To all you home-made incubator builders

[momma-hen]

There are some awesome designs in that contest!

Question.....how do you know how many watts of heating you need for the size incubator you are building?

 

[raimnel]

trial and error, I started with a 15 w then a 25 W and finally a 40w holds my cooler incubator (Egg-U-Bator) at the right temp. However I know some that use 1 - 2 60 w bulbs but as I understand the thermostate turns the light on and off alot of times in a hour. I'm thinking the "blinking light" will burn out quicker.

 

[Equine_Angel]

It is true about the blinking of the light continually going on and off. I have put in a 50W bulb and the light turns on and off in a 8-10 minute intervals. I have a bag of bulbs next to my bator in case if something happens...heaven forbid! I am in the bathroom checking on the bator every 30 minutes (hair pulling)!

I think next time, I will try the 40W bulb to have more of a consistent temperature.

 

[Chic Chick]

I built mine without a thermostat because I think it takes way more power to switch the light bulb on and off then just to leave it on.
I use a 60W with a fan and it's keeping my incubator at the proper temp.
Pics in my byc page

 

[momma-hen]

Quote:
60 watts , but what are the dimensions of your bator?

 

[raimnel]

Yikes I wouldn't go without a thermostate. 60 w all the time. What do you have yourself there all the time manualy turning the light on and off all day?

 

[pinkchick]

I use 2 40 wt bulbs but my bator is 3.5 ft long and 16" tall. I also use a thermostat, the light goes on and off but it doesn't cycle too much. I've only replaced the bulbs once since last summer and I start all eggs in it and move them to seperate hatchers so I can keep the breeds seperate.
I will admit that I monkey-ied around with it for about 2 weeks until I was happy with how it ran.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
With florescent lights it takes more power to ignite them then it does to leave them on. Regular incandescent bulbs are not that way but they do fail sooner when turned on an off. That being said, most people should have a thermostat.

 

[Chic Chick]

Quote:


No I don't touch the light at all. It's like that commercial - set it and forget it!.
Did you look at my BYC page at all? The incubator is 34" X 14" and about 14" high and can hold up to 12 (THATS TWELVE) dozen eggs it's not a little dinky thing to hold only a few eggs at a time. It is just the right size for a 60W bulb to heat to 99.5 and I've already hatched some chicks in there. My little hatcher that I also made just takes a 25W appliance bulb to get it to the right temp. I believe in keeping things simple and they work....lol