Incubator progress (pics)

We got a little further in our incubator project. I added 2 shelves from an old fridge, to replace the solid glass ones that were in this one, to aid air circulation. I have a third shelf coming today, and we actually got a free replacement door with both panes of glass intact! (Mark has connections in the old appliance industry.)

Before tubs, bottles, and metal shelving..
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...atorfuture.jpg

With them. The third shelf is going halfway up the lower section to replace the flimsy eggcrate.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...usethisINC.jpg

Closeup of Flexwatt taped to the back inside.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...cres/FWinc.jpg

And my thermostat of choice :)
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s...cres/tSTat.jpg

OK so what are the bottles of water for??

They take up extra space in the incubator, and help retain heat when the door is open. They warm up to the temp. that the incubator is heated to, and act as stabilizers.
I learned this trick from our own LordJackel :)

looks great!

yep, water holds heat more efficiently and longer then air.

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Originally Posted by Hellix2494

OK so what are the bottles of water for??

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aka "thermal batteries". Here's your thermal dynamics lesson for the day: as water changes temperature much slower than air, adding large quantities of water to an enclosed space, once at the desired temperature, help maintain temperature and reduce drastic temperature changes.

We use "thermal batteries" in our spare garage fridge as it doesn't have much in it, but filled with water, saves us money on electricity as the water helps the fridge maintain temperature. =)

hey give us a little more info on those egg boxes you got there!

some pics wouldnt hurt either...

please?

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Originally Posted by bigballs

hey give us a little more info on those egg boxes you got there!

some pics wouldnt hurt either...

please?

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I will get better pics :) I bought them at Tops (local grocery chain) and they're called Lok Tops or something like that. The lid forms a seal with rubber and then the 4 sides of the lid fold down and lock onto the tub.

Ooooo....do I spy a painting in the background?!?! Very nice by the way ;)

Awesome incubator, would have never thought of using water bottles.

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Originally Posted by Sasquatch Art

Ooooo....do I spy a painting in the background?!?! Very nice by the way ;)

Awesome incubator, would have never thought of using water bottles.

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Yeah hehe. That painting scared the bee-jeepers out of my husband! He was walking thru the kitchen in semi-darkness and thought it was a ghost or something! It is one of the horse paintings I did.
The water works great. Sunday, I am going to heat this thing up and really start to get ready! I will get some pics of the egg boxes and substrate when I get a chance this weekend.

Great looking incubator! I just sent hubby off to pick up a non-functioning wine cooler to make into one.

Your pics help a lot in figuring out just what I'm going to do. Did you drill holes into the walls to feed the thermostat probe and flexwatt cord?

It was actually pretty simple. I put the wires through the area between the door and the side, and the door shuts nicely with a good seal. You can kinda see the cord going off to the left of the middle shelf :)

good job on the incubator

I wish my wife can do that kind of stuff...so I can sit on my...and let her do all the works :D

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Originally Posted by hgrub

good job on the incubator

I wish my wife can do that kind of stuff...so I can sit on my...and let her do all the works :D

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lol
I built last year's incubator from scratch myself. This year, I admit to having some help. Mark used his metal cutter to chop the metal shelves so that they'd fit right. And he got the replacement door and put that on. These are things that I guess I could've done, but I am always freeeked out by the sparks from the metal cutter!

Hey Jen, someone linked to this or I would have missed it. I don't see it, but are you also hooking up a fan to circulate the air so you don't get hot spots?

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

They take up extra space in the incubator, and help retain heat when the door is open. They warm up to the temp. that the incubator is heated to, and act as stabilizers.
I learned this trick from our own LordJackel :)

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Looking good Jen :gj:

Glad to see you still using the "trick" lol - it really does help alot.

Good stuff Gin!!! :gj: Can't wait to see the finished product!

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Originally Posted by cassandra

aka "thermal batteries". Here's your thermal dynamics lesson for the day: as water changes temperature much slower than air, adding large quantities of water to an enclosed space, once at the desired temperature, help maintain temperature and reduce drastic temperature changes.

We use "thermal batteries" in our spare garage fridge as it doesn't have much in it, but filled with water, saves us money on electricity as the water helps the fridge maintain temperature. =)

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These 'thermal batteries' are also great if you live in area that experiences power outages: If you have enough insulation and a big enough volume of water you can actually go for days without dropping more than a few degrees. Not really something we want to do with our precious little balls, but a good idea if you are going to be away from home for awhile and you lose power.
I've been thinking about something similar for when I finally buy my own place and have my dedicated snake room....we'll see, but I know of a guy a few hours from me who lost his whole collection while he was away and lost power for a few days.
http://www.edmontonreptiles.com/foru...ead.php?t=1622

Is there just that one strip of 11" flex in there? does it just go along the back, or down the back and along the bottom? Where do you put your probe? right on the flex, or in the open air?