# From fridge to incubator!?



## Newty (Mar 4, 2012)

Hey guys.

I have a gravid pastel 2kg royal and would like to sort out a reliable incubator for her eggs. I've sourced a 3foot(ish) fridge as, after doing a little research, my plan was to gut the cooling elements and install heat tape (such as flex watt), a couple of pc fans, a good stat and thermometer and hopefully acheive some nice stable temperatures.

My first stumble came when I went to order the heat tape... this product seems to only be available in 110v and from the U.S. as it doesn't meet EU safety regs. So I was wondering what the best UK solution would be.

I've seen 'heat bars' which are supposedly runnable but know very little about them. Infrared heat lamps are a last resort as they will occassionally fail and require changing and I imagine they are harder to control. I'd rather avoid heat mats though I do have an extra large, spare habistat heat mat kicking about. I also hear people talk about zoo med heat cable which sounds like an option. 

I guess my question is what would you choose and why? Thanks for anyone who takes the time to reply, appeciated. I'll also take a few snaps as the incubator takes shape.


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## spider shane (Apr 16, 2010)

hello mate


i use ceramic bulbs my self. i have placed a how too in this section called pimp my fridge.
you dont need to follow it as i have but you can use the bulb with some fans to move the air. there are also some pic in there of other peoples work that may help you out.


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## Newty (Mar 4, 2012)

Thanks for your reply Shane!

I actually sell light bulbs and lighting for a living so I could source them at a good price but I'm skeptical incase they blow at the wrong time. 

Do you find that the heat is nice and controllable? I think I've seen your thread with the "donkey kong" style levels to channel the heat. Excellent job! :notworthy: It looks the bomb but I don't think I could copy that very easily :gasp:

I think I might try the heat tubes as they are used in greenhouse heating and are very controllable, but a little bigger than the heat cables.

On a side note just after posting this and I checked my pregnant pastel and she had shed! So the countdown is on, approx 30 days remain :2thumb:


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## spider shane (Apr 16, 2010)

haha 30 days you hope i would aim to get that thing up and running within the week.

yeah the bulbs works wonders and i get no rise or drop in temps when i use them.

donkey kong....? ok.... lol

there is one on the thread of mine where some one added a heat box at the back you could try that. also i have never had a ceramic blow on me... didnt even know they could?


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## Newty (Mar 4, 2012)

spider shane said:


> haha 30 days you hope i would aim to get that thing up and running within the week.
> 
> yeah the bulbs works wonders and i get no rise or drop in temps when i use them.
> 
> ...


:lol2: Donkey Kong!! That must have sounded crazy if you've not seen it. The levels on your fridge have a gap at one side then the level up has a gap at the opposite side, that's exactly how Donkey Kong works. Google "Donkey Kong" and you will see what I mean... it's the only way I could think to describe it! :2thumb:

I've got a leccy mate coming round in the next few days as I need to test the temps yet too! Would like to pimp it sooner rather than later. I'll look at this heat box idea!

When I said blow I meant fail, they are meant to last approx 5000 hours (depending on brand etc) but if one went whilst I was at work etc. the incubator would lose too much heat before I was back to replace it, I might not even notice straight away and would rather avoid opening the incubator wherever possible. 

I'm not an expert on heat lamps, more the energy saving lamps, but since you asked they are relatively safe but they can blow due to the heats involved, any restaurants using heat lamps with food for example have to place the lamps within another sealed glass fitting. I imagine your design would eliminate any direct effects of shattered glass flying about. I'd still run them on a circuit with surge protection to minimise risk and avoid contact with hands etc as any oil on the lamp can make hot spots. 

Thanks again.


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## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

You can buy heat cable over here :2thumb:. I have just bought some for a rack from this company.... Digital Thermostats, Air Pumps Accessories items in Forttex-Systems store on eBay! They do various lengths so you are bound to find one that will fit what you need :2thumb:. Just connect it to a pulse stat & away you go.


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

*Fridge incubator*

hi there here mine i made









4 pc fan run with a old mobile charger 


then i made a lamp box on the back has 2 60 watt spot lamps B&Q £2.00 ish 









works well stick a dimmer stat on the spots your away 

i also cut a window in the door to see in 

hope it helps 


Paul


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

corny girl said:


> You can buy heat cable over here :2thumb:. I have just bought some for a rack from this company.... Digital Thermostats, Air Pumps Accessories items in Forttex-Systems store on eBay! They do various lengths so you are bound to find one that will fit what you need :2thumb:. Just connect it to a pulse stat & away you go.


lol thats were i got my Digital Thermostat from there good will take a load of 2200 watts its saving me £10 a week in electric on my rack 


Paul


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## Newty (Mar 4, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback guys. :2thumb: There's certainly a few different ways to do this.

Two heat lamps may get around my phobia of them dying on me as the chances of them going at the same time are small. I'm leaning towards cable though, thanks for the link! Ill review with my mate and make a decision, this feedback will certainly help and no doubt cost will come into it... as promised I'll try and post a couple of pictures once complete. :mrgreen:


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## Newty (Mar 4, 2012)

Sorry it's took so long to get back on this guys but here we go. I totally changed my first thoughts on this design and big props to Paul (Madhouse5 ) as this is a recreation of his idea.

We used a bunch of LED PC fans to circulate the air. Heat box uses two ceramic lamps, ceramic lamp holders, solid pine construction, wrapped up in heat reflecting foil, all secured and tidied with foil tape.


















I've just incubated my first royals in this setup! very pleased with it! Thanks again for everyone who chipped in on this thread. : victory:


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## Newty (Mar 4, 2012)

Picture of the heat box -


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

cool glad its working for you i just hatch out our first leo babies in ours so all good too 
Paul


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