Since I have had a few of you ask... Here are pictures of our Igloo-Bator and an explanation of the metal electrical box...
Mind you, my husband is an electrician!!! So, everything had to be wired together and properly done
The electrical box helps with the temps regulating. When you put a new thermostat on a hot water heater you put it on metal correct? Well, same here... I will try to explain the best I can... no she didn't... she came and got me DH to explain this. All right a water heater's thermostat works by measuring the temperature of the metal tank. NOT CONVECTION. The heat is applied to the water directly which in turn heats the shell of the tank. Now it takes a certain amount of time for the tank itself to cool off and heat up. Because of this design criteria the thermostats are manufactured to work with a metal tank and 30 to 50 gallons of water, this is alot of mass to heat but because of the mass it keeps its temperature constant at a longer time period to conserve electricity. Now we are using this thermostat in a small incubation unit that might have less than 1/10th the mass. Also the heat is transfered to the thermostat through the contact with the metal tank. Metal will change temperature at a more or less constant rate because of the interaction of electrons throughout the metal. When we try to put this same thermostat onto a plastic container (side of igloo cooler) the temperature change is not constant over the entire plastic surface because of its electrons. plastic does not conduct electricity right? neither does it conduct heat, because basically that is exactly what electricity is. The plastic will get really hot near the heat source but will not conduct around the surface as well as metal would. Large time discrepancy is then put into the equation because of the extra time it takes for the plastic to conduct the interior temperature will rocket to well above normal range for eggs, say in the 110 degree range even though the thermostat is set for 99 to 102. Also because of the mass difference the plastic will keep its heat longer than metal because the conduction of heat is a two way street. So to give the Thermostat a close to designed criteria, we mounted a large square electrical installation box (4" or larger) to give the metal of the thermostat a little mass as well as to conduct the ambient temperature to the thermostat quicker and allows the metal box that is only heated by ambient temperature to more accurately keep the two temperatures in a narrower range. Now are there any questions class? The physics exam will begin promptly at 9 a.m.
Well did that answer everyones questions??
The inside, which has changed slightly, but only with the pvc pipe...
This fan was exspensive, but well worth every penny!!!
This is the electrical box with the thermostat on it...
Ended up moving the thermometer to on top the egg holder
This is how we turn our eggs... works very well, no need to open lid to turn the eggs...
Here are the the other pics I said I would add, on how I use the turner...
Cut out the bottoms of the egg flats and attach to the pvc pipe that are slid into the "T"s that you saw in the previous pic
See it moves side to side
This is the handle that comes out the back of the bator just turn it back and forth... the wire is used to help keep the flat from moving when I set a full tray...
Here is a close up of the elec box and thermometer
This is how I keep the water in... it is attached to a hose that leads to the pan on the bottom of the bator... real easy
Mind you, my husband is an electrician!!! So, everything had to be wired together and properly done
The electrical box helps with the temps regulating. When you put a new thermostat on a hot water heater you put it on metal correct? Well, same here... I will try to explain the best I can... no she didn't... she came and got me DH to explain this. All right a water heater's thermostat works by measuring the temperature of the metal tank. NOT CONVECTION. The heat is applied to the water directly which in turn heats the shell of the tank. Now it takes a certain amount of time for the tank itself to cool off and heat up. Because of this design criteria the thermostats are manufactured to work with a metal tank and 30 to 50 gallons of water, this is alot of mass to heat but because of the mass it keeps its temperature constant at a longer time period to conserve electricity. Now we are using this thermostat in a small incubation unit that might have less than 1/10th the mass. Also the heat is transfered to the thermostat through the contact with the metal tank. Metal will change temperature at a more or less constant rate because of the interaction of electrons throughout the metal. When we try to put this same thermostat onto a plastic container (side of igloo cooler) the temperature change is not constant over the entire plastic surface because of its electrons. plastic does not conduct electricity right? neither does it conduct heat, because basically that is exactly what electricity is. The plastic will get really hot near the heat source but will not conduct around the surface as well as metal would. Large time discrepancy is then put into the equation because of the extra time it takes for the plastic to conduct the interior temperature will rocket to well above normal range for eggs, say in the 110 degree range even though the thermostat is set for 99 to 102. Also because of the mass difference the plastic will keep its heat longer than metal because the conduction of heat is a two way street. So to give the Thermostat a close to designed criteria, we mounted a large square electrical installation box (4" or larger) to give the metal of the thermostat a little mass as well as to conduct the ambient temperature to the thermostat quicker and allows the metal box that is only heated by ambient temperature to more accurately keep the two temperatures in a narrower range. Now are there any questions class? The physics exam will begin promptly at 9 a.m.
The inside, which has changed slightly, but only with the pvc pipe...
This fan was exspensive, but well worth every penny!!!
This is the electrical box with the thermostat on it...
Ended up moving the thermometer to on top the egg holder
This is how we turn our eggs... works very well, no need to open lid to turn the eggs...
Here are the the other pics I said I would add, on how I use the turner...
Cut out the bottoms of the egg flats and attach to the pvc pipe that are slid into the "T"s that you saw in the previous pic
See it moves side to side
This is the handle that comes out the back of the bator just turn it back and forth... the wire is used to help keep the flat from moving when I set a full tray...
Here is a close up of the elec box and thermometer
This is how I keep the water in... it is attached to a hose that leads to the pan on the bottom of the bator... real easy
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