need some help with homemade incubator:) please

[pnuts]

i made an incubator out of an old mini fridge but i have been having some trouble regulating the temp&humidity inside of it. i have been trying all sorts of lightbulbs but none of them are working out and the humidity is either too high or too low. i was wondering what i could use besides a lightbulb and some wet cloths to regulate heat&humidity.
would a reptile terrarium heater turn off once it got to the heat it was set to?

my setup is basically a just a mini fridge with a bunch of holes drilled in it for ventilation and to put wires through for plugs

also also anyone know how to make an automatic egg turner?

 

[pnuts]

 

[asher]

Do you have a dimmer switch hooked up to the lightbulb? That's what I had to do with my home made *styrofame* incubator to get the temp to stay steady.

Not sure on the turner, but I know some people on eBay were selling the motors only to work for the turner. If you are in to electronics at all, you'd probably be able to figure it out from there.

 

[kelseygirl707]

You will need some sort of thermostat to regulate the temp. Some people use water heater thermostat, I use a Digital thermostat. With out a thermostat your temp will fluctuate. As for humidity. Try different sizes of containers. I use a glass jar that used to have a candle in it, then add in 2 drinking glasses of water during lock down, and I have heard people with high humidity have found a Pill bottle to work.

As for turners, you will have to be inventive with that one. I made on once out of a butter turn, lol. Check out my BYC page to see that one.

Good Luck

 

[pnuts]

would something like this work for a lightbulb or is it just for heating pads? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AQD0Y/ref=pd_luc_mri?ie=UTF8&m=A2701FG002WN6Z

 

[kelseygirl707]

I think it could work, but I have never used one so I can't say for sure. I'm wondering if it has a sensor to know the heat, or if the whole unit had to be inside the incubator, and if the whole unit has to be inside, will high humidity mess it up.

 

[pnuts]

i think it has a little probe thing but i have no idea. i'll let you know. i'll buy a dimmer switch too just in case. thanks!

 

[kelseygirl707]

If you use a dimmer switch, watch in like a hawk, any fluctuation in your house temp will make the temp in the incubator either spike or drop.

 

[kelseygirl707]

This is the thermostat I use, and I LOVE IT! I even bought a second one for my hatcher.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Digital-Te...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414fc4dcf0

 

[muddstopper]

Just a word of caustion if you decide to purchase this item, http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Digital-Temper … 414fc4dcf0. There are hundreds of them listed on ebay and not all of them will work with standard US power grids. Just be sure if you do purchase one of these units that you specify that you have 110V power and that you donot want a 220V controller, otherwise, you might not be able to use the controller in your incubator project.

On another note, while the cost of one of those thermostats seems very affordable, its still just a thermostat. If you are building a incubator and wish to control temps, humidity as well as run a automatic turner motor, you might want to contact cbiblis to purchase all the parts at one place. Each of his controllers is custom made to order and will controll humidity to +/- 1%, Temps to 0.2/0.4degrees, and the rpms of the automatic turner motor to 1turn per hour continous turn or slower useing a alternating turn and then stop repetition. Of course his controllers are a little more than $20, but its all come from one place and I know it works. And its made in the USA not China.