is far from an original concept, and I'm all for people making their own. I'm also flatered by people liking my version enough to read my part list on my website and trying to replicate it. I've helped plenty of people who do exactly that, and email me when they get stuck on something, or don't understand how to hardwire the 12v and 14.4v fans and lights to the power cord, or whatever. It just got under my skin that this kid made a write up DIY trying to play it off as his own thought out creation. He admitted it, and it looks so bad that it reflects poorly on my design and products. That's it. No real drama here.

I make these because there are no dependable, affordable incubators out there. I get all the parts in bulk at a wholesale discount, than I charge $10 an hour for labor. That's it. That's 1/2 what I make at a dayjob, and I bust my ass to make these to order and ship with a 2-3 day turnaround. I'm all for people making their own, or finding someone who will charge so little. I'd sell just as many charging 2x what I do, but I thought I could make a few dollars while providing a friendly service for the part of the reptile community who can't afford $800 cooler incubators, and who don't want to settle for a crappy chicken incubator. It's no big deal to me. I just wanted to call this kid out on his great creation. :)

First off, I'm not a kid. Secondly, I did not claim to invent this ANYWHERE in my post. I don't like the fact you keep knocking my ability to construct a simple incubator. You talk as if it is an extremely difficult task, all the while insulting my intelligence.

Anyway, I'm sure you will sell just as many incubators as in the previous years, no thanks to this thread;)

-Jordan

Seriously man.. this is a joke.. the incubator does it's job does it not? well that's the important part. not who made it first. when it comes down to it it's just a cooler with fancy parts and Jake although I don't know you I can clearly say GROW UP!... Don't worry about his work reflecting your work...YOU ARE 2 DIFFERENT PEOPLE.. Your work is yours and his is his... Not to mention you can't control anyone on the planet and your own little world is the only thing you CAN control.Too bad the world itself is a bit bigger than Jakeville USA. get used to it people make things and do things.. I'd be honored if someone thought enough of my Idea to make a similar one using quality parts or what they can afford.. Hell I built my BP enclosure based off of ones I've seen other people make or sell.. so what's the deal... I'm sure you have Great products and you will continue to improve yours as will Hoppers here...Squash it and let it DIE!! The health of the animals is what is important ..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SamuraiZr0

Seriously man.. this is a joke.. the incubator does it's job does it not? well that's the important part. not who made it first. when it comes down to it it's just a cooler with fancy parts and Jake although I don't know you I can clearly say GROW UP!... Don't worry about his work reflecting your work...YOU ARE 2 DIFFERENT PEOPLE.. Your work is yours and his is his... Not to mention you can't control anyone on the planet and your own little world is the only thing you CAN control.Too bad the world itself is a bit bigger than Jakeville USA. get used to it people make things and do things.. I'd be honored if someone thought enough of my Idea to make a similar one using quality parts or what they can afford.. Hell I built my BP enclosure based off of ones I've seen other people make or sell.. so what's the deal... I'm sure you have Great products and you will continue to improve yours as will Hoppers here...Squash it and let it DIE!! The health of the animals is what is important ..

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Was this really necessary?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Was this really necessary?

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ya know.. I don't think it was now that I read the dates of the posts.. I feel like a jack ass!! LOL JAKE forgive me man this is beating a dead horse obviously. if there are any mods here please remove my post as it makes no sense now that the issue is over lol once again not sorry for what I sad but sorry for being stupid enough not to read the dates on the posts.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mmchoppers

Materials needed:

1) Cooler setup:

Cooler (inside measured 1'1" W x 1' H x 1'8" L) - Outdoor shop - $4.00
3 ft. of 11" flexwatt (I used 4" in this one, but 11" keeps heat easier) - $18.00
4 large bottles filled with water - FREE
Egg Crate Light Pannel - Home Depot - $10.00
Lexan Polycarbonate .093 8"x10" - Home Depot - $3.13
GE silicon 2 Window and Door - Home Depot - $3.72
Great Stuff insulation spray - Home Depot - $5.60

2) Light setup:

