Well the Uglybator just did a staggered hatch from hell, and I'm using it right now as a resting brooder for the ones that are not ready to run around in the main brooder. I have flexwatt around the base of the metal cooler bator. Over that I put tile. The chicks that want extra warmth actually cuddle right up against the tile. Like the brinsea it never gets hot enough to burn. The Uglybator's biggest detraction now is how small it is but a free metal cooler is a free metal cooler... Now I want a BIGGER metal cooler. I like that it's tiled. That cleans nice. I like that there's no possibility of any of them getting burned. Not bad for a first shot at a what-not-to-do bator.
Do you heat exclusively with the flexwatt... I used it with my bearded dragon and never thought to try it with a bator...
I know what flexwatt heat tape is, but could you explain how you installed it in your bator? My homemade bator uses a light bulb, but I'm not thrilled with the temperature control with the light bulb setup.
I use flexwatt for the majority of the heat but since I went insane and used a metal cooler it's a bit reactive to large temp fluctuations so I installed a small puck halogen light on a dimmer IN CASE. (Under cabinet light - not the low voltage sort.) If I need to pick up the heat briefly I can use the puck light and will probably put it on the thermostat eventually. I've also considered doing another much larger one with two bands of flexwatt. I really am liking the result. I also bought a four LED lighted fan so that there is always some light to see by. This was a wholly trial incubator to see how the parts went together and worked and really I am loving it. Since standard grouts hate attaching to metal I used some of the new epoxy puttys to adhere the tile to the wall above and below the flexwatt. It has very high stability adhesion and super heat tolerance - they use the new epoxys in high heat applications in some cases. Once it was set and I was sure it was solid I grouted it. Nice combination of heat sink and easy to clean surface. I was delighted. The result is a heat source both even and safe and they love leaning against the sides of the bator if they feel like it. If it cools too fast you need a secondary heat source, I like the pucks, easy to install - quick to heat easy to dim. I'm going to work on a larger one with many of the same materials. While it took a lot of learning and tinkering I really like the result.
