can u turn food dehydrator into incubator??

[omelette'smom]

I looked online for incubator ideas and saw some great homemade ones etc. Can you turn a single trayed food dehydrator into an incubator somehow? the temps range 90degrees and up so its humidity that's the issue! Is there something to add or remove from the wiring?

My mother-in-law has an over-abundance of STUFF and i'm sure she'll have a few kicking around. My kids will be hatching some out in the spring..........

oh who am i trying to kid here...I'LL be hatching some out in the spring

and was thinking of some financial alternatives. Any feed back??

 

[Sally PB]

With a very adjustable temperature setting, and such a dutiful heating cycle, a constant-running fan this old dehydrator really is a hopeful candidate for an incubator.

Just in case someone reads this in the future... PLEASE check the temp with a calibrated thermometer. I have an Excaliber dehydrator, and found its temperature is about 10 degrees high. That's not important for drying food, but could be catastrophic for incubating.

 

[LollieBubbles]

So, has anyone come up with a verdict? I have a huge dehydrator and got to wondering.

I have 7 in the dehydrator as we speak! LOL One is still in between my boobies so at bedtime I'll pop her in there too. She peeps every now and then. So glad I came across this thread.

 

[missnu01]

Ok..I am going to use an old dehydrator as an incubator. I assume the ambient humidity will be the inner humidity. And that's 30% so good there. Just going to try it and see. I don't think it could possibly be as good as my brinsea, because I get a lot of perfect hatches. But like everyone else I need to be able to hatch more at a time. I can only put 25 max in my brinsea and that's with a few of them being bantam eggs...sooo...here goes nothing.

 

[GranolaLight]

So, has anyone come up with a verdict? I have a huge dehydrator and got to wondering.

 

[tnorton072205]

So far its day 20 and I currently have 2 baby chicks out of their shell. You have to put as much water as you can because the humidity seems to fluctuate alot. Then again I think my hydrometer might be off a bit. Still waiting on a few eggs to hatch so I will be back to give updates.

 

[awmosby]

If you use a closed container (like Tupperware) within the dehydrator where humidity is kept isn't this fine?

I'd open the lid to rotate the eggs so there is gas exchange anyway. In the last three days before hatching (days 14—17?) I'd place a small wet sponge (large surface area for evaporation) inside the same container to increase the humidity. I figured this will be better at temperature regulation (99°F) than a heat lamp and infrared thermometer.

Perhaps I'm wrong. If so, someone please correct me because I'm going to hatch some quail using this method in the coming weeks.

If your dehydrator has an adjustable temperature, it would be probable, but you would want to do a dry run to get everything right. The major difference between an incubator and dehydrator is the amount of air exchange, but the temperature is going to be considerably higher in fixed temperature models--mine, for example, is preset to 160 degrees; to compensate, air exchange in the outer container (the dehydrator) would need to be increased to drop the temperature of the inner container. The inner would also still need some constant airflow between turnings.

If the dehydrator has an adjustable thermostat, though, the inner container shouldn't be needed; just locate and block the vents on the dehydrator (except for a couple of half-inch holes,) block a good deal of the fresh air intakes, and put a small bowl of water inside.

 

[Cornflower]

Just in case someone reads this in the future... PLEASE check the temp with a calibrated thermometer. I have an Excaliber dehydrator, and found its temperature is about 10 degrees high. That's not important for drying food, but could be catastrophic for incubating.

Yes, I'm using two thermometers and am setting the dial according to them. The dial is not at all accurate, but the dehydrator does hold a steady temperature within .5 degrees. You can hear the sound of the fan change every half minute or more sometimes.
I have started incubating some chicken eggs. I got 15 to try it out with. As I'm going through this and reading more about it, I'm starting to panic and wonder what hatching day is going to be like. The clutch has already lost too much weight by day 4, about 10 grams too much. I've put my huge cake pan full of water in the bottom now and hope it keeps them to weight. But hatching day needs to be very humid, as I read. I'm thinking of constructing a still air standard hatching box for lockdown, because I can't see how this is supposed to work out.
I didn't construct the cardboard box annex like I said, I just put them in with a smaller pan.
If only incubators that carry large numbers of eggs weren't so much more expensive!
I think we'll be building our own cabinet style incubator. Maybe out of an old dresser or just start with new wood from scratch.
I have some old aquariums I will be starting to make a different set up for these. I don't think I could stand watching babies die as they hatch if they make it that far. I also have a large Styrofoam shipping box that might work better yet. I'm not liking not having humidity control on this.

 

[Cornflower]

Yes, I'm using two thermometers and am setting the dial according to them. The dial is not at all accurate, but the dehydrator does hold a steady temperature within .5 degrees. You can hear the sound of the fan change every half minute or more sometimes.
I have started incubating some chicken eggs. I got 15 to try it out with. As I'm going through this and reading more about it, I'm starting to panic and wonder what hatching day is going to be like. The clutch has already lost too much weight by day 4, about 10 grams too much. I've put my huge cake pan full of water in the bottom now and hope it keeps them to weight. But hatching day needs to be very humid, as I read. I'm thinking of constructing a still air standard hatching box for lockdown, because I can't see how this is supposed to work out.
I didn't construct the cardboard box annex like I said, I just put them in with a smaller pan.
If only incubators that carry large numbers of eggs weren't so much more expensive!
I think we'll be building our own cabinet style incubator. Maybe out of an old dresser or just start with new wood from scratch.
I have some old aquariums I will be starting to make a different set up for these. I don't think I could stand watching babies die as they hatch if they make it that far. I also have a large Styrofoam shipping box that might work better yet. I'm not liking not having humidity control on this.

I'm posting updates on this hatch in a new thread in the forums, dated from May 26, 2023.

 

[artbykarenehaley]

I'm posting updates on this hatch in a new thread in the forums, dated from May 26, 2023.

Can you put up a link?