The Assembly
With the wine cooler gutted, let’s get on with the build and wiped it down again w/bleach cleaning wipes.
If u haven’t done so already, measure how much heat tape u need. (I actually bought 10 feet of 12” THG heat tape b/c I wanted to save some for a future any build but RBI still sent me just over 12feet!)
I used a measuring tape and some blue painter’s tape to measure from where I wanted the heat tape to start and end. I needed only 3.5feet or 42inches of heat tape to cover the bottom and back wall of the wine cooler.
Next I moved onto wiring. I have a few wires I would be snaking in through the bottom hole in the wine cooler I designated for wiring. Those wires include:
1. Heat tape wire
2. Cooling fan wire
3. Thermostat probe wire
4. Optional RGB LED strip
I cut off the outlet portion of an available extension cord I had on hand. My cooling fan wire has an L-shaped adaptor plug, so I taped it to the stronger heat tape/extension cord wire to help shimmy it though the small hole.
Here’s all 4 wires/cords:
Here’s what it looked like on the other side!
Next I measured, wired and tested my heat tape.
I also took a moment to seal some interior holes inside the wine cooler. They were mainly hoels fro the screws that held the cooling panel.
I also sealed off the top of the wine cooler where the lighting and thermostat unit hung. I pushed the wire through it’s whole and used foil tape.
Next I want to install/position my cooling fan. I’m using a DC blower type fan where the air is drawn in through the center, the back is solid and the fan can be mounted flat. So I used a very strong Velcro stickie to mount the fan (instead of the screws). Also I decided to have my fan blowing towards the door but I can reposition it later if needed b/c it’s mounted using Velcro.
Alright now it’s time to tape down the heat tape and wires
I measured and cut strips of foil tape for taping down the heat tape.
I taped starting at the bottom, moving up.
When it was time to tape down the heat tape wire, I flipped my wine cooler to make it easier for taping.
I actually taped my heat tape wire and cooling fan wires together across the top and down the side.
Put on your safety glasses and work gloves.
Almost there! Originally I had wanted to flip the wired shelving racks so that it lays flat put it seemed flimsy. So I decided to buy and cut more sturdy closet organizers to use with the incubator.
I measured and initially used a Dremel. But there’s a vinyl coating on the closet organizer that created a little smoke. So ended up making the rest of the cuts using a hacksaw. Less cool, less flying sparks but also smokeless.
With the selves in place, I also positioned the thermostat probe. I pulled extra thermostat probe wire inside the wine cooler and wrapped it around the middle shelf twice. I will be sealing the wire entrance and wanted extra wire just in case I wanted to reposition the thermostat probe late on somewhere else.
Now let’s seal any leftover openings. In my case, I had to seal the wire opening. Make sure u pull all the wires taught and tape them down.
From the inside:
From the outside:
Almost done! The final step in my incubator build is to plug everything in. I got a heavy duty metal , power strip and used the silicon caulking to mount it to the top, back of the wine cooler. I positioned it here b/c the wire cords for my heat tape and cooling fan were short.
And that’s it! YAY! I’m basically done. The wine cooler is now a reptile egg incubator! Yas!
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