Building a New wood Incubator (Great Hatch pics pg 6)

[Poulets De Cajun]

Just for reference, the incubator below is the original GQF 1202 that is made of pure plywood. I'm holding at 99.5 degrees, and 50-55% humidity. The outside looks like it once had a coat of polyurethane on it, but the inside looks like it was simply painted.

 

[Bandana]

I think I'm going to try to make a hatcher out of those political signs that are all over. Make a nice retangular box several layers thick. Put the material to better use.....

 

[griffin45]

OK that settle that! I am going with industrial grade enamel. I will spray it on tomorrow. I have to work on my coop today, 'cause I think my new Cochin is maybe ready to start laying and I have to have more light for her.


onthespot wrote
"okay, griffin, (throws down gauntlet) i have a challenge for you! I want you to make me an incubator that you can add an egg a day to, self turning, and it will dump the egg out into a brooder box on day 18. Think something like a spiral coveyor belt around a heating and auto adjusting humidifying unit, contained in a clear plastic tube, with a just right power fan. BTW, it should also have a built in candling unit that you can check the eggs any time without touching them by the flick of a switch. Oh yeah, and make sure the brooder unit has a pull out, easy clean drawer, and keeps higher humidity like you are supposed to have. Make THAT and i will be calling you! Help yourself to patent my idea. I'd never do anything with it. If you make a mint, break me off a chunk. ok?"

The challenge to build a completely automatic incubator is tempting, but then where would the joy be in the personal time with your new chickies? If I could get on of the Software geeks at work to write me a program for a PLC I believe that your idea is almost plausible... Expensive, but mostly doable!

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
Now this is something that I would enjoy.... A computer program that you can connect probes to that would measure, track, and record temps/humidity. Perhaps a feature where you could enter information such as number of eggs set, number of eggs candled, number clear at day 14, final hatch analysis etc.... GREAT IDEA!

 

[geareduplyn]

Here's a picture of a homemade plywood incubator that has run pretty much continously since 1964 when it was built.

It was built around the dimensions of the 4 tray redwood incubators available at the time. Since I am a perfectionist, I used 3/4" Marine Plywood and sealed the interior with a food grade enamel. It does have automatic turning. Say what you will about incubators holding temperature and humidity, but all incubators are dependant on the ambient temperature and humidity of the incubator room.

Acouple of suggestions. Put all the controls and instruments(Thermometer and Hygrometer) in a central front position where they can be read at a glance. Also all the microswitches, fans,and turning motors are available from W W Grainger.

In your inital post I believe you said you had invested $100 dollars so far. I might be wrong but I think for another 150 you could duplicate the pictured incubator.
































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[jrtpro]

What type of temperature controller are you using? I see what looks to be a Thermocouple on the front. Do you have any pictures of the inside? I am building a turner as we speak, but would be up for any advice from an expert builder on the design and construction of the box.
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[Akane]

A computer program that you can connect probes to that would measure, track, and record temps/humidity. Perhaps a feature where you could enter information such as number of eggs set, number of eggs candled, number clear at day 14, final hatch analysis

If you just want the computer to keep track of things and not actually move the eggs around then that's easy. I'll get back to you when I finish another semester of computer programming. The probes to connect to the computer are already out there with software to record their measurements at certain times of the day or continously. The only thing you'd be missing is info specific to eggs and a little database program that spits out that information based on the numbers put into it would not be hard. Actually one might already exist and then all you'd have to do is integrate the readings from the probes.​

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

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Really? Where might I find something like that?

 

[geareduplyn]

I got lost when the computer probes came into play. Let me assure you that there is nothing that sophisticated in anything I have built thus far. What you see on the top of the incubator is a battery operated Digital Temperature and Humidity reader I just pulled the Hygrometer thermometer out, and put the Humidity probe in the hole. The temperature probe is through a small drilled hole in the front. I check the temperature and humidity always at least twice a day and most of the time more often. With wafer thermostats this is kind of necessary, although I haven't touched the adjustments for a couple of years. Ether wafers do fail though, and why take chances.

My turnining motor is a small gearmotor that is actually too big for this size of turner, but when I built this I used the same stuff that I had used to convert a big Buckeye to auto-turning. The turning ams that I used were machined from a solid peice of steel and had the half round microswitch cam machined in.

My primary thermostat is mounted on the back wall for greater sensitivity, and quicker reactions to minute temperature changes. It is cable controlled from the front panel. Always use the quickest reacting microswitches available. With this set up the the temperature readings never vary more than 1/2 degree on the dial thermometer.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
Someone challenged Griffin to build a completely automated incubator that would hatch the chicks and then deliver them to the brooder.

One thing led to another... Someone mentioned computer.... and I mentioned that I would be nice to have a monitoring program.

And we've arrived here! LOL