My first attempt at building a bator

[walkswithdog]

You are doing fine. GFCI is overkill, and makes wiring a pain in the.

You'll want a thermostat or rheostat.

Really simple is this thing... http://www.bigappleherp.com/Rheostats it's 21 bucks. You can find them cheaper if you shop around eventually. You put the rheostat's probe in the incubator and plug the lightbulb into the Rheostat. It will cycle the bulb on and off to control the temp. Simple. And it works well. Just find the right spot for your temps and leave it alone.

A water heater, lower thermostat (single pole) also works, it's only about 8 bucks, takes some more wiring and rather more tinkering. And you sound a bit frustrated already

If you go with the water heater thermostat, you need to mount it close to your heat source, so that it cycles quickly enough. Don't permanently mount it til you figure out where your temps are most stable.

A wafer thermostat from the incubator manufacturers will run you about 30 with mounting hardware, and the snap ones (electric) will run more like 40. Give or take.

So you end up with a lot of choices. But going without will drive you nuts. So you have to pick something. Or you'll just be back because something went awry and your bator cooked your eggs.

Luck and hang in there. And I love the fan, I did that too.

 

[thumbless]

I am using a lower hot water thermostat got that all wired up last night, by the way it only took me about an hour to put this togeather.

I think I have this dialed in now the light kicks off at 98 the temp will rise to 99 after 20-30 seconds and kicks back on around 97. The humidity runs 50% with the light on, when it kicks off it drops to 47 but recovers just as soon as the light comes on.

I asked my wife to go by a friends house to pick up two eggs so I could try this out, I sould of asked for one egg cause I got 10 two of which are duck eggs, may just eat the duck eggs.

 

[skywatcher]

I think that is a lamp socket your using that has carboard in it & will draw moisture & short out. I can sleep at night knowing my incubator won't burn the house down,just buy a plug in type GFIC then cut off a grounded 3 wire exstention cord,wire the green ground wire to fans metal housing & the ground post found on outdoor lights easy,if you need help pm me,I am here for you pulling.

 

[walkswithdog]

You're looking for a steady spot right around 99.5-100, air temp is going to vary outside that but that should be your middle. Duck and chicken eggs together is harder. They take different hatch periods and require different humidities. Can be done but it's trickier.

Yeah. My favorite thing about building incubators is how quickly they come together. It's a neat feeling. Best of luck.

 

[M To The Maxx]

Looks great!!!!

 

[Rebel Rooster]

Great job on your first bator my friend... Walkswithdog gives good advise! Sounds like he's been down this road a lot (Just like me)... I have 3 bators running right now with (basically) the same design...
This is how I set up my thermostate:

 

[cbiblis]

I wanted to add one more to walkswithdog's suggestion. An electronic thermostat. These are the absolute best if you get the right one. dickey incubator sells one for 60 bucks. it will regulate the temp with in 1-2 degrees. There are others out there that will regulate at 1/10 degrees, as a matter of fact i just finished designing one and built 10 for the chicken swap this weekend. I see you live farther away so try the reo approach for now and if you want to upgrade for better hatch rates check back after a week or two and search for best electronic thermostat then buy that one.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
Rheostats do not cycle on an off to regulate heat. Rheostats are dimmer switches, nothing more. That product you pointed to has no probe an is just a dimmer switch on a drop cord. Only thermostats do what you are describing.

The thermostat was shown in pic 9 anyway.

 

[TNBluebird]

I think you are doing a great job! You used the same ice chest that I did. Here is a link to see pics.
http://www.ste.rcs.k12.tn.us/TEACHERS/brackenj/Web/Web/class_3.html

We are hatching these in my classroom. My first time. So far everything seems ok. We are on day 14. It holds the temp. at 99. I used a water heater thermostat wired to a 40 watt light bulb and the same fan as you. I'm really impressed so far at how consistent the temp. is. I was worried about that. I use a 2 X 4 on its edge to "turn" them. I just place it under the ice chest on one end which makes it tilt. So far it is working.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

Quote:
I have to say I agree with this. A lot of homes are already GFCI equipped. This means that all you need to do to your wiring is to use a polarized cord with a ground. Wire the incubator as you normally would(neutral to large spade, hot to small spade and ground to center round), then bond the metal parts and connect them to the ground wire on the cord. It may take you 5-10 minutes extra time. If your home isn't GFCI equipped, you can buy a short cord with the GFCI receptacle built into it to go between the incubator and the home receptacle. Also make sure that what ever means that you use to control your temp., the switch goes on the hot side, not the neutral side of the circuit. Electricity can and will kill or burn your house to the ground. I'm not being paranoid at all, however I'm not going to risk the safety of my family or my home to save a couple of bucks and 10 minutes. IMHO Yes, my wine chiller/incubator is bonded/grounded and plugged into a GFCI receptacle.

Have fun, but do it safely.

Marty