Best Incubator (Low Budget)

About 45w. Much higher and you get massive temp swings.
It 'can' work but due to the type of heat you are going to have hot/cold spot issues.

I suggest gathering supplies as they come up for free or cheap. That is what I did. I am not sure how rurally you live but if there's a town close by yard sales are great for finding useful stuff.

You don't have to go high tech. Mess around, use your imagination and what you have. Let me find some examples.
Well, we have a city an hour away. I was thinking getting a styro cooler at walmart (I don't need it big as I'm hatching quail), as well as the light bulb and seeing if i can find a fan there. That would all be under $20. I could also go to dollar stores for cheap light bulbs and/or a fan. Walmart sells good quality hygrometers/thermometers(digital) for about $5-$10.
 
Well, we have a city an hour away. I was thinking getting a styro cooler at walmart (I don't need it big as I'm hatching quail), as well as the light bulb and seeing if i can find a fan there. That would all be under $20. I could also go to dollar stores for cheap light bulbs and/or a fan. Walmart sells good quality hygrometers/thermometers(digital) for about $5-$10.
Don't forget the thermostat, lol... did you see the parts list in the article?
 
As a person without automated temperature control in the house and thus frequent temperature swings, I cannot recommend a good thermostat enough. They're available on Amazon for less than $30. The most expensive part of your purchase, but well worth the investment.

EDT: Didn't see you there. x2.
 
That's what a thermometer and hygrometer is....
What?? No. A thermostat is like a light switch only controlled by heat. In the case of the wafer thermostat, it is wired in between the heat source and the electricity source. The wafer itself is filled with ether. When heated, it expands and presses a microswitch, turning the light and heat off. When it cools off about .5 of a degree, it has shrunken enough to release the switch and complete the circuit, letting the light turn on again. It's a pretty sensitive mechanism. I have about a 15-30 cycle in my incubator if I remember correctly.

A thermometer simply measures the temperature, and the hygrometer measures humidity levels. It will not influence them.
 
What?? No. A thermostat is like a light switch only controlled by heat. In the case of the wafer thermostat, it is wired in between the heat source and the electricity source. The wafer itself is filled with ether. When heated, it expands and presses a microswitch, turning the light and heat off. When it cools off about .5 of a degree, it has shrunken enough to release the switch and complete the circuit, letting the light turn on again. It's a pretty sensitive mechanism. I have about a 15-30 cycle in my incubator if I remember correctly.

A thermometer simply measures the temperature, and the hygrometer measures humidity levels. It will not influence them.
Ohhh...
Well.
I can't really fork out $30 (well, I could, but I'm on a budget).
I could always get a dimmable light. I'm not comfortable with wiring anything honestly.
 
Ohhh...
Well.
I can't really fork out $30 (well, I could, but I'm on a budget).
I could always get a dimmable light. I'm not comfortable with wiring anything honestly.
I'd go with a pre-built incubator, then.. still, it really is not that hard, strip ends, splice, and cover with wire nuts or solder...
 
Still not very comfortable with it.
And no, I don't have enough money for a pre built incubator (one that's good quality).
Don't know what to tell you, then. Incubators are either expensive or you have to wire them yourself.

There exist some options where you might be able to avoid much wiring but they end up just as expensive as buying one like junebuggena suggested.
 

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