Re: [DIYbio] Re: Great Article June Popular Science

I'm just guessing that in your particular case, with the Peltier doing the heating, the mini-fridge couldn't get very hot even if left on continuously forever and ever.  But I cringed when I saw that timer technique presented as a "good" idea.  No doubt other people are going to see that technique and use it because it seems straightforward.  And I am forever warning people about the dangers of these nifty thrifty DIY incubators made of flammable materials that will set themselves on fire if there's a glitch in the thermostatic control system.  Many DIYers do not seem to understand that temperature and heat are very different things, and if a thermostat goes bad and allows a heater to run continuously inside a well insulated box, the heater/box could get hot enough to catch on fire.  I've warned people that it's not the possibility of frankensteins escaping DIY labs that will get DIY shut down by the law, instead it will be the result of people accidentally reducing apartment complexes to ashes due to bad makeshift designs. But I'm afraid it's a warning that's doomed to fall on deaf ears because proper design translates into spending more money.  A non-flammable box (metal, fiberglass), for example, costs a lot more.      And DIYers pride themselves on doing everything on the cheap.

Anyway, fix your faulty thermostat when you get the chance.  And congrats on scoring some GFP from Carolina.  I think nowadays they are stupidly strict.   

On Wednesday, May 23, 2012 8:36:22 AM UTC-4, mlp wrote:

The incubator in question was a repurposed mini-fridge...