DIY CABINET COOLER INCUBATOR How we did it and TEST RUN Ready Set GO!

[chicken pickin]

So Im a little stuck. I let the bator run for a few hours last night and when I check the temp it was reading 129. When I opened the bator door it was HOT inside. The lights never turned off to stop the continual heating. So Im not sure if I have the thermostat adjusted proper or wired proper. Any tips?


edited to add
I rewired the thermostat, we had it wired up incorrectly. It is now shutting off as it reaches the set temp. Now to fiddle with it to get it to the proper temp. It has reached 95 so far.

 

[ozexpat]

So Im a little stuck. I let the bator run for a few hours last night and when I check the temp it was reading 129. When I opened the bator door it was HOT inside. The lights never turned off to stop the continual heating. So Im not sure if I have the thermostat adjusted proper or wired proper. Any tips?


edited to add
I rewired the thermostat, we had it wired up incorrectly. It is now shutting off as it reaches the set temp. Now to fiddle with it to get it to the proper temp. It has reached 95 so far.

You are on the right track more by the look of it.

It's slow and steady now til you get to the tempo you want.

Put some water bottles on there to simulate some egg density

 

[ozexpat]

One more thing.

The wattage of your lights will work OK but as they hit 129 on full, you may want to consider a tad lower wattage. A little less intensity may give you a little more stability

 

[chicken pickin]

Thank you!

Im heading to the store now for different bulbs. I was just trying out what I had on hand. One is 60w the other is 150w.

At the moment temp is holding at 100 but Im sure it will fluctuate. I do need to get more thermometers to place throughout. I also just ordered a Brinsea Spot Check though Im a little nervous since recently a lot of folk here on BYC have not said very good things about it.

 

[ozexpat]

You may be surprised. With a decent size Bator, those silly thermostats are very stable

 

[Sally Sunshine]

TOTAL AWESOMENESS is all I can say!!!
I LOVE MY coolerbators with their awesome wafer thermostats!

 

[8isenuff]

Fine Tuning Question: I have a cooler bator that I have used twice now and it works pretty good. Hatch rates are not quite what I would like and I think it may have something to do with the hot spots. I have a fan in there, but I'm not sure how consistent the temp should be from one side of this thing to the other... The temp holds where I want it good, so not a thermostat issue (I think). But while the middle of the bator stays between 99-100, closest to the light goes up to 101-102 and further away down to 97-96...quite a swing. Last batch, I would move the back eggs to the front and front eggs to the back with each turning....lotta work and not the best set up I'm sure.... Any suggestions? Should I angle the fan a bit in towards the cent of the bator?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Fine Tuning Question: I have a cooler bator that I have used twice now and it works pretty good. Hatch rates are not quite what I would like and I think it may have something to do with the hot spots. I have a fan in there, but I'm not sure how consistent the temp should be from one side of this thing to the other... The temp holds where I want it good, so not a thermostat issue (I think). But while the middle of the bator stays between 99-100, closest to the light goes up to 101-102 and further away down to 97-96...quite a swing. Last batch, I would move the back eggs to the front and front eggs to the back with each turning....lotta work and not the best set up I'm sure.... Any suggestions? Should I angle the fan a bit in towards the cent of the bator?

I am not sure what to tell you, we have two light bulbs on the long back on our coolers and the fan blows accross the bottom of them and disperses the heat. It can get a degree warmer just under the light bulbs in ours, but nothing I worry about since I try not to put eggs in those to spots, but have without issue, like I just had to as I had it jammed packed for hatch.
Two lights prevent complete loss when that one bulb blows, and it happens.

can you try to blow air over the lamp instead of outward? I honestly havent a clue

 

[Sally Sunshine]

 

[ozexpat]

I am not sure what to tell you, we have two light bulbs on the long back on our coolers and the fan blows accross the bottom of them and disperses the heat.  It can get a degree warmer just under the light bulbs in ours, but nothing I worry about since I try not to put eggs in those to spots, but have without issue, like I just had to as I had it jammed packed for hatch.  
Two lights prevent complete loss when that one bulb blows, and it happens.

can you try to blow air over the lamp instead of outward?  I honestly havent a clue

The fan should definitely be blowing on the heat source.

You may need another fan at the other end