Need opinions about a older cabinet incubator and price to pay!

[asher]

Yes

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
the price is right.. You might want to make the trays turn auto after awhile.. Or when you get another bator, use this one for a hatcher..

the light bulb should be replaceable.. just have to have the same type of base, .. take it along and match it up.. if you cannot find one, go directly to a gqf supplier online..

I question the 18doz capacity with only 2 trays.. that is no big deal, though.. I have been wrong before..

 

[asher]

Thanks and yeah, I don't think it'll hold 18 dozen, either unless you incubate in all the trays instead of hatching in the bottom.

My dad is very handy so am hoping he can rig up an auto turner for me in the future. For now, it'll be a job for the kids to help me with.

 

[asher]

I never did share pictures and remembered last night when I took them to show someone else.

Pardon post hatching mess and the middle tray being on the bottom. I had too many to hatch at once so had to move one of the turning trays to the bottom where there isn't really supposed to be one.

 

[jvls1942]

thanks for the photo update..

I have a therm/hum just like yours, Springfield. first hum that I found that seemed to be accurate.

apparently you hatched eggs already.. how bad was it to turn the eggs semi-auto?

did you have a good hatch? the bator worked good?

I did not see where the handle was to turn the trays..

did you use egg cartons in the turning trays?? would you do that again? I am planning on trying cartons in my "new/used" sportsman.. it is a 3 rack auto turner, with no space on the bottom for a hatching tray..

..jiminwisc.......

 

[asher]

It wasn't bad to auto turn. I forgot a few times. The kids enjoy doing it, though, too so when I work on days when they are home, they are more than thrilled to do it for me. The crank is on the very top back of the incubator. I don't thik I got a good picture of it.

Hatch rate is hard b/c a friend gave me a bunch of eggs and I didn't candle or couldn't candle all of them to see if they were growing b/c they were quite a bit darker. I will say I ended up with 4 1/2 dozen (I think) of hers in the hatching tray and 42 hatched. Again, I don't know how many of the others were not growing.

I had some from ours hatching out at the same time and 13 out of 14 hatched which I was very happy about.

I did use egg cartons in the turning trays simply because I didn't go purchase the "real" thing, yet. hehe I'd bought some last time I had a sportsman and stupidly gave them away. Didn't really want to spend that this time if egg cartons would work just as well and they definitely worked fine for it. No problems at all that I could tell. I've set some more eggs last night and will be doing the same again. Just cannot see spending $ on the hard plastic ones if I don't *need* to.

 

[jvls1942]

thanks for the quick reply..

sounds like you had a fairly good hatch.. good enough to tell whether the bator works, anyhow..

I can visualize your turner crank etc.. I think someone (dad) could update it to work with a motor and timer.. I am guessing it has an acme thread..(like on a bench vice)...

I would continue using the egg cartons , also.. I have a pile of tose plastic holders, but I am not too thrlled with one particular style. they sag.. maybe they were meant to be used in a tray, but the bator they came with has no trays.

did you cut any of the bottoms out of the cartons or use them as the were? I am going to use the styrofoam ones..

this might be a good year to hatch and sell.. I am getting calls aleady.

.........jiminwisc.......

 

[asher]

Yes, hopefully long term my dad can make it automated.

Some of the cartons had the bottoms cut out and some didn't. I had meant to cut them all out, but forgot. I honestly didn't notice a difference, though so I guess it proved to be a good test.