My First Home-Made Incubator!

[NoVA Chicks]

Following instructions on another thread, I made an incubator today out of an old Coleman electric cooler. I'm just way too proud of myself.

Really, though, it was pretty simple. The worst part was drilling through the cooler. The inside is like styrofoam and the little pieces cling to everything. I had the cooler, which comes with a fan and heating element. I cannibalized an aquarium heater for the thermostat. I was trying to find one or something similar but got impatient and just went out and bought one for $20.

So far it's working great and I just need to get the temp stabilized and it will be ready to go. I'm getting eggs Thursday or Friday. I've had some spectacularly unsuccessful hatches with my Little Giant so I'm really excited to see if I do better with this one.

 

[dinahmoe]

i find that when i make something myself,i understand better how it should work.good luck!

 

[PandoraTaylor]

good luck....post pics!

 

[Jess N Jeff]

Pictures pictures pictures!!!! congrats on your new incubator. Hope it hatches you lots of chickies.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Cool! Good luck on your next hatch.

 

[10 Mile Zoo]

I just picked up a Coleman electric cooler myself. I would like to see pics. And what temp does yours hold at?

 

[starling]

I have seen others on BYC that have cannabalized an aquarium heater. I just built my incubator this weekend and am waiting for it to stabalize before setting eggs. My husband suggested the aquarium heater but we did not modify it. We put it in a stainless steel container that holds about a gallon(like something they would use in a commercial kitchen). We set the temp for right aroundd 99-100 degrees. I also have a 40 watt bulb and a PC fan.

 

[NoVA Chicks]

I'm having a hard time getting the temperature set. I'm going to redo the wiring and see if I can fix the problem. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[NoVA Chicks]

Here's the thread I followed to make this incubator:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=222189

The part I screwed up the first time was in the wiring. I missed the second loop to the fan directly from the power source. The fan should run continuously and not be controlled by the thermostat.

 

[10 Mile Zoo]

Quote:
Have you had any luck?