New bator idea?

[Triggerjay]

So I was looking around in my shop, and I found a cooler that a co-worker gave me a long time ago. It heats and cools using 12v power. I had never plugged it in, so today I dug it out, and tried it. On the heat side, in about 2 hrs it got to 120f, which is obviously too hot. It already has built in fans. I took part of it apart and found where the power feed for the fans, and heating element join together. It would be easy to seperate the fan circut from the heating element and install something between the source, and the element to gain control of the heat. so heres my question. Is there a common reliable thermostat out there that will work on a 12v system? I also have on hand a 0 to10k allen bradley potentiometer, which I could possibly use to regulate the voltage to the heating element, but I do not know how well I could maintain a steady temp using this method. what do you guys think?

The main reason I would like to use this cooler, is #1, it is a 12v system, so in the event of a power outage, I would just have to plug it into a car, and reason 2 is I can stand it up on end, and it opens like a fridge, and has shelves in it. Here is a link to the same cooler I have:

http://cgi.ebay.com/COLEMAN-5640-40...temQQimsxZ20090725?IMSfp=TL090725132005r22298

So, does it have possibilities? I searched around to see if anyone had made one of these into an incubator, and found nothing..

Jason

 

[Junkmanme]

It looks ALMOST PERFECT to me!

All you would need, it seems, is an accurate thermostat (probably electronic with a "probe") and an egg turner that would fit inside.

What are the inside dimensions?

The wires for the "egg-turner" and the thermostat "probe" could probaly fit between the unit and the door seal with little or no "leak"!

Looks VERY GOOD to me..............

-Junkmanme-

 

[SpunkyTheMonkey]

yeah, what Junkmanme said, check out my t-stat in this pic:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/30676_dscn0931_20p.jpg

you can't see properly but that copper coil has the probe on the end and could be uncoiled and fed through to the inside of the bator.

that type of t-stat works on any voltage you like.

 

[Triggerjay]

Sweet, I like it. Where can I get one?

The ID of the cooler is about 12" deep, 12" wide, and 24" tall. Not huge, but I have a small hobby farm.. It will be plenty big enough for my use..

Jason

 

[Triggerjay]

Another thought I had was one of these... They are 12v too I think... I am running the cooler from an old PC power supply anyways... so one of these should plug right in:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-4-Fan-Contr....c0.m14&_trkparms=65:1|66:2|39:1|293:1|294:50

My thinking is, instead of using it to control fan speed, I will use it to send a variable voltage to the heating element... Which is the same theory this unit uses to control the fans... It features a low temp setpoint, high setpoint, and an alarm setpoint... which is a plus..I'm sure it uses the most basic form of error control, and will prob not be as accurate as a PID control, but it may just be the ticket,... plus it will look cool!

lol..

Jason

 

[Triggerjay]

I was doing some more research on the PC fan controller, and it dawned on me that the fan RPM (voltage) increases with the heat,.... this is backwards from what I need it to do... I just need to find a simple coil stat like the ones you guys are using..

Jason

 

[Junkmanme]

TriggerJay,

Wouldn't the RPM on the fans be dependent upon the "temperature setting" of the fan controller?

For instance, IF you had the temperature setting at 100F, then any increase in TEMP would speed up the fan. Seems to me that this is what you would want....?

I dunno.....just asking.

-Junkmanme-

 

[Triggerjay]

In a sense... but instead of controlling fans with it, I want to control the voltage to the heating element itself.. Which in turn, if the element gets to the setpoint, or over, the voltage would increase (normally to speed up the fans), so the voltage to the heating element would increase, (becoming hotter) not decrease like I would need it to do. Now, on another note, the controller could be used the way it is designed, and control fan speed... but now we are getting more complicated, and there is no need to go overboard on a bator.. more features = more room for error.

Jason

 

[Junkmanme]

AH.........Triggerjay,

Now........I comprehend your dilemma!

YEP.the old KISS rule..Keep it Simple "S"

-Junkmanme-

 

[havi]

That looks like it would make an awesome bator! What a great idea.