fan or no fan in homemade incubator?

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Anarchy82

Anarchy82

Chirping
8 Years
Aug 10, 2011
197
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89
Stroudsburg, PA
I am not sure if people have talked about this or not, but I'm sure it had to come up before. Just want to get an up to date feeling.

Making a homemade incubator with a Styrofoam cooler, using a light for heat. Should I throw a can in there to make it moving air?
 
So it sounds like a fan is a good way to go.

I wanted to see if it was better, but since it helps regulate temp better. I will deffinetly hook one up.

thumbsup.gif
 
A fan blowing on my heat source (light) and WHT made all the difference in creating a stable temperature with a narrow range. I used a desk fan ($7) walmart I think (DH bought it) and it was way cheaper than buying a PC fan and 12 Volt source; only it was definitely much bulkier, so if size is important the PC fan has a slim profile.

Remember adequate humidity is important when using a fan; more moist air leaves the incubator thru the vent holes. Do you know how to track the growing air cell size?Diagrams of air cells, duck and chicken:

http://www.poultryconnection.com/quackers/aircell.html


GL
 
Quote:
I will be using a light for my source of heat. Do I want the fan to blow towards the light, or have it next to the light blowing the hear away from the light towards the eggs?
 
I know you go t my PM, this is for the record.

Fan is not to blow on the eggs directly.

Whan I positioned the fan to blow up (away) from the light the cycling was very slow. When the fan was positioned to blow at the light (WHT suspended over the lightbulb) the cycling was much faster. The light was on for a much shorter time. I also had to change from a 40watt to a 60 watt to speed up the cycling. I didn't alter my WHT as I didn't want to spoil the only one I had and the store is far away.

Another person lined up the fan to blow across the light to the WHT.

So do what works in your set up. It was all trial and error. I kept a note book and was going bonkers anyway!
he.gif


Got it to 99-100 range consistently at mid egg level. Not 99 throughout the incubator. On it's test run now.

PM me with any questions. Not a guru, just been there once.
 
I only have experience with one homemade incubator and one recycled HovaBator. I got used computer fans free from the local PC repair store. (covered them with hardware cloth to protect chicks)

One incubator was a rectangle styrofoam box I think probably came from a florest shop. It was about 28" X 40". I put the fan near the top on a short end, so it was blowing straight across the upper part of the long box. I used 15 and 25 watt bulbs around the inside about 6" above the tops of the eggs in egg turners set on hardware cloth over plastic pans of water.

For the HovaBator I installed a computer fan hanging from the top and blowing upwards (think ceiling fan air movement). I purchased a digital incubator heater for it - $47.

The homemade incubator worked much better
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