can't regulate temprature in handmade incubator

[Rod-T]

Light bulbs burn out . So use 2 bulbs.. I'd try 2 100 watts. See how that does..

 

[azjustin]

Definitely a good start to fix the problem.

 

[MeepBeep]

I see so it worked for you... if it ever goes out.. are you gonna but another hot water thermostat? Or a nice digital thermostat that calibratable? For just few dollars more? Be honest

To be bluntly honest if that one ever went out I would replace it in a second with another water heater thermostat as I designed it around a water heater thermostat and have no reason to redesign and tinker with the design when it has proven to be rock solid...

I also have no problem 'calibrating' my water heater thermostat, as I said I calibrated it initially and have only done one small tweak to to the calibration in three seasons now...

Many people confuse accuracy, calibration and hysteresis... The ITC-1000 you like is only accurate to ±1° (per the manual) and a device is only as accurate as it's accuracy, so even if you calibrate the displayed setting to show whatever degree and set the hysteresis to ±0.3° the unit still is only accurate to ±1°... I'm doing every bit ±1° accuracy with the analog water heater thermostat...

BTW I'm an electronics engineer by trade, if I wanted to go digital I would have built a circuit and done so, and I probably will when I do a cabinet sized incubator as I want it to be fully automated and take temps at multiple locations with multiple heat sources as well as a slew of other things... But, digital is not necessary for the single application of holding temp in an incubator, thus the reason I made the choice to go analog in the design... Also I heard a lot of hoopla about how inaccurate the water heater thermostats were and that puzzled me as bi-metal wafers are plenty accurate for this application...

There is nothing wrong with analog thermostats, they worked for a LONG time in incubators, in fact I would argue all day that analog is just as accurate and likley more accurate than any broody bird...

 

[MeepBeep]

Light bulbs burn out . So use 2 bulbs.. I'd try 2 100 watts. See how that does..

The reason I suggested one bulb is so that the heat source is in a single location and the thermostat gets a better reading of the heat source instead of bulbs spaced so far apart... Redundancy is always good and if you desire to go with two bulbs I would use a 2 bulb 'Y' adapter on one side so that the thermostat can still be mounted in close proximity to the heat source... I would also recommend you use to different brand bulbs, as manufacturing standards are so close nowadays bulbs made together usually fail very withing hours of each other...

If you put the bulbs so far apart as designed right now and you put the thermostat over one bulb, on one side and that bulb blows it's not going to properly regulate the bulb on the other side of the cabinet... Putting the thermostat in the middle won't properly regulate either.. For accuracy you want the thermostat to measure the absolute extreme heat levels, thus directly opposite of the fan blowing over the bulb...

 

[Rod-T]

To be bluntly honest if that one ever went out I would replace it in a second with another water heater thermostat as I designed it around a water heater thermostat and have no reason to redesign and tinker with the design when it has proven to be rock solid...

I also have no problem 'calibrating' my water heater thermostat, as I said I calibrated it initially and have only done one small tweak to to the calibration in three seasons now...

Many people confuse accuracy, calibration and hysteresis... The ITC-1000 you like is only accurate to ±1° (per the manual) and a device is only as accurate as it's accuracy, so even if you calibrate the displayed setting to show whatever degree and set the hysteresis to ±0.3° the unit still is only accurate to ±1°... I'm doing every bit ±1° accuracy with the analog water heater thermostat...

BTW I'm an electronics engineer by trade, if I wanted to go digital I would have built a circuit and done so, and I probably will when I do a cabinet sized incubator as I want it to be fully automated and take temps at multiple locations with multiple heat sources as well as a slew of other things... But, digital is no necessary for the single application of holding temp in an incubator...

There is nothing wrong with analog thermostats, they worked for a LONG time in incubators, in fact I would argue all day that analog is just as accurate and likley more accurate than any broody bird...

Obviously I've hit a nerve. . Sorry about that... I do believe they would be better off with the itc1000 ... and I'd like to just agree to disagree with your use of hot water thermostat. .

 

[MeepBeep]

Obviously I've hit a nerve. . Sorry about that... I do believe they would be better off with the itc1000 ... and I'd like to just agree to disagree with your use of hot water thermostat. .

Hit a nerve, no... You are the one suggesting/implying that water heater thermostats are insufficient in this application, and based on my real world build(s), observations and measurements I see nothing to suggest that as being true or factual in any way...

May I ask how much experience you have with water heater thermostats in incubators? And if you had problems with them did you address the problem with the overall design or just assume it was the thermostat and never explore further or adjust the design to better fit the thermostat?

As I said I'm an electronics design engineer, and if there is one thing I had to learn quite well when troubleshooting and designing circuits is that correlation does not imply causation...

I'm really curious where and how you came to the conclusion that the water heater thermostats are inadequate for this purpose, and what you base that on when I have personally found nothing to support that claim?

