Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have 3 heating elements from hovabator/little giant incubators
the internal dimensions of the incubator being built is 36"Wx21"Dx38.5"H should i put all 3 heating elements at the bottom or 2 at the bottom and 1 on top with a fan

I think I would put all three on the bottom. Not speaking from any kind of expierience ~ getting ready to build my own from a fridge~ just thinking about a physics fact. Heat rises. Try putting all three on the bottom~ placing fans at the top aimed at the outside walls with a slight downword point. This should in theory circulate the warm air that has reached the top toward the bottom along the outside walls (minimum air temp disturbance to the egg containers).

Once you've tried that......let me know how it works please!! Thats my thoughts on what I'll try~ but I have to wait for the box (Old fridge) to be hauled here (by cousins who do not see why I am impatient for an old fridge!) so I can try it.

Maybe try this configuration with the heat elements and fans just taped in place to check heat distrubution BEFORE you fasten everything down.

Good Luck~ let me know what works for you!
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Cheryl Marchek
AKA JM
The Red Dragons Den

How many watts are those heaters. I use 3 hovabator heaters in one of my incubators. Your incubator isn't that large. Mine are 4 ft wide, 8 ft tall, 2 ft deep and heat just fine. My incubators are in a room with an ambient temp of 82F though. You don't want too much heat, your incubator shouldn't have enough heat to cook eggs if you have a failure with the t-stat.
Mike