low-cost, accurate incubator and other DIYbio work in Phoenix, AZ

[stacey k]

Hi, 

I just wanted to share our recent low-cost incubator project, and also see if there are any DIYbio folks looking to meet up in Phoenix, AZ.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Low-cost-and-accurate-incubator-for-DIY-biology/

Cheers! 

-Stacey

[Nick R]

I'm working on a low cost incubator as well with a very similar design! Rather than using my arduino though, I'm using a thermistor controlled 110v relay I bought off of amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GWFK7FA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00). Thanks for sharing! 

[Bryan Jones]

This looks really neat. I've been working a bit on an incubator too, but using simple on/off relays for the heat source. I'm intrigued by the AC phase control mechanism you are using, I'm going to have to look into using that. I'd imagine it would keep a much more even temperature, and be less wear on the heating element (extra important when you are using a light bulb with a thin filament). I've been working on a lightbulb PCR machine too, and I think this is exactly what I need for that. Stable temps are even more important for that, and the pulsing light is not very elegant or effective for keeping a stable temperature.

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[Nick R]

Lightbulb PCR machine? Would you be open to sharing your process? I've also been looking into building a PCR machine driven by an arduino and some peltier coolers/heaters by switching the direction of the current to cool/heat. I was planning to metal cast some aluminum heatsinks and wells. Using a lightbulb sounds interesting though. 

[Nathan McCorkle]

On Wed, Nov 18, 2015 at 5:35 PM, Nick R <ratednf...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Lightbulb PCR machine? Would you be open to sharing your process?

There are so many versions, some very good ones will show up at the top here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/diybio/lightbulb$20pcr

[Bryan Jones]

Like Nathan said, our light-bulb PCR machine is not an original idea. It's based closely on Russel Durrett's design (http://www.russelldurrett.com/lightbulbpcr.html). The only major differences are that I'm using a DS18B20 digital temperature probe instead of a thermistor. The thermistor proved to be too finicky, and the digital probe was cheap and is really nice to write code with since it's automatically calibrated to spit out temperatures in degrees C. Russel's code was pretty basic, so we ended up rewriting pretty much all of it. But it looks like I'm going to have to rework the code again to implement the AC phase control circuit that stacy's group is using. So far the machine is functioning, heating and cooling at respectable rates, holding temperature. Tried first with a 100W light bulb, but wasn't able to reach 95C, now using a 200W bulb. I need to get some mineral oil to do a proper test, since the first couple tests showed (not surprisingly) that without a heated lid, evaporation/condensation in the tube is a major problem.

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[Simon Quellen Field]

In a book I am writing for Chicago Review Press, I also use a DS18B20 as the sensor.

The temperature-controlled water bath project for the book is here.

That design avoid using AC power, as its purpose is to introduce the reader to PID control.

Later in the book, I show how to control AC power, in tedious step-by-step detail.

We use that version to cook steaks using the sous vide method.

I find that the $2.51 Arduino Nano modules are both cheaper and easier to fit into projects than the bulkier older Uno versions.

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