Learning that home made incubators isn't as easy as I thought

chickintexas

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I have been working on making a homemade incubator on and off for the last 3 weeks. This honestly sucks! What works for one person does not work for another. I've been documenting every little detail just in case I decide to pass along what I've learned. But I'm not sure if what I'm working with will help others. It's so frustrating. The position of the fan changes everything. The position of the thermostat changes everything. The wattage of the bulb makes a super huge difference!
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There are so many variables! So far, as it stands...I've got my thermostat as close as possible to my 60 watt light which is located on the top of my incubator. In this case, I've had much closer temp swings by 3 degrees. Beforehand, I had temp swings of 10 degrees when I had my thermostat on the side. Fan is on the side pointing towards the opposite side where the exit vent is located. This incubator is going to be my hatcher. I have zero confidence in it as far as being an actual incubator. I figure that as long as it can keep the temp in the general area that I need it to be then all should be fine. I don't have an issue with it getting to the necessary humidity. Major Kudos to those that have figured out how to keep a steady temp of 99.5 in the homemade jobs.
 
We have built 2 homemade styrofoam incubators so far and the first one has worked great. (The second one works well but has an off, plasticy?? odor to it, so we're still try to de-bug that one.) They both had temperature swings, but I use a homemade water wiggler in them and the swing are only a few degrees inside the wiggler whereas they are quite variable on the open air thermometer. We have had good hatches using the wiggler, which I feel is more acturate as it more closely represents the internal temperature of the egg and not the air inside the bator which flucautes more.
 
Yah with mine I had to move the fan, and build a barrier between the bulb and the eggs, otherwise my temps were very different depending on where you put the thermometer. But after you tinker a while, I have to say, building your own incubator and having it be successful gives you a ton of pride!
 
Honestly, that's what I was thinking, too. As long as my temp does not go above 100, I should be fine. A water wiggler (or a representation of one) should remain a steady temp of no more the the highest temp recorded. That's what my last tests told me, anyways.
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I've been recording not only the temps but also the time it takes for the thermostat to kick on/off. I'm pretty picky about some things
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Yah, I went with a Digital thermostat that can be set to come on to one tenth of a degree change. I have it set to four tenths of a degree, and have very stable temps.
 
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Yah, I went with a Digital thermostat that can be set to come on to one tenth of a degree change. I have it set to four tenths of a degree, and have very stable temps.

Okay, Lady! What digital thermostat are you talking about because I may be going out tomorrow to get me one! I'm planning on this homemade bator to be my hatcher. I have somehow become addicted to the whole hatching thing and I only have a week and a half to figure this crap out. I've got staggered hatchers in my Little Giant atm.
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Yah, I went with a Digital thermostat that can be set to come on to one tenth of a degree change. I have it set to four tenths of a degree, and have very stable temps.

Okay, Lady! What digital thermostat are you talking about because I may be going out tomorrow to get me one! I'm planning on this homemade bator to be my hatcher. I have somehow become addicted to the whole hatching thing and I only have a week and a half to figure this crap out. I've got staggered hatchers in my Little Giant atm.
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I could only find it on ebay, but there are a ton of them on there. http://cgi.ebay.com/Mini-Digital-Temperature-Controller-Thermostat-Aquarium-/280501660386?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414f33aae2

It's
$30 including shipping, but worth it, I loved mine soo much I bought a second a week later for my home made hatcher
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Oh and just a warning it's in Celsius, so you have to covert the Fahrenheit temp you want to Celsius.
 
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Oh, dam. So you're telling me I've got to do some math? Ugh! LOL!

LOL, I cheated and google searched Celsius to Fahrenheit, and it converted it for me.
 

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