Thermostat Question

[eatmorechicken]

I'm building an cabinet style incubator and i'm looking at different options for a thermostat. It seems like a decent wafer or reptile thermostat will cost $30-$40 with shipping. Water heater thermostats can be tricky. Have any of you tried using a toaster oven thermostat? I can walk to the thrift store down the road and pick a toaster oven for $5. Do toaster oven thermostats stay within 1 or 2 degrees of a set temperature? Are there any other types of thermostats I can try?

 

[gumbii]

i doubt they have a small flux in temps... my toaster heating element gets super hot really fast... and it takes forever for it to turn on again... and when it does turn on, it takes forever for it to turn back off... so by the time it turns on to the time it turns off has to be more than 1 degree....


but i guess the only way to know is to try it...

 

[aprophet]

the toaster oven t-stats are much like the WH t-stats in performance I use a Johnson control electronic t-stat it is one I have used at work for 8-10 years they just work well forever I think ranco has a version as well

 

[eatmorechicken]

I did a quick google search on toaster oven thermostats. are these what you are talking about

Is the "OFF/ON" in the second picture the fluctuation in temperature?

 

[al6517]

I think the wafer is the way to go, I have tried them both and the wafer is head over heals better. You should be able to find them online cheaper with a little searching.

AL

 

[eatmorechicken]

What about mercury bulb thermostats?

 

[midget_farms]

Good 'ol house thermostat - $10 or less at ace hardware or walmart.

When was the last time you had to replace the thermostat in your house because it failed? I'd bet never.

They have a wider range in temp variation - but as long as you set the average at 99.5 it will work just fine with 2 or 3 degrees of variation.

The momma hen gets up every day to elliminate waste & drink etc. So the eggs are designed for some temp flux.

That's what I use in my home made. On my 3rd hatch now & have not had any spikes or issues.

 

[eatmorechicken]

Quote:
It seems some house thermostats have a 10 degree flux (the cheap ones anyway). Besides that all the house thermostats I find at the hardware store have a range of 40-90 degrees. Can they be modified for higher temps and still be fairly accurate. What is the hatch rate of your homemade?

 

[aprophet]

what ever the part of the house stat is that limits it to 90 can be fixed to go past the 90* part but the differential is still not that good the wafer I have in my hova bator swings form 99.4 to 100.2 to me that is perfect close enough the electronic t-stat I have on my homebuilt swings from 99 to 101 it hatches really well

 

[ThaJuicyJuice]

If anyone can show how to wire a home thermostat that would be great. From my understanding they are for smaller voltage than what most transformers emit and don't they control a boiler or something of that nature???