Humidity issues in a homemade 'bator; really need input

[Aiden Kendall]

I've just finished my 1st hatch in my homemade incubator and had great success. However I have a problem with keeping the humidity in check.

My heat source and fan are located on top, and I have an automatic egg turner about 2 1/2 inches off the floor. The 2 1/2 inches leaves me enough room to put a baking pan underneath for the water. Anyway, when I 1st add the warm water my humidity increases as it should but slowly decreases due to lack of heat at the bottom. In my 1st hatch the temps ran about 6 degrees lower on the bottom than at egg level and at hatch time I had to put bowls of water on my hatching tray to keep humidity at the right level. This worked but it took up a lot of room and has to be fixed before my next hatch.

Does anyone have a suggestion? I was thinking maybe heat tape under the pan but would really like any ideas you might offer.

Thanks

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Is your homemade incubator plywood? If so, check for air gaps from a warped door, & or line it with plastic, making sure to cut around your vent holes. Plywood will absorb alot of the humidity.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

If I am getting the picture of your bator setup right, it sounds like your heat source is to far away from your water. Heat rises, so it needs to be on the side or bottom closer to the water pan so it can heat the water as well. Maybe a pic of your bator can help us solve your problem.

Plywood does absorb alot of water, if that is what you used.

 

[Aiden Kendall]

Thanks for the replys.

It is plywood. The size is 17 1/2" X 17 1/2" square and about 16 inches tall. My heat is two 60 watt bulbs with a fan. It is definitely located too far away (probably about 10 inches) and with the egg turner in between that slows down the air flow a considerable amount as well.

I was wondering if there was a waterproof heat source I could put close to the water tray and still keep my desigh as it is? I did have a successful 1st hatch but things are far from where I'd like them to be. I've tried other configurations, such as a cabinet type design with heat, fan, and water tray on a shelf above the turner, but my temps were far from where they needed to be.