DIY CABINET COOLER INCUBATOR How we did it and TEST RUN Ready Set GO!

[Sally Sunshine]

Wonder if a wheeled handle could be extended through side to rock the trays

I am sure you could do anything! there is plenty of room on each side for a real motor contraption or you can make trays and just add pre-made individual turners too

I didnt want to mess with it forever and I needed it up and running quickly, but to be honest I wouldnt change anything YET but perhaps a light bulb

 

[ii4him]

Well done, thanks for posting.

 

[DJC62]

OZ, I used this one http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=106 but I've seen others on places like EBay and such that look exactly the same. Auberins has their name on it and I don't know if the components inside are any different or not. Could be it's the same product for all I know. But mine works and if it fails one day I'll probably replace it with the same one.

I used Auberins timer, http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=115 to control my turning motor.


Sally, I haven't used the newer ceramic encased elements. Can't speak for them, good or bad but look like they should be fine. Only thing I see is the ceramic would continue to dissipate heat which might affect your temp variations depending on the thermostat type used. I use the old style cone elements but mine are mounted at the top of the cabinet, at the back, where the air is forces out by the fans. This keeps them away from me possibly touching them and air is blown over them on the out side if you will of the fan. That keeps hotter air from being drawn into my fans and causing them to run hotter.

I use this temp probe, http://www.vernier.com/products/sensors/temperature-sensors/tmp-bta/ connected to a laptop to monitor variations inside the incubator. I set it to check the temp every 1 minute and it creates a graph letting you know exactly what your temperature variations are. I inserted the probe through an access hole in the top of my incubator and set the laptop on top. I don't run the probe all the time but was when setting up, fine tuning, etc. Still spot check for a couple days now and then to make sure nothing has changed. Pretty sensitive probe, reacts to changes instantly.

My cabinet (being a commercial 3 glass door drink cooler, has a drain hole in the bottom that I guess would have been to be able to drain spills, broken product and condensation, but I leave it open which allows it to draw a constant small air supply. Hasn't hurt my humidity (south Texas is humid anyway) and my temp stays within a tenth of a degree while providing a fresh air source. Works for me but every cabinet/situation is going to be different. I'm sure if I moved my incubator to another spot I'd have to retune it.

I have a humidor temp/humidity monitor inside and another junk one just for comparison and another source if my primary fails or for some reason I might think it's not operating correctly.
I do not at this time have a redundant temp controller but have been thinking about using a wafer system in case my electronics fail. Maybe I'll add that in this year but so far all has been working well and I get upper 80% to low 90% hatches so I'm inclined not to touch anything until I have to. Don't want to make bad juju by tinkering too much.

That's my .02 for today....

Dave

 

[DJC62]

A PID may or may not be the way to go with a small table top incubator. They usually have everything built in and will hatch eggs. But if you are building something cooler size and larger with forced air circulation, I know of nothing affordable that would do better at controlling your temp accurately. If you are using a small Styrofoam or plastic table top incubator you would have to do a little wiring and come up with a small box (radioshack has them) to put it in so you or children didn't come into contact with the wires on the back. That's easy enough but if looks matter and such then you'd probably do best staying with what they have already built into them. If your thermostat goes out, certainly consider a PID or if you are using a wafer type, again you might consider switching to a PID. They are a lot more accurate in holding your desired temp. I can keep +/- 1/10th of a degree in my incubator, which is large (1,728 chicken egg capacity). Speaks well for the capability of a PID. I've found some on EBay for I think it was in the $20 odd range but I didn't buy any. Having said that, the face is exactly the same as the one I bought but could have different guts. I've no idea. Could be half the price of what I bought and exactly the same product minus the brand name on mine.

@OZEXPAT

I will try to get some photos this weekend. I have a couple crappy ones and if I can find them real quick I'll attach one.


