Temperature controller for DIY Incubator

hnorth

In the Brooder
Oct 19, 2023
26
29
44
Hello Everyone.

XH W3002 Digital Temperature Controller​

I just bought this handy little TC off Ebay for $8. They offer an DC version as well. It's super easy to program and use for my DIY incubator project.

If you are using standard household AC outlet, be sure to select AC110 model. Also, I looked to make sure that it was being sent from within my country (USA) and not China (to avoid long delays).

Here's an easy tutorial on setting it up:

 
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Good luck. Your story sounds similar to mine. I almost used a cooler because it seemed to be the popular choice. Then I decided that I wanted a mini fridge but didn’t want to pay for a new one.

A trip to local good will came up empty for the mini fridge, but they did have a toaster oven that caught my eye. I like the clear glass front for viewing. It was only $5 and I couldn’t resist the joke of chickens born in an oven. I have only ran mine twice so I’m still learning but I have managed to get one to hatch on the first run and 9 on the second round

I look forward to reading about your results.
 
I saw in another thread that you found that the walmart thermometer-Acu-rite was 2 degrees off. I bought two of them and the are consistent with each other but 1 degrees less that the reptile thermometer that I already calibrated in an ice bath.

How would a person go about calibrating on of those w/out an external probe?
I bought a govee brand one and used a regular oral thermometer the old mercury type they agreed with each other. But not the Au-rite one. That along with the fact that my first hatch came late I figured that I needed to go warmer. The second run went a lot better
 
I do all incubation, hatching, and brooding with an Inkbord 308. I use it in degrees C for better temperature control. The alarm is vital in case the heat source malfunctions. The ITC-308 costs a little more than the small modules but they are ready to go out of the box, sealed units, that can be used for many many purposes. And to top it off the customer service of Inkbird is great. I bought a new unit, didn't open/use it for a couple months, and when I did use it I found that the alarm didn't make sound. A quick email to the company with a video of the problem and then sent me a new unit. Great product! I own four of these.
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I just digged out this old thread. I used an under $20 Amazon plug in heat mat thermostate controller for my 10 egg capacity DIY still air incubator. I used a lamp and a small heating pad for heating and a microwave steamer I purchased on Temu for setting the eggs. The steamer has a clear top with vent hole, plus I drilled a few more for temperature sensor and venting. It's double layered, so the bottom pan can hold a moisted handtowel for humidity. I also put a digital thermometer+hygrometer inside. The total setup cost me around $25.
The downside with the cheaper thermostate controller is that it only lets me set the max temp in whole F or C. But it does display temperatures in one decimal. It operates in 2F range. I let it operates at 99-101F.

I used this set up hatched out couple of Trader Joe's $4 a dozen fertile eggs, out of 8. However, I was just experimenting with it and adjusting alot of parameters along the way, so the two chicks didn't survive beyond a few days and it took 25 days for them to hatch!

Now I'm going to try a spare rice cooker I have by setting it on Warm function and using the TC and a steamer insert :rant. I guess I just like to experiment with things and observe the process out of shear curiosity.

I do have a very small flock of backyard hens I raised from locally bought baby chickens.
 
Nice find. I have used a similar one (w1209) that comes as a bare PCB. The one you’re using is probably a bit safer than the one I used. With the bare PCB there is some risk in touching line voltage.

Have you successfully hatched eggs using this one or are you still in the building process?
 
I am just starting out with this egg hatching stuff. I've kept chickens on and off for years. I mostly raised feedstore chicks: RIReds Barred Rocks, etc. This time, I started to to get interested in hatching eggs and looked at incubators. Building my own seemed fairly straightforward.

I read here a fair bit. Then looked at the various Styrofoam/lightbulb builds. I found a upper hot water heater thermostat and a Styrofoam cooler at a local hardware store. I wasn't satisfied with the temp swings it was giving me.

Then I saw these TC's on some incubator build vids and found them on the Bay. I wired it up and programed it for 37.5C.
I ended up with a modified cooler Bator type DIY build. The cooler was $24 at walmart. I used a holesaw to cut the holes for the light fixtures.
48 qt Igloo cooler $24
TC controller $8
light sockets and 2-40 w bulbs $10
Total $42.

We will see if it works over the next 3 weeks.
 
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Good luck. Your story sounds similar to mine. I almost used a cooler because it seemed to be the popular choice. Then I decided that I wanted a mini fridge but didn’t want to pay for a new one.

A trip to local good will came up empty for the mini fridge, but they did have a toaster oven that caught my eye. I like the clear glass front for viewing. It was only $5 and I couldn’t resist the joke of chickens born in an oven. I have only ran mine twice so I’m still learning but I have managed to get one to hatch on the first run and 9 on the second round

I look forward to reading about your results.
I saw in another thread that you found that the walmart thermometer-Acu-rite was 2 degrees off. I bought two of them and the are consistent with each other but 1 degrees less that the reptile thermometer that I already calibrated in an ice bath.

How would a person go about calibrating on of those w/out an external probe?
 
I bought a govee brand one and used a regular oral thermometer the old mercury type they agreed with each other. But not the Au-rite one. That along with the fact that my first hatch came late I figured that I needed to go warmer. The second run went a lot better
Someone wrote that a person can seal an Accu-rite in a ziplock bag and submerge it in an ice bath- to calibrate it.
 
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