How is a storebought incubator made?

[ChickChickChicky!]

Hey! I was wondering how store bought incubators create the heat for the eggs? I think that it gives heat because of a heating system like the heater in your home. Am I'm right? Anyways I need this for my science fair project, so please help! AND THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

[Bantimna]

Try the Incubating & Hatching Chicks section.

I'm not sure how incubators are made, it depends if it is still-air or a fan-aired incubator.

 

[ranchhand]

You might also do a search, found in the blue bar above, for "homemade incubator".

There are so very many types of incubators, and methods of making both commercial and homemade incubators, that someone would have to spend hours researching and typing to even get started.

And that would be doing your homework for you, not supposed to work that way!

Best of luck with the project!

 

[Kermit's shadow]

All modern factory-made incubators use a simple heating wire/element in some form of coil/spring. Normally the wire would be nichrome resistance wire. Small table-top machines would use an element of around 200-300W. Large cabinet machines would use something like 500-1000W elements.
The elements are FAR more powerful (higher watts) than are needed to keep the right temperature but they are needed to get the machine up to temperature quickly after the door is opened, or from cold. Most incubators, even quite large cabinet machines actually run at 50-100W and in any well insulated machine most of that power is used/lost due to ventilation, not conduction through the incubator walls.
In a few machines, the wire is encased inside a tube or sheet/plate, but the actual element is the same - nichrome wire.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Kermit's shadow :

All modern factory-made incubators use a simple heating wire/element in some form of coil/spring. Normally the wire would be nichrome resistance wire. Small table-top machines would use an element of around 200-300W. Large cabinet machines would use something like 500-1000W elements.
The elements are FAR more powerful (higher watts) than are needed to keep the right temperature but they are needed to get the machine up to temperature quickly after the door is opened, or from cold. Most incubators, even quite large cabinet machines actually run at 50-100W and in any well insulated machine most of that power is used/lost due to ventilation, not conduction through the incubator walls.
In a few machines, the wire is encased inside a tube or sheet/plate, but the actual element is the same - nichrome wire.

Um the small one use a 30 or 40 watt element not 200 to 300. The big ones usually run about 250 watts not 500 to 1000.​

 

[Kermit's shadow]

Not the ones that I am familiar with - for them my figures are correct. For instance Marsh turn-x and the Brinsea models.

You have to be VERY careful about numbers quoted by the manufacturers - they usually quote the actual running power - NOT the element power. For instance, if the machine has a 200W element, and would normally have the element switched on for about a quarter the time, the normal thing to do is quote the power as 50W.
I strongly suspect that you are quoting running power, not the total element power.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Both LG and Hovabator both use elements that pull less than 40 watts. Sportsman, Dickeys an the like run a element that is 250 watts or less. That's max draw not average over time.

 

[andalusn]

As its for a Science Fair project I would suggest going straight to the source. Visit your local feed store or online website by manufacturer and get the contact info and send them an email detailing what your looking for specific to your project and I would not be surprised if you hear back with all sorts of good info.

 

[Kermit's shadow]

All of this applies to machines to a few thousand egg capacity. Machines much bigger than this - ones used by the poultry industry to produce many thousands of chicks a week, or even per day - can be very different. They are just well insulated rooms with very precise air conditioning - some use heated air, some use very carefully designed water-filled radiators to distibute warmth.

 

[Oregon Blues]

If you are building an incubator, you can use an incandescent light bulb for your heat source.