incubator out of an old fridge?
- Thread starter aquapimp
- Start date
cliff_f
New member
Actually it is pretty east to turn a fridge into a incubator all you would really have to do is run a piece or two of 11" flexwatt down the back inside of it for heat. Use a good thermostat to control the temp. You can also wire in a 12v fan to help circulate the air. What I did with my 12 volt fan was I got a powersupply from wal-mart that you could change the amount of voltage that goes to the fan. I have it set on 4.5v going to a 12v fan so the fan isnt running at full capacity. But my fan is in a ice chest incubator so I dont need as much air circulation. I put the fan on a timer so it dosnt run all the time. That is basically it and you have a incubator. you can use the shelves in the fridge for you deli cups or what ever you use.aquapimp said:
Haroldo
New member
aquapimp said:
I don't know about that. What's the ambient temp of that basement? Cubic feet of the fridge? The goal in any efficient setup is to make it where it uses just enough power to get the job done, but doesn't stay on all the time. I modified a few coolers this past year for incubators. I'd definitely go with flexwatt, simply because they heat gently and are much less likely to start a fire imo than a heat emitter of pretty much any wattage. Not to mention heat emitters are designed to concentrate their heat, so it'll probably stay on 24/7. Something that alot of people overlook is a heat bank. That is, a water bank of appreciable size in your incubator that will be tuned in to the temp in your incubator. When you open the door to check on eggs, ambient temp will drop. You want that temp to get back up to normal as quicky as possible. A large container filled with water simply placed at the bottom of the fridge will do the job, but you'll have to top it off every now and then. You can alternatively use bottled water and never really worry about evaporation. For a thermostat, I'd use a pulse type (Helix, Herpstat, etc.) instead of a on/off type--though I was able to calibrate an incubator I built with one within 2* accuracy. Let me know if you'd like me to expand further. Good luck on your mod.
-Harold
Haroldo
New member
Here's the link to the incubators I did...
http://www.pangeareptile.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2747&highlight=incubators
http://www.pangeareptile.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2747&highlight=incubators
miguel camacho!
New member
heres a link to a page someone made to make incubators from old fridges:
http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/incubator.shtml
http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/incubator.shtml
beege_3
New member
I'm looking into this as currently I am using the polybox incubator method, which albeit will be good for someone only having a few eggs at a time, but I have bigger plans for the future so was looking into this.
However, the freon worries me, but what I was thinking was - would the freon affect the eggs, if the fridge/freezer wasn't plugged in? I mean, would it be safe to use it without getting rid of the freon?
Thanks for any replies.
Bryan
However, the freon worries me, but what I was thinking was - would the freon affect the eggs, if the fridge/freezer wasn't plugged in? I mean, would it be safe to use it without getting rid of the freon?
Thanks for any replies.
Bryan
lessthantito
Member
I don't think there is any contact w/ the tubes that hold freon and the inside of the fridge/freezer so really if you are unsure of that you could probably just not drain it