Thought I would give a little how-to on homemade incubators.

As far as incubators go you got your cheap ones (Hovabators) which are ehhhh and your good ones which are $$$. Once you've outgrown the small incubators and you need a big one look out cuz you're gonna spend some dollars.

So I decided to go with an old fridge conversion. A freezer would have been better since its one big chamber but the fridge works fine for me since its plenty of room and I use the top for storage. If you wanted to get fancy, which I may do in the future, you could wire up the top and set it to a different temp than the main chamber. Fancy shmancy.

Ok so step 1, get an old fridge. Not hard to do. I got mine at a used appliance store. When old fridges die they arent worth fixing so they usually just get scrapped.

Next you wanna get the freon out. The guy at the appliance shop recovered it for me since he can re-use it. Its not the best idea to do it yourself. Not to mention illegal to release it into the environment. However, if you are gonna crack the line and let it drain be careful and wear eye protection. That stuff can blind you. No joke.

Once the freon is out you're home free. Go ahead and tear out all the stuff that makes it run since it makes the unit much lighter. Compressor comes out, all the doohickeys inside that are just in the way. Rip it all out.

Once its clean and ready all you need to do is attache a piece of Flexwatt to the rear of the fridge. I went with 3' of 11" Flexwatt which I got pre-wired from Reptile Basics for like 5 or 6 bucks. You may not need that much but I figured what the heck. Better to have too much than not enough. Then you use some good 'ol foil tape and attache it to the back like so:

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg239/Varanus99/002.jpg

I went ahead and installed some sheet metal behind the tape just for safety. Probably not necessary but why not. Its cheap and only took a few minutes. Here you can see the sheet metal screwed down with the Flexwatt over it:

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg239/Varanus99/004.jpg

I was lucky enough to find a rubber plug in the back of my fridge which I ripped out and used to run my wires through. If you dont find one of those you may have to drill a hole. Not a big deal. Once your Flexwatt is secure you just run your plug out the back and connect it to your T-stat. I went with a Helix but use whatever good quality T-stat you like best. I would suggest a proportional one for an incubator not just an on/off. Here she is:

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg239/Varanus99/007.jpg

Now you put your probe back through the hole. I like to use a back up digital thermometer as well so I got two probes in there. I set them about midway down and then I checked the whole thing with a temp gun. Fridges have very good insulation so Im off less than 1 degree top to bottom.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg239/Varanus99/003.jpg

Then I just stuffed the hole that the wires run through with some insulation. Easy.

When I got my fridge the old glass shelves were all messed up so I ripped them out and made my own with metal closet shelving from Home Depot. I like this better since these type of shelves allow better transfer of heat and I was able to mount them where I wanted. If you wanna go nuts you could fit a lot of shelves in there.

Thats about it. Once its calibrated you should be all set. Like I said the insulation capabilities of a fridge are amazing. Its in a room that has fluctuated from 50 degrees to 90 degrees and it holds me steady at 84-85 or whatever I set it at. Keeps the cold and heat out as well as it keeps the heat in. Also holds humidity pretty good. I dont use a fan but you could add one if you like.

The whole thing cost less than 30 bucks to put together without the T-stat. Thats your most expensive piece. But also your most important piece. Even with the Helix you're looking at a pretty gosh darn big incubator for well under $200. Not bad.

Annnnnnnnnd thats all folks!

Great info. I made one out of an old freezer sitting in my basement to use along with the one I built out of melamine and insulation. The freezer holds the temps much more steady than the melamine one.

Awesome post! I am planning on doing this next year and using the top half to incubate leo eggs and the bottom for colubrid eggs. I have been using Hovabators for years with great success but need something a little bigger. Hell I even hatched woma eggs in a Hovabator last year with 7 out of 9 hatching!

very nice! This is my first season breeding egg layers so I gotta start thinking of something.

V awesome post brother. Great info, I know for a lot of people this is there first breeding season so I'm sure they appreciate all the info...

Awesome post! I am planning on doing this next year and using the top half to incubate leo eggs and the bottom for colubrid eggs. I have been using Hovabators for years with great success but need something a little bigger. Hell I even hatched woma eggs in a Hovabator last year with 7 out of 9 hatching!


Great idea. That way you can mess around with the temps up top to control the sex ratios of the leos and keep the colubrids steady.

