I'm a Golden Feather Member Now

[brettread203]

I'm a Golden Feather Member Now

 

[Sally Sunshine]

 

[brettread203]

I use a "Battery Back Up Pack" I got the idea from my old job, where I worked was a Emergency and Specialists Animal Hospital and they are a "Paperless Practice" so there is no physical medical record, everything was on the computer system and in case of power outage the building had a huge generator that would turn on after the power is out for 30 seconds which is great for pretty much everything in the hospital, but not the computer system. The server and several work stations were on these emergency battery backup units that are plugged into the wall and then all the computer components plugged into the unit. Well the power is on it charges and then maintains it's charge until the power fails and before the failure can even reach where the computer is plugged into the unit. The unit is still being powered and running on battery, it immediately starts making this low alarm noise so you can hear that there is a problem and go address it. I've been using the computer and the power has gone out the screen didn't even blink. So the next time I needed to fire up the good old incubator I ran out to BestBuy and found a battery backup for computers, and started using it on my incubators. It has been awesome there has been a few times since where the power has gone out and I've got home to find the house dark, and the incubators heat, fan, humidifier, egg turner, and temperature / hydrometer monitoring unit still running along not having a clue that everyone else has been thrown back into the darkages again. So this backup unit is a very good investment. Also if you are not around enough to be able to turn and monitor the eggs I find that if you invest a little bit more money into the incubator then you can get a incubator with digital displays and auto settings and the ability to record all the data in a small memory card that will save the whole incubations stats from the moment you set it to the moment you end your cycle. Also a good egg turner is a life saver. A unit can be purchased from an incubator company that has internal and external temperature monitoring and controls the heating element and turns it on and off as needed. The same thing but for humidity is available based on internal humidity level it will turn on and off a humidifier, I purchased a incubator humidifier which has a very small flexible tube that threads through one of the small holes into the incubator and heats up the water to a certain controlled temperature inside the humidifier and a very gentle poof of steam / humidity is released into the incubator this decreases fluctuations greatly. The incubators built in hepa filter on the fan unit is great for circulation and keeping the air inside pristine. In the end it was a little under $600.00 for the setup I use, but I also breed parrots so one or two surviving chicks more than another unit and it pays for itself....
Thank you all for listening to me ramble about my toys... ;-)
-Brett Read