Interesting Idea for an Incubator

First of all, I have to say that my parents get full credit for this idea because I'm not good at reading technical stuff at all. I bought a small wine cooler to use since it was the right size and it had a glass door. I was just planning on using flexwatt to heat it like most people do, but my parents came up with an interesting experiment.

It turns out the wine cooler is cooled using a thermoelectric unit instead of freon. Apparently thermoelectric units can either heat or cool depending on which way the current flows through the unit (I will try to get my dad to write down a better explaination for me if you guys want it). My dad just clipped a few wires and switched them (you can see what he did in the picture) so now it heats the inside of the cooler instead of cooling it. It only took a few minutes to do once he figured out which wires to cut.

I tested it out yesterday by plugging it into my little ZooMed ReptiTemp thermostat (yes, I'm getting a better thermostat before I put eggs in it, I just wanted to see if it was going to work). It held an ambient temp inside the cooler of 89-90F really well even with the cheap t-stat. Next I'm going to set up some containers with perlite just like I plan on using for the eggs and run it for a few days to see how well it maintains the temps in the container. I want to make sure there isn't too much of a difference between the top and bottom shelf. If there is, I'll probably try adding a second fan. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Enjoy!

Brillant! Check temps and humidity for a extended period of time, but that looks brillant!! Congrats.
Wolfy

I need that!! mind if I ask what it costs and where you purchased it?

i know there are other wine coolers/heaters that can heat up or cool down things as well, no wire clipping involved at all!
Let us know how it works, ive been contemplating an idea like this, but im worried about that things thermostat and whether its good enough or not.

Does it reset temps if the plug is pulled out, Then plugged back in? If not, i might recommend running it with a second thermostat JUST in case!

I wouldn't trust the thermostat that came with it, either. I can't decide what I'm going to use for a thermostat, though. From what I can tell, I have two options. I could get my dad to wire a proportional thermostat into the unit and then plug the whole thing into an on/off thermostat as a back up, or I could just plug the whole thing into two on/off thermostats (probably Rancos). I can't just plug it into the proportional one since it would wreck the fan motor. I'll probably test it with a Ranco and see how consistent it is, and then decide if I need the proportional thermostat.

Hope this helps,
Shelly

Originally Posted by Melinda

I need that!! mind if I ask what it costs and where you purchased it?

No problem! I bought it at www.compactappliance.com The one I got was the EdgeStar 28 bottle deluxe wine cooler. If you check their refurbished items page they have open box items and scratch and dent stuff. The company ships really fast, too. I ordered mine on a Sunday night and it shipped Monday morning. They normally sell for about $175 but mine cost $139 plus shipping, so I think it was like $178 total (it was an open box one).

If it works like I think it will, I won't have to add anything to it, and at that price it's much cheaper than the incubators I've seen for sale.

Hope this answers your question,
Shelly

Originally Posted by FireStorm

If it works like I think it will, I won't have to add anything to it, and at that price it's much cheaper than the incubators I've seen for sale.

Oops! What I meant to say was I won't have to add anything except thermostats. I guess I should read what I'm writing.

Shelly -

Looks like an interesting project.

Keep us updated.

It sure does!! DThomas has some real nice thermostats. I have a Johnson I got from him, I could not be more pleased.

Do keep us posted, looks to be an awesome project.

Please keep me updated on how stable yours is. Also, do you just have to switch the polarity to the thermo unit itself? How much heat does it give off if used without a thermostat? I just ordered this same unit after seeing this, and I have a helix proportional thermo to run it from, but if it isn't that stable I might disconnect the thermoelectric unit and run 11" flexwatt. I think I will also either add a fan and disconnect the internal fan and run both off a separate power adapter, or if the internal fan won't run off 12v I'll just cut it and add 2 computer fans instead. I went to the same site to buy mine and it was only $119 plus $39 shipping. Thanks for the idea, and the site. keep us updated and feel free to send me a pm or post the wiring instructions. Do you know what the power specs are for the internal fan?