Quote:
Hi,
I read your web page description of building your incubator, thermal mass is a good idea. What is the weight of the mass? You mentioned the pavers possibly absorbing moisture, did that happen? If so consider painting them with latex paint. Also you didn't mention vent holes, did you add vent holes? Any plans for a egg turner?
Joe
Hi Joe,
The 4 pavers I used are pretty heavy. I'd guess 3-4 lbs each. Being a concrete product they are pretty porous and I do think they do absorb a little moisture from the inside of the box. I thought of wrapping them in seran-wrap or in a big ziploc... that way they wouldn't absorb any moisture. This is an advantage to glass jars of water. I'd bet painting them would also work. I ended up just leaving them be. My incubator resides in my base that has a constant 57 degrees and 50% humidity. As that air get drawn into the incubator... through one of the vents... the relative humidity drops because the air gets hotter. 50% relative humidity at 57 degrees means that the air is holding half the amount of maximum moisture it can at that temp. But when you heat the air, hotter air can hold more moisture so the relative humidity will automatically drop. Anyways... I found the RH% in my box without any additional water trays was about 30%. After I added a 4" water tray full, it stabilized at 36% which is where I'm running it now. So even if the pavers are absorbing some... I've compensated for that.
I do have vents in my box. They are pinky-finger sized. I have 4 in the lower part of the box and 4 in the lid. I also have 2 larger holes that were going to be used for an egg rocker but are now taped over.
As for a turner. I originally designed a pvc pipe that went through the side and laid on the wire shelf. To this I attached an egg carton. The idea was to rock the eggs back and forth without the need to pop the hatch. I ultimately decided to scrap this idea. My boys couldn't help themselves but grab for the turner whenever they can near the box to look at it (before I ever put eggs in it). And I also decided that I wanted my eggs in the carton to always lean towards the light/fan. So I build a wire wedge to prop the carton up towards the light/fan. Now all I have to do is pop the lid, and carefully rotate the carton 180 and put it back on the wedge. This way just seemed like a better way for me. But it's not automatic... neither was the rocker.
Cheers!
