Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do any of you know what the pros and cons are between ac and dc cooling fans? Does one comsume more power,heat up more,etc.
Thanks for all your help!

AC has more power and typically runs at a higher rpm. The plus side is you can plug them into the wall ot thermostat and they are the best for circulating large areas. I use two AC fans in my dual chambered incubator. They do run hotter than DC but you will never be able to tell the difference plus they only run at about 5 watts. The only down side to the higher powered AC fans is that since they produce higher RPMs they make more noise. Again they range in power and RPM capabilities so you can get nearly silent fans.

Would you happen to know the optimal volume of air to move in a 5 cubic foot incubator? It is an upright freezer about 4 ft. tall with about 4 shelves. I know this is one of those near impossible questions to answer, but I was thinking 3 or 4 times the total volume of the incubator per minute. I think it would need a somewhat good air flow to move air around all the egg containers if there were some on all the shelves. This way, there are no dead spots where hot air builds up under containers overheating them.
Thanks for your reply!
Glenn

I wouldn't concentrate too much on the volume of air that you need to move. I would recommend trying a computer fan that you can get at Radio Shack for around $20. Install it and see if your temperatures stabalize throughout the incubator. If you then feel that you need more air add another fan. The whole purpose of the fans are to circulate the air to help maintain a more costant temp from top to bottom, side to side. Sometimes experimenting is better than formulas. For example, on paper you may need to move 50 cubic feet of air a minute, but in fact you may be moving too much air and you really only needed 25 cfm. Hope this helps.
Wil Combs
Captive Bred Creations