Running incubator fans

I have been using old cell phone chargers and plug in AC->DC power sources for the last year or so to power the 12v fan in my incubator. Worked great with one 120mm fan, but the latest bator is a converted full size frige and looked like two 120mm fans would be required to distribute the heat more evenly. One of the cell phone chargers was really struggling running two fans, so I pulled this old handy AC->DC power source out that I have had for years to give it a try.

WAY BETTER!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE0-...ature=youtu.be

Nice set-up. :)

Do you find the fans themselves produce much heat when running?

DC fans are preferred by me due to the fact they do not produce much heat at all. Temps are stable on both my incubators and the Herpstat load is less than 10% unless you open the door for an extended period of time.

AC fans create a lot of heat by nature..... I have seen some small incubators that can be run with just AC fans on the T-stat and sustain good temps. I just prefer constant air flow in the incubator with the DC fans running continuously on a constant power source, instead of using them as a heat source on a T-stat.

10 amps is a lot :) at 12 volts, it will give you an output of 120 watts maximum.

a brushless fan like you use in a computer to cool the hardware, or like the ones you use, only need around 3 watts. (this is also why the low-voltage DC fans dont produce much heat). its weird that the cellphone charger didnt deliver enough.

but it doesnt really matter, it can be bigger, as long as the voltage is constant it will be fine.

personally i think i would do it using USB. there are a variety of USB fans, and a decent active USB hub will provide 5 volts at 0.5 amps or 0.75 amps for each port. thats 2.5 or 3.75 watts, which is just perfect for a small fan. most of them have 4 ports, so it would work for 4 fans. you dont even need an active USB hub because you wont need the data link, so one of these things that just gives you powered USB ports without a datalink would work. but i guess one of the reasons why i would do it this way is because i have plenty of USB hubs and cables and im familiar with the technology. and you have the 12 volt stuff and are more familiar with that.

one thing i noticed: i would position the fans differently, so that the whole air inside will be rotating. if you put both in the back, the air in the back will move down and the air in the front will move up. but you have one in the back on the left side and one in the opposite corner, so further down in the incubator they might be cancelling each other out. maybe it will be better if you move one, so that both are in the back, you should give it a try.

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

one thing i noticed: i would position the fans differently, so that the whole air inside will be rotating. if you put both in the back, the air in the back will move down and the air in the front will move up. but you have one in the back on the left side and one in the opposite corner, so further down in the incubator they might be cancelling each other out. maybe it will be better if you move one, so that both are in the back, you should give it a try.

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Thanks for the tips, but I'm quite happy with the air flow and temp distribution in the incubator ATM.

You have how many incubators running..... ??

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Originally Posted by coreydelong

Thanks for the tips, but I'm quite happy with the air flow and temp distribution in the incubator ATM.

You have how many incubators running..... ??

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:fishslap:

Nice setup. Keep us posted.

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Originally Posted by coreydelong

Thanks for the tips, but I'm quite happy with the air flow and temp distribution in the incubator ATM.

You have how many incubators running..... ??

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i studied physics, and aerodynamics, fluid dynamics and thermodynamics were parts of the curriculum and ive seen a whole lot of experiments in these areas, does that count?

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

i studied physics, and aerodynamics, fluid dynamics and thermodynamics were parts of the curriculum and ive seen a whole lot of experiments in these areas, does that count?

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Tbh unless you have actual experience with incubators specifically no it does not count.

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Originally Posted by coreydelong

Thanks for the tips, but I'm quite happy with the air flow and temp distribution in the incubator ATM.

You have how many incubators running..... ??

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And coreydelong in for the elitist punk comment. Good job sir. That's the kind of thing that people look for in a tight knit hobby.

Looks to me like pythonlover was trying to offer some friendly advice. Looks to me like you know it all. Never have I noticed a single post of yours, but this one made you stand out. But not in a good way.

I'm not normally one who is inclined to make such comments but this really stood out to me as an elitist self involved sorta comment.

Simply saying "thank you for the recommendation but this method has worked well for me in the past" would have sufficed. Adding "you have how many incubators running.....??" Makes you look like a punk.

Just sayin ;)

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

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Originally Posted by Pythonfriend

i studied physics, and aerodynamics, fluid dynamics and thermodynamics were parts of the curriculum and ive seen a whole lot of experiments in these areas, does that count?

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I honestly don't think so....

No more than my BS in Nuclear Engineering where I spent 15 years in the nuclear industry (military and civilian where I actually WORKED the same) ;)

I think you just have diarrhea of the keyboard and your studies don't impress me in the least bit....

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Originally Posted by Expensive hobby

Looks to me like pythonlover was trying to offer some friendly advice. Looks to me like you know it all. Never have I noticed a single post of yours, but this one made you stand out. But not in a good way.

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It doesn't help that he tries to school everyone in nearly every comment he makes, even when he clearly has no clue what he's talking about...

and retorts like this only make him sound like an ass... "i studied physics, and aerodynamics, fluid dynamics and thermodynamics were parts of the curriculum and ive seen a whole lot of experiments in these areas, does that count?"

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Originally Posted by Expensive hobby

And coreydelong in for the elitist punk comment. Good job sir. That's the kind of thing that people look for in a tight knit hobby.

Looks to me like pythonlover was trying to offer some friendly advice. Looks to me like you know it all. Never have I noticed a single post of yours, but this one made you stand out. But not in a good way.

I'm not normally one who is inclined to make such comments but this really stood out to me as an elitist self involved sorta comment.

Simply saying "thank you for the recommendation but this method has worked well for me in the past" would have sufficed. Adding "you have how many incubators running.....??" Makes you look like a punk.

Just sayin ;)

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

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Agreed with this that was wrong

Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by sho220

It doesn't help that he tries to school everyone in nearly every comment he makes, even when he clearly has no clue what he's talking about...

and retorts like this only make him sound like an ass... "i studied physics, and aerodynamics, fluid dynamics and thermodynamics were parts of the curriculum and ive seen a whole lot of experiments in these areas, does that count?"

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Just read his signature. A self proclaimed expert in science.....

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Originally Posted by coreydelong

Just read his signature. A self proclaimed expert in science.....

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I don't think it stops at science...:rolleyes:

I don't know what ever ones personal past experience had been with pythonlover, I'm only basing what I said off of that post.

And as many problems as our hobby faces day in and day out, we don't need that sort of reply on a publicly viewable forum.

Someone is getting into hobbyist breeding, decides to do a Google search on setting up an incubator, and sees that. They aren't going to want to join our community.

We all need to keep in mind that our hobby needs to stick together as a family. When the SHTF we need to stand together and broaden our numbers to support our hobby, our passion, and some of our livelihoods.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Play nice people. :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by dr del

Play nice people. :rolleyes:

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That's what I was saying lol :)

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3

What I did, was get 2 old play station 2's that I had laying around the house, ripped the fans out of those, hooked them both up side by side, then of course the phone charger

guys, calm down, no hard feelings.


call it a strength, call it a weakness, when it comes to anything related to science or technology, im really good at learning and remembering stuff. and i like to share my ideas, sometimes they are good, sometimes not, sometimes i come across as arrogant or as a know-it-all, well, thats just how it is. it happens often enough that my ideas actually help someone.

know-it-alls are not popular with everyone. i can live with that, companies appreciate my skills, and when you just purchased hardware for 1000 dollars and cannot get it to work properly and call tech support, you will want to get a guy like me on the line.