I just made one of MissPrissy's homemade incubators and everything worked out fine. Well after I blew a fuse, everythign was alright. The problem Im having now is that the temps seem to be wild. How can I fix that? Its fine one minute(99.8) and then the next thing I know its up to 107. Whats going on? Am I doing something wrong? Has anyone else had this problem? I have a hovabator Im using as a bator, but I made this to use as a hatcher. Can anyone help me?
You may need to add more air holes to stabilize it, not too much, I would try one little one at a time till you get it just right.
I'm having the same problem with my homemator. I have vent holes all over the place. I plug 'em, unplug 'em, move the hole to somewhere else... Some nights when I come home from work, its 99.5 Other nights it's 91 or 108 (the decimal point is moot at these temps) I think the only answer is a thermostat. I bought one on monday, and I'm trying it out now. The most popular one here is a wafer model. I believe it is a metal coil that reacts to temperatures by getting bigger and smaller. It will make or break the electrical contact depending on it's position. I bought a water heater thermostat, the only kind Menards had, and I just wired it, consulted with several ellectricians, and then stood on a rubbr mat and plugged it in wearing rubber gloves! I DID NOT DIE!
I made one as well and I find that the key to constant temperatures is to add a heat sync to the bator. A mason jar filled with water and sealed will help to keep the temps from swinging.
Heat sinks! Fill some small jars with sand, or put a brick or rock in the 'bator. That will reduce those drastic temperature variations. ~Cherlyn
I had my fan blowing air over the light bulb onto the thermostat. But I had one thermostat that would swing 4 or 5 degrees. I have 2 that hold to a 1.5 degree swing so I use those in my bator and hatcher. Which are styrofoam Miss Prissy bators, the 3rd I don't use, as I can't rely on it. But I do use heat syncs too. I actually filled freezer bags with water and then put those in another bag cause I didn't have any empty jars handy. I did have a couple big rocks from the yard that I set in there too but I was working with limited space so the bags-o-water fit my needs. Good luck!
Quote:What are heat syncs? Ive never heard anything about them. Quote:Thats where I have my thermostat at. Quote:Doesnt heat rise? Putting a rock in the bator makes the temps steady? How does that work? Quote:I dont know of any place around here that sells he wafer ones. Im kinda effy to use oneof those too. All the ones Ive seen take up a bunch of room and I dont hav all of that to spare.
When they say heat-sink they mean an object with thermal mass... Solids absorb an dissipate heat at a slower rate than air so it levels the temp out. Not sure the word heat-sink even fits but this website has gave it a new meaning. Heres a little more about thermal mass in an incubator.
Isn't the wonderful world of thermodynamics fantastic? gee, where's a sarcastic smiley when you need one? There are actually formulas for sizing heat sinks based on medium, temp loss and air space.... hmmm... wonder if I still have that text book?