The above photo is my probe line chart running on a laptop over a 48 hour period. I also did one for the entire 21 days. As you can see the temp is either one click over or under 99.5 which averages out to 99.5. I figured out the reason for that pattern since I took this snap shot, when my turner rotated the egg racks it caused that variation. Which in one of my previous posts I mentioned that I had added a 3rd fan, squirrel cage type at the bottom of the incubator. Adding that fan was in effort to reduce this small variation in temp. A tweak, just because that's the kind of guy I am. And it worked. Temp is almost flat lined now so I'm quite happy with my temp control. Notice the spike, that's what happens when you open a door for a sec in the middle of December.

I have a crappy video I'm uploading but it's going to take a little bit, 5.5mb, which isn't much except I'm in the country and have terrible internet, wireless and the nearest tower must be a long ways off as I'm at the edge of the service area. PM me and I'll send you a link to it once it's uploaded to my website.





Here are a couple photos of one of my hatches in progress. The white eggs in the blue hatch tray are Texas A&M Leghorn eggs, shipped to me in January via Greyhound bus. They didn't do as well as my eggs but I got what I was wanting out of them. These were from my second trial run after completing my incubator build.

Can't find the incubator photos so I'll try and take some over the weekend.

Dave

 

[Sally Sunshine]

These eggs were in the new bator a week before hatch! so far so good!


We have 3 Lavs and a female CCL out!!




and the serama are popping out like popcorn several more to go!
Always a wonderful hatch from Harmonys eggies!!
only the larger eggs were in the new cooler, the tiny ones fell through egg tray. they are the last hatching so the new cooler was run a tad warmer than the reg coolerbator.


The next batch from the new cabinet cooler is due for lockdown Sunday!

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Sally your a champ.

Sorry about the dead ones though.

 

[ozexpat]

issue is not width per say, I have one ccl hens eggs that dont fit in the little plastic nubs, it just balances on them and I dont want to jam the eggs in there either. I can always set hers in a dif cooler, just a pain to do so.

there are the plastic trays for duck eggs that hold 20 instead of 30 (or 48 with your trays)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/231036681291?lpid=82


they will cut down capacity though.

i only pull them out if i have to

 

[elizmartin]

Thanks for all this wonderful information…..Am responding to bookmark this site…...

 

[Sally Sunshine]

UPDATE on eggs in the CABINET COOLER!

We candled and removed 14 eggs from the new Cabinet Coolerbator (RED SHARPIE COLOR CODED EGGS) and put them into "almost" lockdown in the reg coolerbator day 17, they look strong, there are 7 Layer mix eggs and 7 CCL eggs. One of the Layer eggs looks strange to me, it is alive but the air cell seems all weird and zigzagged for some reason. This was not noted at any other candles.

HOWEVER, Air cells look too small, not a drop of water had been added to the cabinetbator, room is varying between 17-22% praying they loose more until hatch. I will continue incubating dry until I notice first internal pips, I will candle several times a day starting Tomorrow, Day 18. When I see an internal I will up humidity.


We also candled the Blue sharpie eggs in the incubator, we had to throw out two more of Harmonys shipped silkies with the terrible air cells. Two silkies remain but are extremely bad and mishaped air cells but praying they hatch for the kiddo. All other eggs look great, we threw one clear Brahma and one clear CCL out.

So far the cabinet is awesome!! Very Very pleased!!

Still not understanding this whole humidity issue all winter long and with the coal stove running down there. air cells are just too small and although they had gotten better since February, its just a very weird winter of hatching as far as weight loss.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Day 20 one chick is out, five pips also! and two in the few CCL that I put in with them!

looking good! strong and healthy!

CCL ROO mutts.... Light Brahma hen and our BR hens eggs are huge so the chicks are in turn giants! I swear they are as large as a turkey at hatch! We are hatching their eggs for a friend who wants good layers with big eggs. I must weight their eggs, but my digital small pocket scale needs a weird battery.

I swear its the FF they had when they were beginning to lay! I must start my batches back up! Just got more ACV and will start as soon as I can drag in a bag of 100lb feed.

Did I mention getting old stinks?


Note this chick doesnt have foot or leg feathers like its mama brahma, and it has a straight comb

genetics is so confusing! but its always cool to see these "mutts" older!