incubator ideas! post your ideas for home made incubators, whether they work or not~

[george83]

I tried at first to have the fan running all the time when building my incubator,but because of the good insulation I applied(double walls with polystyrene), fan tended to raise temperature above 38,5 celcius(every machine has an efficiency and some energy is lost to heat)so I had to make fan to stop when lamp turns off.
also the thermostat sensor should be on the inside of incubator,while thermostat itself outside so that you can watch on its screen if everything is fine.

I personally guarantee success above 85% if an incubator is built with the principles included in my last post.

 

[ArieBLB]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/freezer-incubator



Hello,
Here is my freezer incubator project.
I am building an incubator of an old freezer and for this cause I used the Liebherr Economy.
In this incubator is room for 88 eggs max., but a better aircirculation will be achieved by taking a maximum of 66 eggs.
For me this capacity is more than enough.
This old freezer didn't work anymore, so I took out all freezer parts and started making an incubator of it.

I am not so well in English so I will place here some pictures of my project. Pictures say more than words.

I am still working on this incubator.

Greetings Arie

 

[wattsjadajoe]

please explain how your eggsdonot fall out when it turner your eggs {if this your eggs turner}

Me too! I've been letting a hen brood on some eggs that will likely hatch soon. I'd rather incubate my own and keep my hens a layin'.

The pole that goes through the incubator for the egg turner is only above the grating 3-4". The egg crate which the eggs rest in holds the eggs from rolling or falling out. We rock the turner from one side to the other side 3 times a day. This is working great! We are on our second hatch for this year and we will be placing another batch of eggs in around the first week of April.

Joe

 

[SouthDakotan]

You have to remember that a hot water heater thermostat was not made to read ambient temps like other kinds of thermostats, if you are going to use one you need to know it was made to read radiant heat, that is why it gets mounted on the side of a hot water heater. You have to treat a light bulb like a hot water heater and get it close enough to read the radiant heat. Trust me, it does work to keep the whole of the incubator at a steady temp without wild swings. There is a YouTube video by Confederate Money Farms (a member here, but off hand do not know his screen name, rebel something), he shows in one video how moving the thermostat closer to the bulb will keep temps more steady. I wish I had taken video before switching to the digital thermostat. But I had mine 1.5" away from the light bulb (I was running a 60watt -> fan blowing -> 40watt -> thermostat {this was on the back wall of my bator, in that order, fan blowing over the 40watt towards the thermostat}), I ran constant temps of 99.5-100* in my igloo cooler ($18 red one from Walmart).

Thanks for the info. I'm LEARNING

 

[quintinp]

Quintinp......I'm sorry to say, you are wrong about the thermostat needing to be close to the heat source. The thermostat should be at the opposite end of the heat source as that allows the entire incubator to be heated to the desired temperature before the thermostat turns off the heat source. Placing the thermostat close to the heat source will turn off the heat source before the entire incubator has reached the desired temp. If you were to place the thermostat for your home close to a register where your furnace blows out hot air, the thermostat would reach the desired temp. you set it for to heat the entire house and turn off your furnace.

Well, I was referring to a water heater thermostat. I don't do this with wafer thermostats, or bi-metal thermostats, but I am pretty sure that I specified a water heater thermostat in what I said about the placement of the thermostat. I will give you a video about this.

(I know that you mean well, but a water heater thermostat doesn't agree with that statement.) By the way, Have you ever used a water heater thermostat in an incubator?

Here is the video.

As for a lot of others, you had made a newbie mistake about the water heater thermostat placement in the incubator.

 

[quintinp]

I have to ask if the thermostat is not willing to read the temp by the eggs, then why use that style of thermostat? We're not placing the thermostat in the incubator just to turn things on... I'd think the most important task is to properly read the temp NEAR the eggs for that is where the temp is important. Having it within 2" of the heat source but the eggs not being in that placement would mean its getting the reading that is 2" away, not where the eggs are. Wouldn't it? The temp swing issue you speak of, is puzzling to me too. Isn't the purpose of the fan is to circulate the air throughout the incubator? So shouldn't that mean the entire incubator SHOULD have a stable temperature. If the temp swings so radically, then I'd think that the whole design is flawed that one is using. The purpose of the heater and the thermostat is to make sure the EGGS are at proper temp.... not just to work with each other. If it forgets the main function within the cycle, then why have it?

I'm still learning but this debate seems more confusing to me than ever. So I'm trying to understand the science you & the others discussing here are justifying your views on. I think part of the problem is that most people are using square boxes as incubators and just as in pottery kilns, air has difficulty circulating in square boxes. Could this be partly the problem people are having with air circulation and temperature swings?

Just asking everyone. Trying to understand as its my hope to build an incubator later.

My opinion, is that Water Heater Thermostats are cheap, and readily available
I would rather ride into town, and pay for a 9 dollar thermostat, rather than ordering a 30 dollar wafer thermostat, or 15 dollar Bi-metal thermostat.

