Building incubator - water thermostat question

Southern Bee Lady

Songster
11 Years
Jan 2, 2009
421
5
131
Upstate SC
I am building a cabinet incubator using some directions I found on several websites.
Someplace, I saw a comment about drilling 2 (?) holes in the back of the hot water heater
thermostat to get it to work better. Does anyone know anything about this and where to drill them?
 
Quote:
I knew this was someplace, but hadnt been able to find it. Thanks for posting the link

I have taken quit a few of the hwtstats apart and I know that there is at least 2 different designs. The common one seems to be the one featured in that link.

Anyways, I am thinking about doing a little testing with hole drilling myself. Here is what the inside of the tstat looks like.
14833_0305111834.jpg

As you can see, exactly like the one described in the link.
My plans are to drill the extra holes in a different location. If you look at the black plactic housing that surrounds the disc. I dont see anyway drilling holes in the plastic is going to result in more air getting to the disc. Its completely surrounded except where the little metal arm hinges at the adjustment point. Now look at the metal back. The only air that gets to the disc is thru that tiny hole that looks like it is in the middle of a bullseye. I suggest that I will drill out the little hole to almost the full diameter of the disc. This should provide direct exposure to the air currents inside the bator. Now I dont know if this will work better or worse than what has already been tried, but I have already taken the hwtstat apart, might as well do a little experimenting.
 
Well, I started drilling on the HWHTstat. First I drilled out the back side of the metal plate
14833_0311111529.jpg

I then decided to drill 3 holes in the plastic cover likewas done in the link above, except I drilled 13/64 holes.
14833_0311111532.jpg

you can see where I drilled the holes by the 10x32 machine screws sticking out.

I then put everything back together and used some 10x32 machinescrews in place of where I drilled out the rivets.
14833_0311111605.jpg

You can see the ends of a multimeter I connected to the tstat to see if it was still working, it was. Unfortunatley, I havent recieved my heater parts from Cutler Supply so I cant test it out in my new hatcher. I did check it by moving close to and away from my wood stove but the stove was around 375 degrees. With the tstat hooked to the multimeter, it would cut off and on pretty fast just walking by the wood stove. What the temp range was I dont have a clue.
 
Quote:
If you are going to take a tstat apart, be very careful about what parts fall out of it and where those parts go. The little metal disc will only work in one direction, if you reinstall it upside down, it wont work at all. The only other parts that will fall out are the little metal strap that just sets in there and is used to adjust the pressure being applied to the disc, the other part that will fall out is the little round plunger that works the electric switch inside the plastic houseing. If you drop it, it is very hard to see.

And another thing, I havent been able to test mine to see if what I have done is any better than a unmodified tstat. It might work and it might not. If it dont, you have just wasted the price of a tstat, if it does work, then alls well that ends well. good luck and keep us posted on how it performs.
 

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