Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have one strip of 11" flex watt and it stays at 89-90, then it jumps up to 94 in about 3 or 4 hours. It seems like I have the right amount of tape for the size of the freezer. I usually would have the fan blowing on the heat tape against the backside of the fridge, but the heat tape wouldn't fit by about 2 inches. So, the heat tape is on the bottom and the fan is right above it (blowing upward). Should I go ahead and buy 4" heat tape and line it up against the wall? Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks,
Kyle

Kyle, looks nice so far. I have a couple questions:

1) What type of thermostat/probe are you using and are you confident it's accurate?
2) Are you trying to set the heat tape at 89? If so, I don't think that's a good idea. You might cook your eggs. Put your probe in with one of the egg boxes at the top. Hot air rises so the boxes at the top could be warmer than those on the bottom.

If you have the space - it looks like nothing on the lower shelf - you can add heat sinks like bricks or bottled water. They hold heat better than air and help stabilize the incubator after it has been opened.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I guess I wasn't to clear on where the t-stat was. Its in w/ one of the top box's. I just switched out the helix for another helix and it seems to be more accurate. I put water bottles on the sides of the door to keep the temp steady. I'm going to check the temp of the fridge all today and if it holds well now, I will put the eggs in this evening. I got home from work yesterday and got another clutch of 7. So, I feel a little rushed now. I guess it serves me right for not being prepared this year.

Kyle

I like mine setup and running for about 3-5 days so I can ensure they are "dialed-in". Keep us posted.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I have the 2nd female thats not really doing the best job on maternal incubation. Shes not completely wrapping around the clutch of eggs.

Kyle

Alright, enough panic. Let's see some photos
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Hey Kyle I have a question what type of fan are you using? I was using the fan out of my old incubator which was an old small refrigerator and the fan was putting off alot of heat after a few days of running so I bought a large cooling computer fan. I hope this helps
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Damian Macioce
www.strongholdreptiles.com

a cooling computer fan from radio shack. I have used it before, it works pretty well.

Kyle

What Voltage Fan? If it is 120 it will get too hot. It needs to be 12 volt DC with a power supply.

Albey
Albey's "Too Cool" Reptiles

Is it just the photo or is there no seal around that door ? if not that could be the problem .Thanks David

Theres a seal around the door... And it turns out the t-stat was the problem. I used another helix dbs and its now fine.

Kyle

That will do it every time. I use two or more when setting my temps to ensure accuracy.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles