Can a LG heating element / thermostat handle heating...

[Bock_Bock]

the hight is what makes the diffrence as you know thw hot air rises so the cold air drops down no matter how wide the hot aire will spread out but only to the highest points, so if you got a good enoigh fan is to slowly move the air rather then coll the air from blowing to hard it will help a little but im sure u will need more wattage

 

[PurpleChicken]

One of the reasons the LG isn't heating other cabinets isn't the plywood
but the fact there is no foam. Styrofoan is an excellent insulator. I have
no doubt an LG element with a fan could heat a bator 3 times the size
of a regular LG 9200. The trick is to put a layer is insulating foam on the
inside, bottom, and top walls. The foam is available in sheets at Home
Depot or Lowes. An extra layer on the outside of the plywood wouldn't
hurt either.

 

[rizq]

Because of the insulation factor, or the height?

ETA: Purple Chicken answered my question

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
You may have a point there. I was cosidering that too. Mounting a fan
that sucks air out of the top and blows it down multiple channels to the
bottom would avoid that.

 

[rizq]

What about mounting the heater on the bottom? Would that be a possibility?

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Thanks for the credit but keep in mind a fan must blow up, thereby
forcing the hot air down the sides. Having a fan blow on the eggs is
a recipe for disaster.

Air movement in a large bator is as critical as the heater. An LG element
is small but i believe, if done right, can do the job. I've never done it
though so it's pure speculation on my part.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Mounting on the bottom would require the bator to be larger than it
could heat. The eggs would have to be far away from the element.
Just think of your oven on bake. Anything too low will burn.

 

[rizq]

Quote:
Thanks for the credit but keep in mind a fan must blow up, thereby
forcing the hot air down the sides. Having a fan blow on the eggs is
a recipe for disaster.

That I did not know! Thanks for posting that before I caused a problem with the forced air section (and will also have a fan for the hatcher eventually). I never paid enough attention to my forced air bator to realize that the fan blows up!

 

[millebantam]

PC, the hatcher that I tried to heat using a 25 watt element is 24" x 16" x 14". It is insulated with 3/4" high density pink foamboard insulation. I have the element on top with a fan. 96 degrees is the best it ever did, even running for 24 hours with the knob turned wide open. Maybe someone elses 25 watt element could do it, but not the one that I took out of my 9200.
Quote:

 

[PurpleChicken]

millebantam, was the foam on the inside or outside? I thought my
9200 element was 40 watts?

I'm not doubting anything you are saying. In fact this is a fascinating
thread.

I'm using some basic btu calculations to form my opinion it should work
plus my element stays on less than 20% of the time in my LGs.

It may not be possible. Thanks for sharing this!!!