Thermostat for fan.

[Ray--Opo]

I know this is a stupid question but I am having a brain fart at the moment.
I have a fan that I am going to mount on the wall of the night box. So when the temperature gets to high in the box. The fan will turn on and exhaust the warm air.
The thermostats I use now on my heat elements, turn on when the box gets cool and turn off when the box warms up to desired temp. What type of thermostat do I use that turns on when to hot and turns off when the box cools down?
Told you it's a dumb question. I am just being confused at the moment. 🤪🤪🤪🤪

 

[Tom]

There are thermostats sold on Amazon that have a plug for heating and another for cooling. That would do it for you. But if its too hot in the box and a fan turns on during the day, you will just be pulling more hot air into the box. A properly insulated box should cool at night and stay cooler than ambient outdoor temps during the day. My night boxes stay in the high 80s when its 110 outside.

If you box is in full sun, get some umbrellas or heavy shade cloth.

 

[Ray--Opo]

There are thermostats sold on Amazon that have a plug for heating and another for cooling. That would do it for you. But if its too hot in the box and a fan turns on during the day, you will just be pulling more hot air into the box. A properly insulated box should cool at night and stay cooler than ambient outdoor temps during the day. My night boxes stay in the high 80s when its 110 outside.

If you box is in full sun, get some umbrellas or heavy shade cloth.

Thanks Tom, if I keep it closed up it will stay cooler. It actually does pretty good during the day. I just saw the fan online and thought to add it.I guess monitoring the temperature is the first step.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Tom, if I keep it closed up it will stay cooler. It actually does pretty good during the day. I just saw the fan online and thought to add it.I guess monitoring the temperature is the first step.

A point that I find that many people just don't consider is that fans work to cool us because of moisture evaporating from our skin. Reptiles specifically evolved to NOT lose moisture from their skin, so pointing a fan at them is just moving around air that is already the same temperature as them. It doesn't cools them at all, unless you have a source of cooler air to blow over them. Fans will sometimes heat them up even more by circulating cooler air with the hotter summer air outside.

 

[Markw84]

Tom's point if valid and makes the use of a cooling fan in your situation probably ineffective.

However, in answer to your question, I did do a post a few years ago on wiring a thermostat for under $20. That thermostat is the one I install in all the Smart Enclosures I build and sell. It does have both a heating and cooling circuitry built in. You will have one plug for use for heating, and another plug for cooling. The heating goes off when the set temperature is reached. The cooling goes on when the set temperature is reached.

How To Build A Temperature Controller for less than $20

A few people have asked how I built in the temperature controller on the new enclosure I recently posted. It can control a heat source and a cooling source all in one, but I have it just used to control my heat. I may hook it up to a fan as well so it can kick on a fan if the temperature gets...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[SinLA]

A point that I find that many people just don't consider is that fans work to cool us because of moisture evaporating from our skin. Reptiles specifically evolved to NOT lose moisture from their skin, so pointing a fan at them is just moving around air that is already the same temperature as them. It doesn't cools them at all, unless you have a source of cooler air to blow over them. Fans will sometimes heat them up even more by circulating cooler air with the hotter summer air outside.

hmmmm, so I put a fan in the deep shade area of my enclosure mainly to get air flowing and keep it from being stagnant, but ambient temps do get into the 90s And I thought the fan would help that, I also have water poured on the substrate so he can dig into it to cool down. I still use a temp gun to gauge ground temperatures, but does having a fan not help the ambient temps at all??

 

[Markw84]

hmmmm, so I put a fan in the deep shade area of my enclosure mainly to get air flowing and keep it from being stagnant, but ambient temps do get into the 90s And I thought the fan would help that, I also have water poured on the substrate so he can dig into it to cool down. I still use a temp gun to gauge ground temperatures, but does having a fan not help the ambient temps at all??

A fan can only cool if it is used to draw in cooler air from somewhere else, or blowing over water to create an evaporative cooler effect. However, that will not work in high humidity like our enclosures should be. No Evaporative cooling when humidity is at 80%+.

So, the fan is not helping at all. It is actually eliminating possible heat gradients to have some "cooler" spots under plants or in the corners further away from any lights or heat.

I use fans in my night houses to reduce cool spots in the corners and not have all the heat at the ceiling and the floor cooler. So not to cool but to have the warming more even.

 

[SinLA]

A fan can only cool if it is used to draw in cooler air from somewhere else, or blowing over water to create an evaporative cooler effect. However, that will not work in high humidity like our enclosures should be. No Evaporative cooling when humidity is at 80%+.

So, the fan is not helping at all. It is actually eliminating possible heat gradients to have some "cooler" spots under plants or in the corners further away from any lights or heat.

I use fans in my night houses to reduce cool spots in the corners and not have all the heat at the ceiling and the floor cooler. So not to cool but to have the warming more even.

Hmmm this is outside in LA so def not high humidity. The fan does hit the water bowl so that would have some impact on that front.But sounds like it is not doing much even if it makes the area “feel” cooler to me as a mammal. He does sit in the fans cooling area tho, but not sure if it’s coincidence or by choice…

 

[Ray--Opo]

Hmmm this is outside in LA so def not high humidity. The fan does hit the water bowl so that would have some impact on that front.But sounds like it is not doing much even if it makes the area “feel” cooler to me as a mammal. He does sit in the fans cooling area tho, but not sure if it’s coincidence or by choice…

I have a box fan that I keep on the covered porch. There have been times that I turned it on in a shaded area. Opo will lay down in front.
Everything @Tom and @Markw84 have said, makes total sense.
Glad I didn't go through the time and expense installing the fan.
I might use it for a circulating fan in his box. The box is 4'x4' with 2" foam insulation sandwiched between 3/4" and 1/2" expanded foam board. Every seam glued and then caulked with 3M 5200 marine caulk. With a 40 watt and a 80 watt RHP plus a Kane mat. With the mild winters here, I don't think I will have any cool areas. Just need to finish the front entrance so I can retain the cooler morning air for the summer time.
Thanks again Tom and Mark for sharing your experience and knowledge.

 

[vladimir]

OMG that photo of Opo is precious 😍