DESIGNING AN INCUBATOR

[HickoryHollow]

Carlos,
All very good points. The fan is plenty strong so not worried about that, but the bulb location is a good point for sure. I guess I wouldn't have needed to insulated the divider, but too later now.

Keep checking....somebody needs to keep an eye on me.....lol

Tim

 

[HickoryHollow]

The work continues.......................

 

[HickoryHollow]

Today's progress...........................
Now to figure out how to wire the dang controller!


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[Daedalus62]

Keep checking....somebody needs to keep an eye on me.....lol

Tim

... No need for that, Tim... You're plenty resourceful.

Although, personally, I always welcome an outside view opinion when I'm building something... Good for those "Hummm, why didn't I think of that?" moments...

WOW... At the rate you're going, when are the chicks due to hatch, Tim?...

Here's a wiring scheme that fits that thermostat... Pretty easy, really... Ignore contacts 5 & 6 in the scheme, yours doesn't have them.

Oh, and an obvious one... Wire those lamps in parallel, not in series... That way, even if one lamp fails the other keeps working.

Keep it up!!

Cheers

Carlos

 

[Strader]

Tim,
Your cabinet is looking good. I went with auto turners? are you doing that also in yours. I also bought most everything at Incubator warehouse ( digital thermostat with temp probe, turners, 110 volt heaters and fans. Here's a pic for added ideas. To me I did not use any insulation, because my 3/4 Melamine incubator was sealed with a moisture resistant glue and really only has to raise temps in incubator 30 degrees over room temps, not really needing insulation. Also cleaning ability was a must. Temps stay within 3 tenths. Holds 4 egg turners (160) eggs.

 

[HickoryHollow]

Tim,
Your cabinet is looking good. I went with auto turners? are you doing that also in yours. I also bought most everything at Incubator warehouse ( digital thermostat with temp probe, turners, 110 volt heaters and fans. Here's a pic for added ideas. To me I did not use any insulation, because my 3/4 Melamine incubator was sealed with a moisture resistant glue and really only has to raise temps in incubator 30 degrees over room temps, not really needing insulation. Also cleaning ability was a must. Temps stay within 3 tenths. Holds 4 egg turners (160) eggs.

Great looking bator! Yes, I am going with egg turners like you did. One of the biggest reasons I insulated so much is my incubator is in what used to be my workshop. Although I do have heat out there, I don't really want to run it all the time. If need be, when it is bitter cold, I can, but want to avoid it when I don't have to.

 

[HickoryHollow]

I built the door tonight........it will have 2 plexiglass windows.....


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[Strader]

Very Nice. Will it be 1/4 inch thick or 3/8 thick plexiglass. I went with 1/2 thick Lexan. Are you going to do a Teak oil or tung oil finish on the wood outside?

 

[midget_farms]

Tim - sorry I got to this late -

You are quite skilled!

The fan will dry out eggs - you dont want direct air blowing on the eggs.

Also - short & long cabinets (think your cabinet laying on its back) are better at keeping uniform heat - you dont have to worry so much about the heat piling up at the top of the cabinet.

1 more thing - you do want some air exchange from outside - not a lot - but the little buggers let off a lot of CO2 as they breath - so you need some fresh air to come in- when I built mine - I had way too many vents & dried out my first batch. So maybe 1 or 2 small holes that can be opened & closed as you wish.

 

[HickoryHollow]

Very Nice. Will it be 1/4 inch thick or 3/8 thick plexiglass. I went with 1/2 thick Lexan. Are you going to do a Teak oil or tung oil finish on the wood outside?

Thank you Strader........I was going to use 3/8 plexiglass, but talked to an amish glass shop today. They can cut me laminated glass for about the same price. I might go that route so I don't have to worry about scratches or hazing from cleaning it. Not sure yet.....