Homemade egg turner HELP!

[DMRippy]

Quote:
I will look that up... what about an AC thermostat? I had a digital one in my house and replaced the ac and they put in a new one. Would a house AC/Heater thermostat work? Just an idea... and it is just laying around and it worked and I can program the temps

 

[bairo]

1st let me say that I like it now. some very good thought went into it. I would make an educated guess that your humidity levels are going to be off the chart if you go with a "keep full" system where there is always water standing there and being refilled as fast as it evaporates. I freak if my humidity hits 40% in the first 18 days. I then let it go as high as it wants to the last few days. I would think that the sponge in the tray like you have now with a 1/2 pvc pipe coming up the outside and water added via a funnel into the pvc pipe will work great. Even hatching in the dead of winter when the humidity in the house may be very low..I have found an ounce or less twice a day will easily keep 40%. Then just fill the pan on the 18th day and you should be set.

Cant help on the egg turner..the manual version works for me because of schedules of house members.

 

[bairo]

PS.. What is all the talk about your thermostat?? I would not fix something that is not broken, LOL
I read your page. You had a better than 90% hatch rate the very first time you used it. You have since hatched over 200. I think your doing just fine now. I get the want for more automation, but dont change too many things. You may find that after a lot of regret and hard work that you end up right back to what you have now

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
In the incubator I have a gallon milk jug with the top cut off and a 4 x 8 ish sponge in it and the humidity only hovers at 30-35% FULL and another little bottle of just water. In the hatcher I have two Enfamil baby formula containers one with a sponge and one with out and I can only keep that humidity at about 50-60. So the constant water supply does not scare me. I realize too that I will have to reevaluate all this in a new incubator.

 

[DMRippy]

Quote:
The thermostat is for using flexwatt instead of lights. I am going to continue to use this incubator when needed... but I want a more FUNCTIONAL incubator. It is already pretty automated.

 

[3forfree]

IF IT AINT BROKE, DON'T F*** WITH IT. Sounds like the bator you have is doing a pretty good job. If you're on the high side of temps maybe you could drop down to 60w bulbs, and if you haven't already, do a modification on your

hot water heater thermostat. here's a link to doing that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MsbVbQ2vZ0

I did the mod and couldn't believe how steady the temps stayed compared to the roller coaster swings I had before.

 

[DMRippy]

I have my turner sort of. We have the trays and rack built. Used the same type of motor we used in the original incubator and it would not turn the trays with any weight

so that was scrapped. We call in reinforcments and he brought us a new motor and it works, just really fast. Now we have to figure out how to gear it down. Visuals of how to gear this down would help me. AND were to get these gears too?

Second if anyone has pics of an easy gravity feed system for the water for this incubator. I would like to use a 3 or 5 gal bucket (mine have gaskets to seal them) on the side or on top. I never can get the guys at the hardware store to help me so exact parts list would really help to. They don't have rain barrel kits and will not help me make one water tight.

My poor eggs are getting old and must go in the bator. I will be adding more to the old bator but next week we are going to Newnan and there will be more eggs

any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[matlock585]

Donna,
I am sure i can make you something from the metal shop, but i normally waterproof with solder, can't use lead on the babies though. I'll check monday to see if i have a non toxic caulk.
I can make you one you don't have to close the top on.

 

[DMRippy]

Donna,
I am sure i can make you something from the metal shop, but i normally waterproof with solder, can't use lead on the babies though. I'll check monday to see if i have a non toxic caulk.
I can make you one you don't have to close the top on.

you are sweet! Thanks! The 3-5 gal bucket is a fill it and kinda forget thing to last several days. In order to fill like a chick waterer it would have to be air tight. Baby got up early... not sure my brain is working yet

You would think as humid as it gets here we would not need to add water

maybe it is the light bulbs cooking the humidity off.....

 

[henpeckedmuch]

For a water filler I bought a 1/4 OD soft rubber hose one foot long. drilled a slightly smaller hole into a plastic pickle jar and another one into the incubator. I then placed one end of the tube into the pan of water in the incubator and the other end into the plastic pickle jar. For a shut-off I used one of my wife's clothes pins.
Total cost
1 ft rubber hose = $1.00
1 clothes pin = free

I know my incubator uses one tea pot of water ever 24 hrs at 50% humidity.
But, I'm going to make a fill indicator on my incubator by gluing a hollow tube on the front inside of my water reservoir near the window of the incubator so that I can see it..
Then, placing a cork, from a wine bottle, with a tooth pick in the top to Gage the amount, in the hollow tube.
I will have to shape the cork to fit the tube and maybe put a screw in the bottom of the cork to help weigh it down
put the cork into the tube and mark the tooth pick to indicate when the water is full.
When the cork disappears form site the lines that I've painted on the tooth pick will tell me how much water to add.
total cost= free