 

[quintinp]

I tried at first to have the fan running all the time when building my incubator,but because of the good insulation I applied(double walls with polystyrene), fan tended to raise temperature above 38,5 celcius(every machine has an efficiency and some energy is lost to heat)so I had to make fan to stop when lamp turns off.
also the thermostat sensor should be on the inside of incubator,while thermostat itself outside so that you can watch on its screen if everything is fine.

I personally guarantee success above 85% if an incubator is built with the principles included in my last post.

I disagree with letting the fan cycle with the light, but if your temperature is where you want it, you are fine to me.

 

[quintinp]

I have to ask if the thermostat is not willing to read the temp by the eggs, then why use that style of thermostat? We're not placing the thermostat in the incubator just to turn things on... I'd think the most important task is to properly read the temp NEAR the eggs for that is where the temp is important. Having it within 2" of the heat source but the eggs not being in that placement would mean its getting the reading that is 2" away, not where the eggs are. Wouldn't it? The temp swing issue you speak of, is puzzling to me too. Isn't the purpose of the fan is to circulate the air throughout the incubator? So shouldn't that mean the entire incubator SHOULD have a stable temperature. If the temp swings so radically, then I'd think that the whole design is flawed that one is using. The purpose of the heater and the thermostat is to make sure the EGGS are at proper temp.... not just to work with each other. If it forgets the main function within the cycle, then why have it?

I'm still learning but this debate seems more confusing to me than ever. So I'm trying to understand the science you & the others discussing here are justifying your views on. I think part of the problem is that most people are using square boxes as incubators and just as in pottery kilns, air has difficulty circulating in square boxes. Could this be partly the problem people are having with air circulation and temperature swings?

Just asking everyone. Trying to understand as its my hope to build an incubator later.

As I have already said, water heater thermostats are cheap. Because they work mechanically, they aren't going to be exactly the right temperature without having to adjust the thermostat to where you want it. You may need to adjust the thermostat where it is saying 120, to get the achieved 99 degrees you want throughout the incubator. If you know how to tinker with the thermostat, you pay less. If you are less mechanically inclined, you get to buy the more expensive thermostat.

 

[mrgreenjeans53]

Okay, I missed the part about it being a water heater thermostat. I thought we were talking about an ambient heat thermostat. I am sorry and I hope I didn't offend you.

I have a few questions for you though.......When I bought my house it had electric baseboard heaters throughout the house. Each room had its own thermostat. The baseboard heater in my bathroom was only about 18" long and I kept it thinking maybe someday I would experiment with it using it as a heat source for a homemade incubator. The heat settings on the thermostat go up to 110 degrees.
Here is the question: In your opinion would this system work as a heat source for an incubator and if so, what size would you suggest I build the incubator? I could mount the thermostat outside of the incubator as, and I think I'm correct about this type of thermostat, when you set it for a certain temp. it stays constant and does not turn the heat source off when it reaches the temp it is set for. It may not be called a thermostat at all. It could be called simply a heat control device. If I am correct about this unit and the heat source does not shut off, would the temp. in an enclosed area, such as an incubator, continue to just keep climbing upward or would the temp. stay the same when it reaches the temp. it is set for?

Your input on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and again, I apologize if I offended you by my statements.

Tim (mrgreenjeans53)

 

[wattsjadajoe]

Okay, I missed the part about it being a water heater thermostat. I thought we were talking about an ambient heat thermostat. I am sorry and I hope I didn't offend you.

I have a few questions for you though.......When I bought my house it had electric baseboard heaters throughout the house. Each room had its own thermostat. The baseboard heater in my bathroom was only about 18" long and I kept it thinking maybe someday I would experiment with it using it as a heat source for a homemade incubator. The heat settings on the thermostat go up to 110 degrees.
Here is the question: In your opinion would this system work as a heat source for an incubator and if so, what size would you suggest I build the incubator? I could mount the thermostat outside of the incubator as, and I think I'm correct about this type of thermostat, when you set it for a certain temp. it stays constant and does not turn the heat source off when it reaches the temp it is set for. It may not be called a thermostat at all. It could be called simply a heat control device. If I am correct about this unit and the heat source does not shut off, would the temp. in an enclosed area, such as an incubator, continue to just keep climbing upward or would the temp. stay the same when it reaches the temp. it is set for?

Your input on the above would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and again, I apologize if I offended you by my statements.

Tim (mrgreenjeans53)

Thermostats are thermostats. The difference between them is the dead-band. This is the 1-20 deg range from the time the thermostat turns off to the time it turns back on. The closer you can get this dead-band to a zero the better. So any thermostat will work, some will just work better. thus the reason for drilling holes in the water heater type. this allows the temp to activate the setting quicker. Check whatever thermostat you get for the dead-band, then try to tweek it by placing the sensing device closer or farther from the heat source. The happy medium is the best.
When I made my cooler-bator, I first had a 5 deg dead-band in the water heater thermostat, after drilling and relocating, I managed to get the dead-band down to 1.5 deg!

Joe