Help me mount an incubator fan.

http://www.wax32.com/gear/incubator1.jpg

http://www.wax32.com/gear/incubator2.jpg

I need a good, and easy, way to mount this fan inside this cooler... I need a way to leave space between the back of the fan and the cooler wall. I am thinking of gorilla gluing a big nut to the four corners of the back of the fan and then mounting the fan to the side of the cooler some kind of way. I'm not real good with coming up with engineering ideas. :D

Any ideas? Thanks!

Just use some long screws. Self tapping like a long drywall screw. Don't forget to leave space so the intake side of the fan can draw air.
Maybe some tubing or nuts for spacers.
Hope that helps.

I dont really have help for your fan question but what size cooler is that? where'd you get it and how much was it?

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Originally Posted by Dave763

Just use some long screws. Self tapping like a long drywall screw. Don't forget to leave space so the intake side of the fan can draw air.
Maybe some tubing or nuts for spacers.
Hope that helps.

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Yeah I thought of that... I'd need seriously long and SKINNY screws. The holes in the fan are kinda small. I'll look into that though.

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Originally Posted by Powerspythons

I dont really have help for your fan question but what size cooler is that? where'd you get it and how much was it?

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http://www.wax32.com/gear/incubator3.jpg

$79 at wal-mart. I can fit twelve - 6qt Sterilite shoeboxes in there with room for some bottles of water to help with thermal mass.


http://www.wax32.com/gear/incubator4.jpg

Thing takes up a lot of room in my snake room. I need to clear out under that desk, I think it will slide underneath...

I've had it running for a few hours now and it seems to be working how I want it to. I did figure out that I can't plug the fan into the Helix... sometimes it doesn't run at all. SO I plugged it into a separate outlet.

Just need to get a fresh CR 2032 battery for my little digital thermometer/hygrometer that I want to put in there. Then:
1. Buy some new shoe boxes (all mine have holes in them for baby corn snake housing).
2. Buy some Cling Wrap.
3. Cut my egg crate sheet to fit inside the shoe boxes.
4. Mount the Helix to the front of the box and tidy up the wires.
5. Get Pixie to lay some eggs!

This thing is serious over-kill for only one clutch this year, but it will be nice to have room for more in the future!

I used velcro, :cool:. functional and movable. .

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Originally Posted by Snakefreak64

I used velcro, :cool:. functional and movable. .

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I've been sorta thinking about that too. Did you use any special "super strength" velcro strips?

I used "L" brackets when I mounted mine. Get some small nuts and bolts and bole the "L" bracket to the fans. Then screw the other hole of the "L" bracket to the cooler wherever you want it with some small screws.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wax32

I need a good, and easy, way to mount this fan inside this cooler... I need a way to leave space between the back of the fan and the cooler wall. I am thinking of gorilla gluing a big nut to the four corners of the back of the fan and then mounting the fan to the side of the cooler some kind of way. I'm not real good with coming up with engineering ideas. :D

Any ideas? Thanks!

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I am in the process of building an incubator as well (mainly just mental right now -- no physical building yet). This is my first year breeding, and I got started a little late, so I will have to wait and see if I will even need to build an incubator.

I am planning on building just a small cooler incubator -- probably just big enough for one clutch. Would I need to put a fan in an incubator that size?

So, I was wondering about the mounting as well. The L bracket sounds like a good idea, but where to mount? It seems to me that two fans would work best in a large cooler like the original op's (one on each end?). But what about a small, single clutch cooler? Would it make sense to mount it on the middle of the lid, with the air flow blowing up? Therefore pulling up the hot air and recirculating it down? (Similar to the winter setting on a ceiling fan). Obviously there would need to be a bit of a gap between the fan and the lid.


Thanks for any thoughts!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wax32

I've had it running for a few hours now and it seems to be working how I want it to. I did figure out that I can't plug the fan into the Helix... sometimes it doesn't run at all. SO I plugged it into a separate outlet.

Just need to get a fresh CR 2032 battery for my little digital thermometer/hygrometer that I want to put in there. Then:
1. Buy some new shoe boxes (all mine have holes in them for baby corn snake housing).
2. Buy some Cling Wrap.
3. Cut my egg crate sheet to fit inside the shoe boxes.
4. Mount the Helix to the front of the box and tidy up the wires.
5. Get Pixie to lay some eggs!

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I find that cling wrap is not as easy to use as press and seal.

Nice job :gj:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chapskis1

I am in the process of building an incubator as well (mainly just mental right now -- no physical building yet). This is my first year breeding, and I got started a little late, so I will have to wait and see if I will even need to build an incubator.

I am planning on building just a small cooler incubator -- probably just big enough for one clutch. Would I need to put a fan in an incubator that size?

So, I was wondering about the mounting as well. The L bracket sounds like a good idea, but where to mount? It seems to me that two fans would work best in a large cooler like the original op's (one on each end?). But what about a small, single clutch cooler? Would it make sense to mount it on the middle of the lid, with the air flow blowing up? Therefore pulling up the hot air and recirculating it down? (Similar to the winter setting on a ceiling fan). Obviously there would need to be a bit of a gap between the fan and the lid.


Thanks for any thoughts!

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If you look at the hoverbator that pretty much how it works but I think it pushes hot air down. The idea is obviously to keep the ambient air temperature around and in the shoe boxes at a consistent temperature. I don't see a problem with mooting one fan in a small cooler. Maybe attach it temporarily and try different orientations with your thermo and see what works best :)

[QUOTE=wax32;1515223]I've been sorta thinking about that too. Did you use any special "super strength" velcro strips?[/QUOTE

lol, I could build a house with duct tape ,velcro. and wood screws,lol.............the velcro is plenty strong to hold a fan in place, at least it is for mine.

:gj:

I like your setup! I think I will build mine to look just like that. Are you saying that cooler will hold 12 clutches after all the water bottles/fan/ egg crate? I am trying to get a feel for size. Let me work up something in the garage tonight that will work as the mount for a computer fan and I'll get back with you!

I mounted my fan at the end of a plastic pipe suspended so that it moves air from the bottom to the top. One thing I did learn was to check the fan spin and reverse the polarity of your AC to 12 volt DC adapter (assuming you are using a PC van). My first attempt had the spin wrong and it straitened the recurved fan blades out over time and they rubbed against the housing.