incubator help

[jesst]

I just got an old wine cooler off of craigslist and wanted to convert it into an incubator. I was wondering if i had to remove the compressor and cooling unit or can i just leave it alone? i also found a couple of you tube videos showing people using a heating pad instead of heat tape. i only ask because i have an extra large heat pad that fits perfectly on the back of the unit.

[PitOnTheProwl]

You don't have to remove anything BUT it will cut the weight back a lot if you remove everything you don't need.
I used flex a watt just because that's what I had at the time.
You can use whatever you want to heat it but make sure it will do the job before you finalize it all.

[Izzys Keeper]

I removed the cooling stuff because of the weight factor. It made it basically a big plastic box. If you leave it in then it should go without saying just dont plug it in. i used flex watt because it fit perfectly but a heating pad should work fine as long as its properly regulated with a tstat with a probe

[Crazygecko]

Yeah if you don't plan on using it for cooling anything ever again then rip it all out. I use a rockstar energy drink display fridge and it weighed so much before I took everything out of it.

[jesst]

I am just nervous about messing with the coolant inside the cooler.

[blk02ssmonte]

I removed all my cooling stuff. Makes it a lot lighter! removing the Freon in the lines an all is tricky. It is not legal to just cut the line and let it leak out. But what they don't know or see wont hurt. Im not telling you to use a hack saw but it will cut aluminum lines and make it easier to come out. It really isn't that dangerous either.

[jesst]

so i decided to gut the wine cooler but as i was taking everything apart, some weird oily type liquid came out of the refrigerant lines. what could this be and could it be toxic to my pets

[ElliotNess]

Its ester oil and you shouldnt drink it but you wont die. Ive been doing ac on aircraft for years and still alive. Same stuff you put in most air compressors...

It will most likely make your pets permanently ill or worse so just wipe it up and spray some cleaner to clean it up... dawn will work fine..

[jesst]

Its ester oil and you shouldnt drink it but you wont die. Ive been doing ac on aircraft for years and still alive. Same stuff you put in most air compressors...

It will most likely make your pets permanently ill or worse so just wipe it up and spray some cleaner to clean it up... dawn will work fine..

thank you so much

[ElliotNess]

Sure thing.. make sure you sterilize everything with cleaner very well inside and out. Good luck with your future breeding..