Old 05-09-2011, 03:15 AM
  #20  
Hen3rietta
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: SE Pennsylvania
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Originally Posted by cabinfever
Originally Posted by Hen3rietta
Thanks for all the ideas. I have it baking in the sun right now, but I'm going to get a 200W light bulb for tomorrow.
200Watts sounds a bit hot, you won't want to start a fire. Why not try the slow bake approach. Dave, the "Those fantastic FW's" author, suggests about a 25w light bulb mounted to a wood board, and be sure it doesn't come in physical contact with the sides anywhere. propping the lid closed (except for the cord coming out) for several hours. He suggests checking on it as well, & not leaving it unattended for fire safety. Just cut your board a bit smaller than the bottom of your case, mount a ceramic "lampholder" to the wood, wire it with a lampcord with a plug (wire must be rated for the wattage of the bulb you plan to use). Screw in your lightbulb, set it all in the case, plug it in, pull the chain to turn on the light & close lid... but Please don't use a 200 Watt bulb! I believe he also used a diluted mixture of bleach & water as a fine mist spray prior to the lightbulb treatment being put in place.
Similar to: http://www.lightinguniverse.com/prod...72785&cse=1658 Home depot/Lowe's has these for less I'm sure. You could probably get one @ a Habitat Restore cheaply. I advise the pull-chain variety if you don't like the arc when plugging & unplugging things.
I got the 200W figure from the McCallum website, but then on another website quoting the same person the wattage was 150. He recommends a mechanics cage light but I was more to your way of thinking with a ceramic base.

I think however, I'm going to try the alcohol spray first and see if that takes care of it. Or maybe alcohol and a lower wattage heat source. If it were anything else, I'd just douse it with bleach.

Thanks again everyone, for all your suggestions. I'll let you know how my experiments turn out.
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