Home-made incubator...does it need a fan?

[kelly77]

We made ours inspired from someone on youtube. I am watching other videos and people have fans ...is a fan necessary?

 

[silkiechicken]

No, but it is very helpful to keep a more even temperature.

Just remember, if you have no fan, you'll need to set temps according to "still air" incubation, which is about 2 deg higher due to temperature gradients.

 

[The Chickeneer]

You don't have to have a fan, but it will help a lot. I dont have a fan, so i have to set the temp at 100 or 101 for still air, instead of forced air which would be 99.5. So if your plannng on going without a fan, remember to set the temp to 100 or 101. Fans help distribute heat, so there wont be cooler spots in the incubator, for example the left side of my incubator is always warmer, and I have noticed that more eggs hatch if I set them on the top right side. If you have a fan, the temperature will be evenly spread, and you wont have to worry about where you set your eggs.

 

[kelly77]

Thank you for all this info! We are fiddling with our temps and humidity today before we put the eggs in.

 

[kakhan]

On which side of the incubator the fan should be installed?I have a small wooden 2x2 manual.I have installed a pc fan12 volts running on 6 volts cell charger.confused about its direction.Should i install it on the front middle area or on sides?