this helped me so much since i have a water heater thermostat and i couldn't get it to work. i had it turned around backwards and it was going from 101-95 degrees and now its going from 100.4 - 98.6.. THANKS SO MUCH!!!
I found your video on how to wire the thermostat as well as adding a fan.That was after I posted asking how to wire it correctly. Great video! Thanks again for taking the time to make these videos! I really like your ice chest incubators and am now considering building one like yours on my next go round! Keep up the good work!
Ok thank you so much for all your help. Everyone who wants to make a "cooler bator" should watch all your videos and all you successful hatches thank you sooooo much
There is a 1/4" hole drilled in line with the adjustment screw so that a screw driver can be passed thru the hole to adjust the thermostat while the bator is running... :)
The faster the bulbs cycle, the steadier the temps will be. If the humidity is falling, you may need to block off the vents in the top of the bator and that should raise the humidity!
I followed your instructions in this video to modify my homemade incubator using the same thermostat. Since relocating the thermostat and adding the second bulb, my bulbs are turning on and off in short increments but because they are not staying on for long periods of time the humidity is dropping and I am having trouble keeping it at the proper setting. Please if you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for posting this video. I was unsure about the proper placement of the first wafer thermostat that you talked about. I'm using two bulbs with mine as well,is there any way that you could explain the correct way to wire it? I feel pretty confident that I have it right,but would really like someone to confirm the correct way. I'm building it for my 12 year old daughter for a science project and want it to be a safe as possible. I've gone out of my way to make it safe,including u
Your 40mm fan should work fine! You want your fan on the opposite side of the bulb where your thermostat is mounted so that the air blows across the bulb and onto the thermostat for good heat transfer. Let me know how it works out! :)
The thermostat needs to be within a couple of inches of the bulb, metal side of the thermostat facing the bulb. (I demonstrate this in the video and go into more detail)
Since the front of the thermostat is against the cooler, how do you turn the dial thing to get the right temp before incubating? Could you not mount the thermostat and just set it on something right next to the bulb??
hi again i bought a 40mm fan on ebay and it is very very small would the work and where should i place it if i have one 75 watt light bulb in the middle a water heater thermostat on the left all in a styrofoam 45 quart cooler? oh!! and i modified the thermostat like you said.
I'm currently making a video on making a Styrofoam cooler incubator w/ a water heater thermostat & fan. It should be posted soon, so hopefully that will help you:)
Sure you could! You could install the water heater thermostat as a safety... you could tune it to 101 degrees just in case the digital thermostat were to fail! Wade
I've had em last for a whole hatching season! (3 months) but I would advise to replace them after every hatch if you can. I have had 1 bulb blow out during incubation and that can be a pain! Wade
this helped me so much since i have a water heater thermostat and i couldn't get it to work. i had it turned around backwards and it was going from 101-95 degrees and now its going from 100.4 - 98.6.. THANKS SO MUCH!!!
I found your video on how to wire the thermostat as well as adding a fan.That was after I posted asking how to wire it correctly.
Great video! Thanks again for taking the time to make these videos! I really like your ice chest incubators and am now considering building one like yours on my next go round!
Keep up the good work!
Thanks for all of the kind words my friend! Glad that everything worked out for y'all... :)
Ok thank you so much for all your help. Everyone who wants to make a "cooler bator" should watch all your videos and all you successful hatches thank you sooooo much
@realistrod Yes I did... I drill a 1/4" hole for a small flathead screwdriver to access the adjustment screw.
There is a 1/4" hole drilled in line with the adjustment screw so that a screw driver can be passed thru the hole to adjust the thermostat while the bator is running... :)
The faster the bulbs cycle, the steadier the temps will be. If the humidity is falling, you may need to block off the vents in the top of the bator and that should raise the humidity!
Ok I will give that a try. Thank you for your quick response
thanks for the video i made a coolerbator today but used a dimmer switch and think i will switch out to a water heater thermostat just to be safe
I followed your instructions in this video to modify my homemade incubator using the same thermostat. Since relocating the thermostat and adding the second bulb, my bulbs are turning on and off in short increments but because they are not staying on for long periods of time the humidity is dropping and I am having trouble keeping it at the proper setting. Please if you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated.
