thermostat shopping, help needed.

[K1LOS]

Hey everyone, a little advice here would be greatly appretiated. I bought an electric baseboard heater for a thermostat in my fishbox incubator heated by a human heating pad. Needless to say the thing is a piece of junk and just isn't gonna cut it. I'm gonna start a new incubator and am curious as to what thermostat to get?

I'm debating between using my unused melamine box i have already built and just insulating it, or holding out for a barfridge for the unit.

I'm just a hobbyist so i can't afford a super expensive thing, and preferrably available at rona/homedepot/canadian tire type stores. What are you using? Where did you get it? How much was it? Thanks so much for the help, i don't wanna build another crappy incubator that i'll end up throwing out.

Geoff

p.s: is it better to have a side opening or top opening door? I would think that a top opening door would make for a greater temperature fluctuation when i open it.