How to use water heater thermostat?

[phrogg]

Barred Rocker wrote:
"I get a real sense of accomplishment when I build something with my own hands and it works."

Agreed, not to mention that I would have to pay a lot for the quality of incubator that I've constructed. Of course that's assuming it's actually going to hatch eggs

If the thermo doesn't work, I'll get a different one, if it does, I just saved $10, plus shipping, and waiting. And then there's that feeling of resourceful accomplishment.

 

[Overeasyplz]

I used just1jack's page on thermostat modification. I'mon my third hatch so far, works great!

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I understand where y'all are coming from. I'm the ultimate tinkerer and have built or refurbished a few incubators myself, but for me there are times when parts are to be scrounged or built, such as when new parts are too expensive or I need to build something where no off the shelf equivalent exists, and other times when buying the appropriate part is, well, appropriate... In the case of a twenty dollar incubator thermostat, the latter applies.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Exactly.

After many, many experiements and half a dozen homemade incubators, I'm convinced the most bang for the buck is to be had with the wafer disc controllers.

 

[Barred Rocker]

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If and when my water heater stat lets me down I'll definitely go with the wafer but for now, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[Penturner]

Quote:
lets take the thinking a little further. Why use a wafer stat when you can go get a ceramic heater with fan and thermostat and heating element all rolled into one for about $20? Drop it into a slightly larger box and be done with the entire issue. Heck why not avoid the expense entirely and just buy chicken and eggs at the grocery store. I just don't understand why people can't simply understand a question and formulate an answer to it.
As for me why, Why would I go to all the trouble of modifying a hot water heater thermostat. Because it is a commonly used device in home made bators and I am experimenting with various components and finding out how different arrangements effect the operation of the incubator. basically I have the components screwed to blocks of wood that I can arrange as i choose. i will eventually explore many styles of components including the wafer. for now I am exploring the hot water heater stat.
In addition as far as i recall (I have done a lot of reading the past two weeks) this is the first I have heard the waffer being recommended. every other comment I have read on it was along the line of it being worthless. Not saying that is correct,, just that is what I was gathering.

 

[Penturner]

I will say that the plastic around the Water heater Stat acts as a heat sink and effects how fast it stabilizes. i don't have a waffer to compare it to but it seems to me it takes as much as an hour and a half for the WH Stat to get over all the fluctuations. once it does hone in though it seems to be doing pretty good. not that one day is telling me much. but for the last hour or so it has honed in and stayed at 100.2 to 100.4 degrees and I am pretty sure it is not stable yet. I have not added any forced air yet and chasing that 99.5 degrees around is starting to get old. i can get 98.6 no problem. and I can get 100.4 no problem. but it seems this stat flat refuses to land on 99.anything.
I do like the waffer being bare contacts with nothing around them, my question what do you do about shock hazard with that set up?

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Because the thermostat isn't accurate enough. I have used a ceramic heater / fan combo in conjunction with a wafer thermostat though.

As for me why, Why would I go to all the trouble of modifying a hot water heater thermostat. Because it is a commonly used device in home made bators

I don't know that I'd call them commonly used. Perhaps here on BYC, where a few folks have experimented with them. I can't say I've ever heard them recommended elsewhere.

In addition as far as i recall (I have done a lot of reading the past two weeks) this is the first I have heard the waffer being recommended. every other comment I have read on it was along the line of it being worthless. Not saying that is correct,, just that is what I was gathering.

I'm not sure where you picked that up from. They are fairly accurate, but since they are a sealed bellows they can vary slightly with barometric pressure. They don't last forever either. It is possible for the brass to crack and develop a leak in the bellows causing them to fail to the on position. If the application is crucial or you have a large incubator where the loss of a batch of many eggs would be a real problem, it is common to install a second one in series to act as a backup to the first. The same could be said for the water heater thermostat.​

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Do you have some sort of load in the incubator or are you just heating air? You need a thermal mass to act like the egg mass, such as a plastic bottle of water. Let it set for a day and make slight adjustments with lots of time in between.

I do like the waffer being bare contacts with nothing around them, my question what do you do about shock hazard with that set up?

They don't have bare contacts. The switch is a commercial, snap-action microswitch with the bellows acting on a tiny switch button.​

 

[upthecreek]

Has anyone used the "electronic Thermostat"? are is it to costly ?