Incubator ?

If the temps don't go below 88 or above 90 is this okay?
Thanks.Mike

That's perfect :gj:

then ur good 2 go ! my questions is if it hits 87 or 91 ?!

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Originally Posted by patb201985

then ur good 2 go ! my questions is if it hits 87 or 91 ?!

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Now you have me in a panic! What does happen if it hits 87 or 91?
Mike.

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Originally Posted by BPMIKE

Now you have me in a panic! What does happen if it hits 87 or 91?
Mike.

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dont mean to cause a panic but its a good questions cuz when u open the container for wipe and check, the temp does drop...wat if the temp doesnt go stabble with in an hour so u raise it up to get the heat up and then lower it but the temp is 91, hmmm...

I am having big problems getting this frige converted incubator temps stable.The temps in the incubator are going up and down with the room temp.The frige is in great shape so I don't understand why the temps won't stabilize.I have a recon thermostat and flexwatt with water bottles in the frige.Any ideas? probe is on the flexwatt.
Thanks.Mike

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Originally Posted by BPMIKE

I am having big problems getting this frige converted incubator temps stable.The temps in the incubator are going up and down with the room temp.The frige is in great shape so I don't understand why the temps won't stabilize.I have a recon thermostat and flexwatt with water bottles in the frige.Any ideas? probe is on the flexwatt.
Thanks.Mike

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Is that an on/off or proportional Thermostat You're using?

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Originally Posted by coldbloodaddict

Is that an on/off or proportional Thermostat You're using?

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on off. And it is a ranco not a renco
Thanks.Mike

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Originally Posted by BPMIKE

on off. And it is a ranco not a renco
Thanks.Mike

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I personally would only use a proportional thermostat...That could be part of the problem...

Do You have a fan in the incubator?

A little fluctuation through out the incubating process isn't bad...If it's jumping around all day long I don't think that will be good.

we use a cheapy zoo med on off and stay withint 1+/- of the setting,probe hanging in the middle right next to the thermometer probe...so you have your holes for the flex-watt/tape/probes sealed?,or did you jut run them through the door so it closes on them?,where is the flexx watt?

No Fan..But we are getting one.The flexwatt is on the back of the inside of the incubator and the holes are covered with tape.We are going to seal the holes with spray insulation
Thanks.Mike

hmmm,,dont think thatd cause anything then,how is the door seal?,even without a fan it should be jumping like that,hang your probe and thermomter prob down at the half way point,dead center of the fridge,and see what readings there are

oops repeat sorry.

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Originally Posted by RebelYell83

hmmm,,dont think thatd cause anything then,how is the door seal?,even without a fan it should be jumping like that,hang your probe and thermomter prob down at the half way point,dead center of the fridge,and see what readings there are

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The thermometer has no probe it is digital and sits inside of the incubator.The frige door is sealed with the original seal and in very good shape
Thanks.Mike

hmmmm,,try moving the thermostat probe to the center,,see if that changes anything

I just change to a proportional Thermostat.Lets see how that works.Thanks for all of your help!
Mike.

a fan in that incubator will go a long way to mixing the air inside the incubator to get rid of thermal variation. I would go and buy two computer cooling fans and look for a 12v adapter that has the closest amperage rating as the two fans combined and hook it all up and get some fans in that incubator. That with proper probe placement and that proportional thermostat will fix any problems you are having with temperature.

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Originally Posted by Chuck

a fan in that incubator will go a long way to mixing the air inside the incubator to get rid of thermal variation. I would go and buy two computer cooling fans and look for a 12v adapter that has the closest amperage rating as the two fans combined and hook it all up and get some fans in that incubator. That with proper probe placement and that proportional thermostat will fix any problems you are having with temperature.

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proper probe placement would be on the flexwatt?
Thanks.Mike

Hi,

I think for incubators most people have it hanging/ sitting somewhere in the middle of the space.


dr del

You need to take the probe off the heat tape and center away form everything. I hope you have a small fan blowing in there also.
Marty

Are you saying to take the thermostat probe off of the heat tape? Andwhen it reach's the correct temp it will stay cosistent using the thermostat this way?
Thank you!Mike

should,,and we are using a small 6 inch fan from walmart in the bottom of our fridge conversion,and its holding great

how about people post pics of there bators and how there heat/probes are set up. i have mine running and its a converted fridge with sterilites full of water on the bottom and middle shelf. i set the probe right in the middle and it gives me 89-91. ill get pics soon.

just trying to help.

felipe

Okay this is what I did.I changed to a proportional Thermostat took an old computer apart and added two fans.I also moved the probe to the center of the frige convert.Lots of water bottles.So now I need to watch it for awhile and see what happens. Thanks very much for all who gave their advice.
Mike.