LED light (275-0017) - RadioShack - $1.99 (2 pack)
Battery CR2032 (230-0162) - RadioShack - $4.99
Battery holder CR2032 (270-0009) - RadioShack - $.99
SPST .5A Momentary Switch (275-0646) - RadioShack - $2.99 (2 pack)
hookup wire (278-1225) - RadioShack - $5.99
Gatorade cap
Large cap for wire/battery housing (I used cap from Great stuff)
Electrical tape - Home Depot - $1.97
Silver solder - Radio Shack - $5.49

Total Cost = $ 68.86

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Im new to all this so if Im wrong please forgive me.
The work and idea is great, but the cost makes this into a joke to me.
I don't understand.. Do professionally made incubators cost much more than what is spent for these materials? With the cost of materials alone, I'd rather spend a few more bucks to buy me a real one with out the effort of going, gathering, cutting, measuring, working, ect. and have a professional legit looking one instead.

How much would a incubator like this cost in the market?
Does an incubator cost alot more than what is spent for these materials?

Great work btw and thanks for post.

If you take out the light kit it's $47.94 , you can't find an incubator for anywheres near that price.

But what about these?? $40 - $75. Im not knowing something here.. Help enlighten me :confused:

Hi,

I think the main difference would be the size? If your building it yourself then you can easily decide how many clutches you need it to hold and change the design around to make it work. It generally doesn't increase the cost all that much.

I have also heard people complain of failures with hovabators that cost them the clutch - Though it was always the thermostat they mentioned so possibly using an external thermostat gets round that. Mind you that adds at least another $80 to the price I think.

But then you don't have a thermostat listed for the D.I.Y either so you need to factor that in.


dr del

How important is it to have a fan to distribute the heat?

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Hovabator-Incubators

The cheapest 1 is only 22$ and it comes with a T-Stat and everything! It look a lot like this 1 actually. I think this is a better choice :snake:

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Hovabator-Incubators

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

Really? I've never seen someone post a DIY claiming they thought up a way to make a plastc 4 tub rack that could hold 4 Iris tubs. That's because there is already a guy who makes and sells them. I've posted cooler incubator DIYs and rack DIYs, among a few others. The issue is you ripping off a member's work and getting caught trying to pass it off as your own clever idea. When you're older, if you ever do come up with an original thought, and invest your time and money into seeing it through, you'll understand why I think your post is ridiculous.

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I hear what your saying, but your not the only one who has come up with this idea. I used a plastic cooler for mine, and as far as the plexi window and the light set-up goes anyone with a bit of talent creativy and time i personally could come up with this. With how many people do DIYs for racks and bators theres no way of protecting your ideas.

oops dead horse haha!

i read through it but i didnt find anything, anybody know where the probe for the thermostat goes??? inside the egg box or outside???

anybody know where to put the probe???

nicely done !that about how easy as it gets!

Do you think a regular Under tank heat pad would work if attatched to the back wall of a mini fridge plugged into a thermostat instead of using heat tape?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reptilecam

Do you think a regular Under tank heat pad would work if attatched to the back wall of a mini fridge plugged into a thermostat instead of using heat tape?

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It would really depend on the size of the mini fridge and the size of the heat pad. If the heat pad is to small for the mini fridge then you have the potential to create a massive hot spot and have uneven temps.

If it were to take up the entire backside of the wall or the majority of it would that work? For example most mini fridges are 2.5-3ft tall and they sell UTH that are around 1.5-2ft long that I would think would also get the job done, just dont have any experience on that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reptilecam

If it were to take up the entire backside of the wall or the majority of it would that work? For example most mini fridges are 2.5-3ft tall and they sell UTH that are around 1.5-2ft long that I would think would also get the job done, just dont have any experience on that.

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It should work fine. I would just make sure to put some water bottles in the bottom and a fan to help distribute the heat a little more.

For someone such as myself who isn't very handy, on a scale of 1 (easy) to 10 (difficult), how hard would this be for me to build if I did it without the lights?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is it safe to stack 2 egg tubs on top of each other if they fit in a incubator like this one?