Installing a fan - does the rpm matter?

[fatcatx]

Hi - we're thinking about installing a fan in our styrofoam still air. From looking at the threads, a 80mm pc fan appears to be the right size but does the rpm or the cubic feet moved matter? Some have an rpm of 1200-1500 and others up to 3000. I assume the 1200 would be more desirable in such a small space?

Any guidance appreciated!!

 

[1655ot]

I have a 120mm fan in my cabinet incubator blowing straight down.I inadvertently used a 9v charger to power it and still got 70% hatch. I thought I could do better so I repowered it with a 12v and had shrink wrapped chicks and less than 50% hatch . I'm just saying if you have it blowing directly on the eggs I'd make sure my humidity is like 70%+and not blowing so hard

 

[1655ot]

that you're drying them out. By the way my humidity was 65%.Hope this helps.

 

[fatcatx]

Since mine is not a cabinet it would be right above the eggs. Is humidity harder to keep up with a fan?

 

[Daedalus62]

Hi fatcatx,

The general idea of the fan is (just) to keep an even temperature in all the areas of the incubator... Read upper and lower areas, corners, etc... So, you don't need much air displacement in a small incubator... I believe the 1200-1500rpm (are these the more common ones?) is more than enough.

You can see my DIY foam bator (link below in my signature), for one more example... It's an 80mm, blowing up (not at the eggs), honestly don't know the rpm's, running on 10V (the repurposed transformer I had at hand)... I've had 100% successful hatches (on fertile eggs) with it.

In my experience, it's easier to keep a stable temperature and humidity with a fan... And faster to reach the desired levels after you open the incubator, for example.

Cheers

 

[fatcatx]

The general idea of the fan is (just) to keep an even temperature in all the areas of the incubator... Read upper and lower areas, corners, etc... So, you don't need much air displacement in a small incubator... I believe the 1200-1500rpm (are these the more common ones?) is more than enough.

You can see my DIY foam bator (link below in my signature), for one more example... It's an 80mm, blowing up (not at the eggs), honestly don't know the rpm's, running on 10V (the repurposed transformer I had at hand)... I've had 100% successful hatches (on fertile eggs) with it.

In my experience, it's easier to keep a stable temperature and humidity with a fan... And faster to reach the desired levels after you open the incubator, for example.

Yes, the 1200-1500 are generally the cheaper more common ones. I figured the fan would give me one less thing to worry about and I wouldn't have to spend so much time shifting eggs around at turning time to compensate for the hot/cold spots.

The stable humidity part has me sold! I would not have guessed a fan would make that part easier. What humidity are you using for incubation and lockdown?

Today I saw an adjustable pc fan that can go as low as 900 rpm so I'm thinking of spending a little extra $$ just for the flexibility. Great links BTW! Love the DIY incubator - yet another great use for duck tape!

 

[Daedalus62]

Hi fatcatx,

Thanks!!

Yes, my fan must be one of those more common (cheap) ones, it was salvaged from an old scrap PC.

I'm incubating at 50% humidity, 70% on lockdown... The method I use (saw it here on BYC, somewhere)... I replaced those plastic boxes you see on my pictures, with a couple of ice cube trays... I can pretty much keep the humidity percentage I'm aiming at, by filling or emptying ice cube rows with water... Adjust initially (depending on outside weather, amount of eggs, etc) and just keep the same rows full for the entire process... Works pretty well, within a max. 2% deviation... On lockdown, filling all the rows gets me to 70/75%

Yes, it really helps keep things very stable... And usually just takes a couple of minutes to reach the desired levels, after you opened the incubator.

Nice hatches!!

Cheers