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

[gpop1]

I do have one question though!

What is the general consensus with the heating elements? This is the last piece of the puzzle I'm trying to figure out. I've already decided I don't want the hassle of light bulbs in any form and want to go with this:

https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=115

or this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/261435468641?lpid=82&chn=ps

I like the idea of a more uniform and efficient heat exchange with the radiator fins compared to the exposed nickel chromium wire, but I want to know how reliable it is. I believe ozexpat is using the latter choice, but I can't remember/ find if he said how well it worked. I am using a PID temp control with a solid state relay because the auto-tune feature seemed like a better choice to me if that helps with any suggestions! Thanks!!!

If you read how a ptc works you will find out in simple terms that its is designed to reach a max temperature then it will level off. This temperature is a lot higher than you will require for a incubator

good points: if something goes wrong like the fan fails it will max out on temp so there's less fire risk

bad points: turning on and off causes voltage spikes that will shorten the life of the unit

other points: keep a spare or like someone else on here suggested in a different post look at using a personal heater from walmart they are about $14 for a 200 watt which includes the ptc and a fan that way you know where to get a spare should you need one.



wire heater are easy to control, cheap to replace the wire, not affected by being turned on and off.

bad points: lots of people have set fire to home made incubators especially if the fan fails.

 

[buzsaw58]

This is what has and is working for me. I tried light bulbs, but didn't like the constant light and too bright. So I found some ceramic heaters that screw in my two light recepticals. They are working great. I have and computer fan blowing over the heaters. My controller has safeties built in, in the event that the fan should quit. But all has worked very good to this point. Hope that helps.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

So making this!!! (Or try to anyway)

This is amazing. The insane amount of work you put in left me speechless.

Love this gota make one!

WOW, did you get a steal/deal or what!

Grats on that acquisition!

and to the thread. There's a wealth of additional info available on the site. Make a cuppa and get comfy. The place is addicting

Oh, and good luck on the incu build. There's everything you need to know right here on this thread

Good luck w/the quail hatch!

I havent seen anyone elses images! Did you all make one? Lets see them please!

 

[darkbluespace]

This is the cabinet incubator I built... I did end up making some modifications but it has 2 fans and one 100watt bulb. I hatched a lot of duck eggs in this baby this summer. The two fans were great for getting those duck eggs to loose enough moisture. The top 3 shelves tilt back and forth.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

This is the cabinet incubator I built... I did end up making some modifications but it has 2 fans and one 100watt bulb. I hatched a lot of duck eggs in this baby this summer. The two fans were great for getting those duck eggs to loose enough moisture. The top 3 shelves tilt back and forth.

love it! And yes those fans are a great thing with duck eggs, and would be useful for Marans and CCL as well! Well done and its beautiful piece of furniture too!

 

[Sally Sunshine]

Phew! Read through this in its entirety, ok ok I skimmed a few of the pages but thank you for all your information and insight! It will certainly make my custom cabinet incubator as full proof as possible for my handicable sister who wishes to breed and raise our small flock of chickens, with the help of my mother as well. I had found a great deal today and I had to share.

I am so excited that I had found the best deal I've seen on the Brinsea Mini Advance. I've been amassing various temp controllers and parts for my own personal home built cabinet incubator I've been working on (currently an aerospace engineering student so Ill be sure to make a good post on here as well as Instructables.com once finished), so I didn't necessarily want a mini, but I couldn't pass this deal up.

Happened to drop into the local Goodwill to find some possible alternative heating elements I could use... ended up deciding to stick with the typical heater set ups as I was skeptical of anything I found there working for a decent period of time. As I was about to leave I spotted a box with a familiar image of an incubator! Lo and behold it was a Brinsea Mini Advance, opened it up and tested all the functions, everything worked! It didn't even look like it had anything hatch out of it either! Checked the price tag... $4.99!!!!

Thank you whoever put this on a silver platter!

A good disinfecting, quick temperature calibration, and maybe some small modifications, I'm an engineer I can't help it, and we will be good to go! Gonna test it with some Golden Italian Coturnix Quail eggs after I get the small egg tray from amazon and then maybe some Blue Marans further down the road, so out of pocket cost will be around $25 for this contraption... I can hear the angelic chirps already! It will be a good trial run for my sister and mom to get fully acquainted with the incubation process before the 200 egg capacity incu is finished. I haven't hatched anything out myself either, but I like to think that I've learned enough just from Mrs. Sunshine's very informative incubation master post, as well as everyone else in this wonderful community!

Thanks again for all the information! Hopefully I will have my incubator knocked out by the time these quail hatch.

 

[darkbluespace]

love it! And yes those fans are a great thing with duck eggs, and would be useful for Marans and CCL as well! Well done and its beautiful piece of furniture too!

Thanks! I built it mostly from stuff I had laying around because I am ridiculously frugal ; ) I did buy wood and plexiglass for the door. I am pretty happy about how it turned out. Thanks for the inspiration : )

 

[Latestarter]

I havent seen anyone elses images! Did you all make one? Lets see them please!

SALLY! You're BACK! How the heck are you? I hope all is well with you and yours. Maybe we'll get to hear your wit and wisdom more frequently once again?

This is the cabinet incubator I built... I did end up making some modifications but it has 2 fans and one 100watt bulb. I hatched a lot of duck eggs in this baby this summer. The two fans were great for getting those duck eggs to loose enough moisture. The top 3 shelves tilt back and forth.

Beautiful job there @darkbluespace ! Do you get a "hot spot" right in front of the bulbs? just curious as it doesn't appear they are shielded in any way.

 

[darkbluespace]

SALLY! You're BACK! How the heck are you? I hope all is well with you and yours. Maybe we'll get to hear your wit and wisdom more frequently once again?

Beautiful job there @darkbluespace ! Do you get a "hot spot" right in front of the bulbs? just curious as it doesn't appear they are shielded in any way.

What looks like bulbs in the photo were actually holes in the wall between front and back compartments. I actually ended up taking out the wall, opened it up and just put one bulb in the bottom at the back with some foil between the bulb and the shelves. The very bottom shelf is a bit too cool for incubating, but the other shelves are just right. Sometimes I stash newly hatched chicks or ducklings on the bottom shelf in a container when I take them out of the hatcher.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

SALLY! You're BACK! How the heck are you? I hope all is well with you and yours. Maybe we'll get to hear your wit and wisdom more frequently once again?

Good Morning Joe! @Latestarter I hope I can stick around for some time! I am feeling better, still on the road to recovery but I think its going to be a lifelong event at this point.