I made the holes bigger and move it closer to maybe a inch and it is cycling much better
That's great! Those temps will hatch any poultry out there! :)
One like you are useing in video it is gone to cycling . But takes forever to kick on once it goes off and I drilled the holes
Thank you so much for posting this video. I was unsure about the proper placement of the first wafer thermostat that you talked about. I'm using two bulbs with mine as well,is there any way that you could explain the correct way to wire it? I feel pretty confident that I have it right,but would really like someone to confirm the correct way. I'm building it for my 12 year old daughter for a science project and want it to be a safe as possible. I've gone out of my way to make it safe,including u
Your 40mm fan should work fine! You want your fan on the opposite side of the bulb where your thermostat is mounted so that the air blows across the bulb and onto the thermostat for good heat transfer. Let me know how it works out! :)
The thermostat needs to be within a couple of inches of the bulb, metal side of the thermostat facing the bulb. (I demonstrate this in the video and go into more detail)
Since the front of the thermostat is against the cooler, how do you turn the dial thing to get the right temp before incubating?
Could you not mount the thermostat and just set it on something right next to the bulb??
hi again i bought a 40mm fan on ebay and it is very very small would the work and where should i place it if i have one 75 watt light bulb in the middle a water heater thermostat on the left all in a styrofoam 45 quart cooler? oh!! and i modified the thermostat like you said.
Thanks so much this video is exactly what I needed!
BEAN B Awesome! Glad the video helped out! :)
@ajnabee03 In my experience, baseboard heater thermostats varry in temp too much to be effective for incubation...
Can make video showing how to install them
should i put it close to the bulb or far away
The thermostat could have been damaged in the modification process... it happens sometimes... what is the temp range stamped on your thermostat?
I'm currently making a video on making a Styrofoam cooler incubator w/ a water heater thermostat & fan. It should be posted soon, so hopefully that will help you:)
U have a like on hot water thermostat buddy
I used the thermostats from Lowes!
I can touch the back of the thermostat and it is cold and it will still be a while before it kicks on
If possible can you show how to install a solid state relay.Thanks.with a heating element.
Right here: Installing and Wiring a Digital Temp Controller using a Solid State Relay Into Your Incubator
water heater thermostat. I could never get the bator to work right though.
Can we use 230 volt bulb
I followed everything you said in every video you have and i got a 99.5 to 101.0 is that good
Hi , is that a single pole 120V OR 2 pole 240V+ thermostat ? Thanks for input greatly !
it's a single pole
but I have used both kinds!
@libertyss35 Thanks my friend! Glad the vid helped ya out... ;)
It's the t 4100 upper element
Sounds like it may have gotten damaged or it was faulty right out of the box! I have gotten a couple of (bran new) bad ones!
what is your fluctuation with the water heater thermostat?
I just followed this video and its kicking off but not back on
That's perfect!
That's the right one!
less than a 1/2 degree with our 'modified' water heater thermostats!
What kind of thermostat are you using?
Can you use a stc1000 with a hot water thermostat together
Sure you could! You could install the water heater thermostat as a safety... you could tune it to 101 degrees just in case the digital thermostat were to fail! Wade
can you send me a diagram... ? How can i connect that thermostats with fan and lamp ?
thank u
@andyrew55 Glad the vid helped my friend! ;)
please explain to me how the cables of the thermostate are conected ...thnx
JUST BE HAPPY ua-cam.com/video/lhI0OcFi4FY/v-deo.html
+Homesteading in SC
how did you mount the water heater thermostat to the side of the cooler???
+ismael sanchez I use 3m brand double sided tape or industrial Velcro!
Ok cool .can u adjust it from the outside that way with no problem??
Yes, I have a 5/16" hole drilled for access to the thermostat adjustment.
You rock! Thank you :-)
Witch one do you prefer?
+dave w They work equally well! The wafer thermostat costs over 3 times as much as the water heater thermostat!
how long does a bulb last you?
I've had em last for a whole hatching season! (3 months) but I would advise to replace them after every hatch if you can. I have had 1 bulb blow out during incubation and that can be a pain! Wade
what watt lights you using?
We're using 40 watt bulbs in this one!
these 5 min can be explained in just 1.
90 f - 180f
It's not cycling at all
what kind of thermostat are you using?