Just about ready to give up on my homemade forced air bator. Fixed it!

Barred Rocker

cracked egg
10 Years
Jul 15, 2009
790
36
189
King and Queen Co, Va
I've built several still air incubators with limited success, usually 30 to 50% hatch rates. I've always heard that forced air bators are superior because they're supposed to distribute the heated air evenly. Well, I'm on my second prototype and I always have at least a 2 degree difference from one corner to another. Also it's very difficult to get the humidity up adequately with all the air movement. I don't have a picture just yet but it's a cabinet style with three 60 watt bulbs as a heating source and an actual incubator fan in a separate compartment. The fan blows the heated air through a diffusing vent (so it doesn't blow directly on the eggs). The bator is well insulated, I can understand a slight temp increase near the vent but it's actually hotter in the opposing corner
hu.gif
. I have a water heater thermostat that keeps the temp constant but doesn't help the variation in different areas. The biggest obstacle is getting the humidity up. I've tried everything, a pie plate with water and sponges in the bottom, wet sponges near the top but it won't go any higher than 25%. Anybody have any secrets before I trash my second attempt
 
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Not intending to bump my own post but I managed to solve my problem. By simply moving the fan back 2 or 3 inches and placing a container with water and sponges in front of it I managed to get the temperature more leveled and most important the humidity increased to 40%. Still a degree difference in one corner but I can live with it. Amazing how a simple adjustment can make all the difference in the world.
 

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