Brewing fridge as incubator?

[DakotaB]

Alright so im trying to plan out how im going to incubate some panther eggs. Been taking temp readings around the house but its just way to hot 78-84. So just placing them on a shelf wont work. Ive been looking at the ReptiPro 6000 but with such mixed reviews and small size im just not sure.

So my thought is set up a beer brewing fridge and use that as an incubator. Has anyone on here tried something like that?

Basically just getting a standard glass door fridge. (looking at 2.5-4 cubic feet internal) Then hooking up a temperature controller to it. Not really sure if it would be safe to use a reptile thermostat designed for heat tape. And these are designed to run on fridges and freezers.

http://www.pexsupply.com/Johnson-Controls-A419ABC-1C-Single-Stage-Digital-Temperature-Control-120-240v-SPDT?gclid=CNXvxbK8hroCFc01Qgod5w0AgA


This was just a thought since fermentation buckets have to be kept at 65-75 degrees.

Any thoughts?

 

[Mike Fisher]

Yes, my incubators are all gutted fridges set up pretty much how you mentioned. I use digitally proportional thermostats. Mechanical ones are sketchy and stick closed. My heat source is just red party bulbs. I use two in case one burns out. If light scares you, you can use ceramic heat emitters. I've never had a problem with the light bulbs.

 

[DakotaB]

Oh I might have been a little unclear. My thought was to leave the fridge intact and to use its cooling system to get to the proper temp. (since it's so hot here). The temp controller would turn the actual fridge on and off to regulate the heat. There would be no heat bulbs or tape inside the fridge.