Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
I am in the process of building a home-made incubator with a 5 cubic ft upright freezer. I am going to use a Helix thermostat for temp. control and probably a small appliance/computer fan running continuously to maintain a uniform temp throughout, but am unsure of what my best bet is for the actual heat source (multi-bulb incandescent fixture, heat tape, etc). Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all,
Glenn Smith

I would suggest using a heater coil. They heat up fast and cool down fast which helps to keep a consistent temp. If you contact Lyon Electric and let them know the cubic feet you are dealing with they should be able to tell you what wattage heating coil you need. Their web site is:

http://www.lyonelectric.com

George Knaack
GLK HERP

Thanks George,
I sent them an e-mail regarding the heat coil.

I used a 100 watt ceramic heater it cost me 27.00 and works very well!

Paul

Thanks Paul,

Is it a single bulb application? My concern is that if the bulb burns out, there goes the entire heat source! I was thinking that if I go with bulbs (ceramic or common), my best bet might be to have multiple lower wattage bulbs so if one burns out, the other(s) will take care of the job.

Thanks again,
Glenn

Hi -
I built my incubator with 2 60 watt lightbulbs. They heat up quick and cool down just as fast, and the chances of them both going out at the same time is slim.
Becky

you would have very bad luck if both went out....my wife is home most times and we check about every 6 hours so know we probably would not lose out but good idea!

Paul

...

Thanks for the replies!!! Any more?

I have been using all kinds of heat sources from "people" heating pads from the drugstore, to heatcables from Big Apple, Exoterra undertank heaters and heat tape. My next incubator will be with 11 inch heat tape, either one or two feet. A very economical heat sourse and it does not burn out like lightbulbs.

Rob Reiding.

How did the heta cable from big apple work out????

Angelo

The heatcable works pretty good, for 5 cubic feet you'll probably need a 50 Watts cable. You can tape it on the inside of your incubator with Aluminum tape. I also use the Helix Thermostats, they work great.

Rob Reiding.