Making an incubator out of a wine fridge

[thunderpaws]

Hello,

If anyone has knowledge on building an incubator from an old wine fridge I have gutted the back pulled the freon lines and have stripped out the nuts and other parts from inside. I am sticking in the back 11 inch flex watt from the top to bottom. I am using a Spyder robotics therm. My question is where should I make the hole for my heat tape plug and the Thermostat wire? Also I am planning on drilling a hole big enough to stick the entire plug into the hole. Do I want to tape off the hole once threaded or do I need a little hole for air circulation. What is the best tool to drill a hole in the fridge? Also I am going to try and not use a fan. I will have plenty of time to monitor the temps. I am in a cool basement. Any other suggestions will be welcome and thank you in advance.

Best regards,
Bill

[jeepers_creepers]

Bill,
I am using a dorm room size fridge which is about the same size your working with. I also used the 11 inch heat tape. I put my hole in the top left corner through the back of the fridge. I then put some rtv silicone over the hole I'm sure duck tape would also work. I placed my thermostat probe on the middle shelve

[thunderpaws]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I am going to run a test week on the incubator without a fan. If the temps stay solid at 89 degrees do you think I need to add one. I am not against doing it I just dont want to go crazy with anything extra if I truly do not need it.

Best regards,
Bill

[jeepers_creepers]

well with that size i dont think you will need a fan. I didnt need one for my incubator and my temps stayed pretty consistent. if you do end up using a fan use one of those computer fans cause you dont want to much force just enough to gently move the air around. Hope that helped