Homemade incubator, Excalibur food dehydrator

[UThobbyfarmer]

Thank you, Akrnaf2, those are some clever ideas! I'll definitely watch the video and go from there.

 

[Akrnaf2]

Thank you, Akrnaf2, those are some clever ideas! I'll definitely watch the video and go from there.

 

[darkbluespace]

Thank you for the encouragement, darkbluespace. Whether or not it's successful I'm having a wonderful time playing around with it. I've decided to weigh the eggs daily. If they're dropping too quickly I've got a few ideas. But for now I've relaxed on the humidity quite a bit. The fact I'm already seeing development speaks for itself.

Sounds like you've had your share of incubator adventures. A hairdryer?! I know you said that was hearsay but that's crazy. What do you currently use?

I use a light bulb on a temperature controller thermostat.
Here is my cabinet...

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Day 4. Temp 99, humidity around 31-33 +/-.

I've pulled out 1 quitter and 2 yolkers. 13 embryos with beautiful growth. The rest are questionable and being kept in.

Here are a few pics of the #16 bantam egg (same one I showed at Day 2) and the cracked one. The repaired egg is holding strong. So glad we gave it a shot.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Day 9. I changed around the water pans. Currently using 2 9x13 disposable aluminum pans. One with a large sponge in it. I full top them off once a day. Humidity has stabilized around 40-41%. Temperature is solid at 99.

I have 11 eggs still going. Of the other 9 I had 5 yolkers, 3 quitters, and 1 healthy egg that was dropped on day 6. I started to see some movement on day 7.

I tried running a humidifier in the room, before I added the extra pan, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

I bought a piece of acrylic at Home Depot. Today I'm going to work on rigging up a new front piece. There will probably be some adjustments to temp and humidity so I want to swap it on a day I'm home.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Average weight loss on day 9 is 7.8%. I've read anywhere from 11-15% loss is good. I'm thinking the weight loss will level out but I'm preparing to increase the humidity it that doesn't appear to be happening. Based on egg cell development I think they're doing ok. Marked air cells for the first time today.

 

[gpop1]

A food dehydrator could work as a incubator but you would have to complete the air cycle.

somewhere there is a air intake on the dehydrator and a hot air vent. Air comes in at a lower humidity then exits at a higher humidity (the difference is the humidity that was removed from the food due to the warm air). If you can close the loop so the higher humidity air is returned to the unit inlet then the humidity would stabilize. (some unit do return a percentage of the heated air already)

This would also reduce the cost of running the unit as the warm air would be recycled.

Ive looked in to converting a food dehydrator and it didn't look that hard to complete the air loop on the cheap round style.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Day 9 #17 egg. Bantam.

Acrylic front. I was too impatient to get it done right. When this hatch is finished I'll redo it properly. The crack at the top will drive me crazy but that's what I get for not hand tightening the screws at the end. Good news is it's functional and holding heat/temp steady.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

A food dehydrator could work as a incubator but you would have to complete the air cycle.

somewhere there is a air intake on the dehydrator and a hot air vent. Air comes in at a lower humidity then exits at a higher humidity (the difference is the humidity that was removed from the food due to the warm air). If you can close the loop so the higher humidity air is returned to the unit inlet then the humidity would stabilize. (some unit do return a percentage of the heated air already)

This would also reduce the cost of running the unit as the warm air would be recycled.

Ive looked in to converting a food dehydrator and it didn't look that hard to complete the air loop on the cheap round style.

How interested. Thank you for explaining that. I'm not sure how this one loops. It appeared the air came in the back, flows across the food, and then out the front through the gaps at the door. I'm sure someone has air flow models for it online. I'll have to check that out.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Found this online. I see what you mean. I think I'd closed the loop already I just didn't realize it. Although it would be very difficult to get zero air leakage at the front. It is greatly reduced.