You hatched woma eggs in a Hovabator?? :master:

very nice! This is my first season breeding egg layers so I gotta start thinking of something.


Thanks!

And if youonly have a few egg layers and dont need something quite that big you can do the same thing with smaller fridges. Those little fridges kids take to college or wine fridges also work just fine. The trick is they can be a little harder to find.

Some folks have done a similar conversion using a large Igloo cooler. Basically its the same idea. Insulated box + heat = incubator.

Thanks for posting some great info :yourock: I bought mine this time. Maybe the next I'll try on my own.

Nothing wrong with buying them. No sir.

This is just for the folks who may want to save a little scratch or perhaps need something larger than what is currently offered.

Great post!! The pics help to see what your talking about.. Thanks.

Alan

seriously thanks for this post. I have been looking around for different ideas and none with pictures and a good explanation so i will definitly be using this idea in the near future

seriously thanks for this post. I have been looking around for different ideas and none with pictures and a good explanation so i will definitly be using this idea in the near future

Excellent. I am very happy you found the post useful. If you have any questions that are more specific than the brief summary I gave above just lemme know.

Wanted to add something.

When looking around for a used fridge the only thing you really have to be concerned about is the seal. You need a good seal in order for your incubator to work properly. Often on old fridges the seal is damaged or rotted. But there are plenty with good seals you just have to look.

Obviously it doesnt matter if the mechanics dont work, if its scratched, if the butter dispenser door is missing, you just want a good box. If it has giant cracks on the interior walls I might avoid that one as well. Although that can be fixed if the rest of it is solid.

If you find a great fridge with a seal that has come loose its an easy fix. The seal is made of rubber and slides into a track on most models. It may also be attached with some adhesive. If it's in good shape but has just come loose you can heat it up a bit with a hair dryer or a heat gun if you have one. That will make it pliable and you should be able to slide it back into position. Maybe with a little clear silicone behind it for extra protection.

If the seal is dry rotted and cracked then Id pass.

I linked this thread in the caging sticky so it won't eventually get lost in the shuffle.

As you were.:yessir:

Thanks BB. I wasnt sure where to put it since its not exactly caging. So I just went with general reptiles.

But a sticky is cool, Boss

:yessir:

I suppose I should give credit where credit is due. I got the basic concept from a tutorial from Clay Davenport and then put my own spin on it.

But I wanted to put a post up here for the Bush-Leaguers who might not have seen Clay's site. Im a huge fan of the fridge conversion and want to get this info out to as many people as possible. Booyah.

I suppose I should give credit where credit is due. I got the basic concept from a tutorial from Clay Davenport and then put my own spin on it.

But I wanted to put a post up here for the Bush-Leaguers who might not have seen Clay's site. Im a huge fan of the fridge conversion and want to get this info out to as many people as possible. Booyah.

well thanks for the sharing definitly.

I suppose I should give credit where credit is due. I got the basic concept from a tutorial from Clay Davenport and then put my own spin on it.

But I wanted to put a post up here for the Bush-Leaguers who might not have seen Clay's site. Im a huge fan of the fridge conversion and want to get this info out to as many people as possible. Booyah.

Nothing wrong with that bro. Some of the best ideas have come from tweaking whats available and running with it.

Clay has some awesome info on his site, I've picked some much from there. I believe we even have a couple of his articles stickied around here somewhere..

Yup Im sharing a sticky in Caging/Enclosures with some of Clays stuff. Rock on!! Im playing with the big boys now!

:letsparty:

Thanks for the post. I hope to need one of these this spring for some leo eggs. Probably start with a smaller model. ;)

Thanks for the post. I hope to need one of these this spring for some leo eggs. Probably start with a smaller model. ;)

Be on the look out for a college fridge or a wine fridge. Either would be just dandy. The nice thing about the wine fridge is they have glass doors so you can peak in without disturbing the temps. Igloo coolers also can work. Same basic concept. Good insulated box with some heat.

Oh, another option. Some folks have cut a hole in the front of their fridge and covered both sides in thick plexi for the same reason. So they can view the eggs without opening the door. For me, that was too much of a pain in the tush. Ripping through a fridge door with a Sawzall is not much fun. Besides I always just open the door quick, peek and shut the door. But if you're really paranoid of heat loss or if you're working with super delicate eggs like green tree pythons perhaps you should consider a window.