i like your set up. fancy looking incubator too. i was going to go with an inverter but when i picked up the old ups for 20 bucks I decided to give it a try.Great work Oz!
Here is my latest solution to the frequent day long power cuts I get here.
A 300 watt 12 volt inverter to run the incubator from.
As the bator only draws 48 watts max, it should last a day.
looks great. i hope to have a wine fridge by next fortnightThe new improved freezer-bator. Now with double "glazed" picture window.
sometimes the first step towards a project each day is the toughest.
Oz, I think you are really on the right track. I bet your next hatches after these alterations will be awesome!I have great hatch rates here in the USA but the last trip to the Philippines was a total bust.
My solution is to try and emulate my hatching process here.
The first step is humidity. I could not get the incubators there below 55% this hatch and most of the time they were at 60%
I decided to invest in the following
this little gadget is designed to use with a dehumidifier. Its a hygrostat. You plug a de-humidifier into it and you can control the humidity
normally you would plug a house size de-humidifier into it to control humidity in a basement - but this little gem will fit nicely into my big bator. I have been trialling it in by bedroom and it even pulls water out of the air here with 20% humidity. I will test them together in my bathroom tonight. This should automate the humidity control - Bernie should not have to open the bator ecept to empty the container. If it fills in a day, then I will drill a hole in it and attach a drainage hose - I may do it anyway.
the second thing to do will to be to monitor cell size, or water loss from the eggs. I will provide Bernie with a scale, mark 3 eggs from each breed with a number and have him way them on day 7, 14 and 18. Additionally I will have him draw the air cells and take photos for a log. He can at least toss the clears, and count blood rings and early quitters so we know our viable egg hatch rate.
Next is temperature. I am changing the bator thermostat to a digital. They really are nice. I have them here in the US on all my bators.
The ants will be a non-issue now we have seen the problem, we can fix it.
Finally is the power reliability.
I bought a spent battery-ed 600W rated UPS. The bator uses 150 watts max, Instead of the small battery that is inside (and useless anyway) I will use a deep cycle marine battery. That should give me more than enough hours of dependable power when the electricity company decides to do repairs. If there is a power outage overnight, while Bernie is asleep, it will be seemless.
Strict temperature, humidity and power control, candling, weighing and documenting.
We are going to win this battle.
