Incubator build - dim lights?

[Jessibell]

Hey everyone - I'm in the process of building a little incubator to hold maybe about 50 quail eggs. I tried the hot water thermostats but they fluctuated way too much, so I ordered a solid-state thermostat from Lyon that is the identical model to the one in my Roll X. Of course, this thermostat is meant to be used on a heat coil and not on light bulbs, but I figured it would work the same way...

when I plug it in, the 40 watt bulbs are running dim, at about half strenth. The bulbs flicker on and off and keep almost perfect temperature, but it takes them a heck of a long time to heat the bator up to 100 degrees. I am wondering if I have wired something wrong or if the thermostat is going to just naturally dim the lights to a certain wattage. The lights don't switch on/off like other thermostats I've used, they actually get dimmer and flicker when the temp reaches its peak.

Is there something I can do to get the bulbs running at normal strength?

Will the dimness and flickering cause the bulbs to wear out faster?

[Ted_in_Idaho]

You have a proportional thermostat. It is not designed for light bulbs. Instead of applying 120 volts it only allows enough electricity to warm the coil as much as needed. that is why you are getting the dimming of the light.  They have the coil with insulators on ebay for $25 shipped. If you want to use a light bulb get a wafer thermostat.