home made incubator heating help

[Ekaufee17]

Hello all. I have another question. i've poured through the threads and haven't found an answer so maybe you guys could provide me with some input. I've built a prototype incubator using some plywood and plexiglas (and a little bit of elbow grease). I'm having a problem keeping the heat constant. I had originally planned on using a space heater that i had (with a built in thermostat) for the heat. ive gotten the humidity to a level that i wan't but my issue is that the heat fluctuates. the heater runs, gets the incubator to about 101 degrees, but then kicks off for about 10 minutes to which the temp falls to around 88. Once there, it kicks on and starts heating up again. Is it time to abandon the idea with the heater and try something else? I'm a college student on a budget so thats why i'm asking. any input on if the temp fluctuation will be OK or what i could do to change it would be appreciated! thanks!

 

[barnyard betty]

I have heard of someone using a lightbulb and put holes in the top and bottom because hot air rises and will draw cooler air in the bottom to keep a constant temp. You would have to play with the bulb wattage to get the right temp depending on how big your incubator is, and adjust the hole sizes to keep the humidity that's needed.
Also another idea....Get on GQF website and look at heating elements and thermostats fan motors etc. They sell them separately they are relatively inexpensive and you can pick what kind/size you need. Good luck.

 

[Dwen]

I built a cooler incubator this spring on a college budget, and I used heat-sinks and a thermostat to keep the temperature steady. A heat-sink is something, like a brick or a jar of water, which heats up and cools down slowly. This helps to keep an even heat throughout the incubator. The thermostat I use, attaches to a lightbulb and will only allow one-two degrees of fluctuation. It cost me $20 and was the single most expensive part of the project. Have you checked out the incubator page under "coups"? There are many neat DIY ideas, and I found a lot of help there.