Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been eyeing some of those little coolers that stores use to keep drinks in. They seem to hold the temp well & the glass door is a big plus! I have seen the smaller ones (dorm sized) that have windows on 3 sides & would like to see if anyone else has converted one of these into an incubator. I know the compressor & cooling stuff would have to be yanked out (which will lighten the weight of the unit considerably). I am not sure about how well they would work or if it would be worth it. Anyone have experience with one of these?

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My parents own an apartment complex and my dad had about 7 refridgerators(3' high) that had'nt run in years and were just sitting there so I converted one into a incubator.I gutted all of the electrical components,cut a window in the front(just about the whole front is glass) and siliconed it to what was left of the door.I heat it with 2-2' sections of flexwatt which I ran through a hole in the back that was used to run the fridge light. I took out the fridge light and replaced it with a cord and bulb set with a 7.5 watt bulb and in-line on/off switch.The unit is controlled with a helix thermostat and holds temps. - 1/2 to 1 deg.. The only problem I had was that I had to let the silicone air out for about 2 weeks to get the smell away but it was well worth it.I use it to this day and I am thinking about converting the others as well.

What are you incubating in it and how many clutches can you fit inside?

Also, do you notice a heat gradient inside the unit ... warmer at top than at bottom of unit?

How do you keep humidity up inside unit?

I breed leopard geckos and as far as the capacity I have never had it filled all at one time but I'm sure it could hold a couple hundred eggs.What is it you are going to be incubating???
To hold humity I just incubate the eggs in moist vermerculite in shoe boxes and solo deli cups that have the lids on( 2 1/8 inch holes in the lids holds humidity very well and if I ever saw any waver in humidity I just cover one or both holes with tape).Because the fridge is on the small side(approx. 6 cubic feet)the temp. stays pretty even all around the unit.I also used more heat tape than I thought necessary so it would heat faster when I did open the unit.I placed one heat strip down the back of the fridge and another across the bottom with the thermostat probe placed in the middle of the unit.
This setup works very well for me.I did take another fridge, left the solid door the way it was, and rigged it the same as above and used it for my mealworm breeding colonies.Hope this helps.