air circulation

[Selkielass]

Im making my first serious attempt at brumation this winter.

I was getting a 5-10more degree variation from top of to bottom of the refrigerator, so I figured I needed a small fan to circulate the air


After looking at desk fans(too big), computer cooling.g fans( too ugh rewiring to adapt to household current) I hapenef across a good and most importantly, inexpensive way to circulate the air- a fan powered aromatherapy diffuser.

Its a small cylindrical fan designed to draw air up gr the bottom, thru ascented. Filtered, and rhenout thru vanes on the top.
All I had to do was remove the scent filter and place it behind the nuns. The back cord runs out the bottom of the door and the small gap in the seal let's in a tiny bit of fresh air.

My temperatures are nice and even now, and only 5used degrees warmer from heat given off by the fan. (If im cautiously lowering the fridge temp to compensate)

So yeah, keep an eye on the candle and aromatherapy section of you local thrift store next time you need a tiny fan designed to run continuously.

[guidofatherof5]

Good info. Thanks for posting the idea.

[Steveo]

Good to know. Computer fans would do well, provided you have an extra mobo and power supply lying around. I did that for an experiment once.

[Selkielass]

Power supply and stuff were the problem, and I don't have old computer stuff around.
Aside from a good cleaning and an overnight run to disperse any remaining perfume residue the unit was plug in and go. Two speeds on the fan also- better than I could have cobbled together .

[Artic Exotics]

Wow. I just use the solarium attached to the house but thats a pretty sweet idea. I always love to see the innovations people come up with. We herpers are a resourceful bunch :-D

[ConcinusMan]

Good to know. Computer fans would do well, provided you have an extra mobo and power supply lying around.

You don't need the mobo. Also, the power "supply" is a misnomer. It actually doesn't supply power. It just converts it from 120 volt AC to DC. The fans will run on anything from 5 volt on down. Of course, the lower the voltage, the slower the speed. You can actually run one of those fans by wiring directly to a 1.5 volt battery. An old cord for a DC electronic device will do just fine as well.

You can run a computer fan directly off of an AC socket just by spicing it to an old mobile phone cord. No computer power supply or mobo needed. The little black box on a mobile phone cord converts AC to around 5 volts DC, which is what the computer fans run on. All you need is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 volts DC flowing into the fan. They'll even run off those little solar panels you can buy for somewhere around $30 that are intended for charging cell phones. You only need air to move very slowly though. You don't want to create a major draft. Simply having warm air rising from one end of a tank will cause fresh air to be drawn into the cool end. That's all the circulation you need.

The best way to test your setup is to fill the enclosure with smoke. If it clears in less than an hour, (with supplemental heat on) you probably have enough circulation. If this is for brumating, be cautious that you don't create a draft. To be totally honest, opening a brumating refrigerator once every couple of days is enough. Drafts can be deadly and remember, a snake's oxygen needs are down to almost nothing when they're brumating. As metabolism slows, so does oxygen consumption. There's probably no need at all to leave it open and if you're just trying to even out the temperature in the fridge, only a very small amount of air movement is necessary.