 

[Rod-T]

Your not gonna bait me like you do with others on here all day.. no engineer is going to use a water heater thermostat and add a digital read out.. when they can buy the right product cheaper.. the op doesn't deserve this

 

[MeepBeep]

no engineer is going to use a water heater thermostat and add a digital read out.. when they can buy the right product cheaper.. the op doesn't deserve this

Well you are patently wrong as I am in fact an electronics engineer and did exactly what you claim I wouldn't do, imagine that... And you make another error when you claim I would just buy the 'right' product while implying that the 'right' product is the digital item you choose to use, fact is there is no single 'right' product in this instance... Bimetal disc thermostats (that is in fact what a water heater thermostat is) have been used for application is just silly... For my build I did choose the 'right' product to fit my design, as my design was built from the start around my choice of a water heater thermostat, as a proof of concept that it would be sufficient, contrary to the many hearsay claims (like yours) of the contrary... I proved to myself beyond a doubt that the water heater thermostat is plenty up to the task at hand.. I also have little interest in buying some digital thermostat that I can build easy enough from stuff I have sitting in my office if digital was the route I wanted to take... I also would not buy a $16 one when I can get a sub $3 digital thermostat delivered to my door of equal accuracy if over the counter digital was what I wanted...

But, I suspect that rather then admit you are wrong on multiple accounts, you will claim more falsehoods like, probably starting with claims that I'm not an electronics design engineer, right?

Again how much experience do you have with water heater thermostats that you are using to base your claim they are not sufficient to do the job on?

 

[Rod-T]

Well you are patently wrong as I am in fact an electronics engineer and did exactly what you claim I wouldn't do, imagine that... And you make another error when you claim I would just buy the 'right' product while implying that the 'right' product is the digital item you choose to use, fact is there is no single 'right' product in this instance... Bimetal disc thermostats (that is in fact what a water heater thermostat is) have been used for application is just silly... For my build I did choose the 'right' product to fit my design, as my design was built from the start around my choice of a water heater thermostat, as a proof of concept that it would be sufficient, contrary to the many hearsay claims (like yours) of the contrary... I proved to myself beyond a doubt that the water heater thermostat is plenty up to the task at hand.. I also have little interest in buying some digital thermostat that I can build easy enough from stuff I have sitting in my office if digital was the route I wanted to take... I also would not buy a $16 one when I can get a sub $3 digital thermostat delivered to my door of equal accuracy if over the counter digital was what I wanted...

But, I suspect that rather then admit you are wrong on multiple accounts, you will claim more falsehoods like, probably starting with claims that I'm not an electronics design engineer, right?

Again how much experience do you have with water heater thermostats that you are using to base your claim they are not sufficient to do the job on?

I guess you would. . I don't understand why. . But that's my opinion. .
If you do a search on here..alot people are having trouble with theres. Temperature swings.. one guy had to put his right next to the light to get more sensitivity. .
You had one..great you got it to work.. I just don't recommend going out to buy one and then buying your 3.00 digital read out. How much are they 15 20?.. the op isn't a electronic engineer. . I never said you weren't one.. why you continue to try to bait me to argue? You do this to alot people on here..I've seen you on other threads doing this exact thing.. asking for research to support there claim.. this is a forum. . Everyone has there opinion.
I know some people on here have got them to work. . Alot people are having trouble. . For that reason I'll stick with the itc1000. Even comes with a sensor wire to mount where you want. I wish i could find a alarm setup to set up to alert me to any issues. Hot or cold..
Seems to me that be smart when your doing bigger numbers..when I do my cabinet incubator this winter id like to have something like that. But im deaf so i was thinking of a flashing light?..one guy on here is trying to develop a device that conecting to wifi.. and you can monitor the incubator from a app on your phone.. not sure of cost of that yet.. perhaps you could recommend a product?

 

[CBWO]

Hey I'm the one with the incubator problem I built the incubator with 1.5" space all the way around the inside of the walls are hollow and act as air duct system there are two holes in the top matching the holes in the bottom that the blue fans are sitting over the wafer thermostat is located at the top inbetween the two return air duct holes the fans blow the air across two 250 watt heat lamps straight up through the box then through the two 4" holes in the top around the box inside of the walls and back through the fans and across the lights again the problem is my brand new wafer thermostat started with a 5 degree swing in temperature then after running for a day had a 6* temp swing. After running it the last three days straight it has settled on about a 2.5* temp swing the heat turns off at 101.1and back on at 98.8 I don't know if it will hold the same over the next couple days but if it doesn't I'm going to return it and get a new one If it does hold a 2* swing should I set it to turn off at 100* after the lights go off it continues to heat to about another .5* then starts to cool very slowly The fans are on constantly circulating the air just the heat lamps turn off and on