Here are some photos of a incubator i recently finished. It needs a few last touches, but is operational at this point. The Pepsi can on top is there for size reference. It is heated via 4 feet of 11 inch heat tape, controlled by a Helix.

outside shot

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/f...c/CIMG7992.jpg

Inside shot

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/f...c/CIMG7994.jpg

close up of overall lay out

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/f...c/CIMG7995.jpg

Close up of fan (upper right corner) and Helix probe (upper left corner)

http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/f...c/CIMG7996.jpg

Robin
H2 Exotics

Good job!Looks great.
Mike.

Looks Great! question, whats wrong with using infared bulbs as the heating source? ive seen that done on many separate bators but few bp bators. just wondering.

felipe

can i ask why so much flexxwatt?,ours is running 2ft,we had 3ft,but with our thermostat we couldnt get the temps low enough,and Mike,you shouldnt need waterbottles,they just even out the heat,with the fans in place,i would dump them and free up the space bro

heres a couple shots of ours:
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ell83/inc1.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...3/DSCF2409.jpg

Makes for more even heat distribution and holds temps better i find. You also have to take in consideration that my incubator is probably twice the size of yours. My thermostat is also proportional, so it is not like the tape is at full power or off, it gets just what it needs to keep temps steady.

Robin

PS - the fan you have in your incubator was the very one i installed in my first incubator that i built in '07. It threw off a insane amount of heat and that could be the reason for your varying temps. A 12 volt fan with a transformer is the way to go. I also found having the probe measuring the air temps and not the tape temps also helped to create a more stable system.

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Originally Posted by BPMIKE

Okay this is what I did.I changed to a proportional Thermostat took an old computer apart and added two fans.I also moved the probe to the center of the frige convert.Lots of water bottles.So now I need to watch it for awhile and see what happens. Thanks very much for all who gave their advice.
Mike.

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Mike

Ya your should have the probe in the middle of the incubator. Think of it like the flexwatt is heating the air, so you want the probe to sample the air. If you were to put the probe on the flexwatt you would get a very accurate temp on the flexwatt but not the air. Also try to setup the fans so they work togeather to move the air around. like you are trying to push air around an oval track if that makes any sense.

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Originally Posted by Chuck

Mike

Ya your should have the probe in the middle of the incubator. Think of it like the flexwatt is heating the air, so you want the probe to sample the air. If you were to put the probe on the flexwatt you would get a very accurate temp on the flexwatt but not the air. Also try to setup the fans so they work togeather to move the air around. like you are trying to push air around an oval track if that makes any sense.

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Got it

Thanks!Mike

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Originally Posted by RebelYell83

can i ask why so much flexxwatt?,ours is running 2ft,we had 3ft,but with our thermostat we couldnt get the temps low enough,and Mike,you shouldnt need waterbottles,they just even out the heat,with the fans in place,i would dump them and free up the space bro

heres a couple shots of ours:
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ell83/inc1.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...3/DSCF2409.jpg

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Water bottles are on the door.so they are not in the wat.
Thanks.Mike

well,,that makes sense,and actually,takes away air space,am sure it does save a degree or 2 when the door is open,,,smart man:),howd the probe/thermo change work out so far?

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Originally Posted by RebelYell83

well,,that makes sense,and actually,takes away air space,am sure it does save a degree or 2 when the door is open,,,smart man:),howd the probe/thermo change work out so far?

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So far so good it held at 88.6 over night.Again thanks to everyone!
Mike.

another decent idea,,does your thermometer have a min/max memory?,reset that,and check it in 2 days

this is my home made incubator.
I used an old refrigerator ( without engine ) and I've built with microclimate hot source , microclimate proportional thermostat and 2 fan inside.
A light and 2 webcam to see when snakes come out eggs!
That's perfect because the temperature doesn't move of 0,1 C°:)
I have 31,9 C° constant.
PERFECT!
Now I have 4 eggs of spider inside , 120 grams each egg.

see the photos

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/3677/incubator1.jpg

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/5532/incubator2.jpg

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8953/eggsq.jpg

Very nice thanks for sharing!
Mike.