New Incubator Design

[twigg]

Following the success of my last venture I am thinking about building another incubator.

The basic idea is to elevate the incubator from a mundane appliance to a piece of furniture.

I was considering an oak cabinet as the basis.

What kind of features would you like to see in such a machine? What would you consider essential, and what could you manage without?

How much would you pay for something like this if it appeared in a local store?

We might be able to design an ideal incubator for the small-flock owner/hobbiest .... and if we can I'll build it, and keep y'all informed along the way

Steve

 

[MissPrissy]

I made one out of an end table that has a flip top. Can't even tell it is anything but a side table!

 

[twigg]

Gotta pic, Miss P?

Guy at the local fleamarket has an *old wooden incubator*. He has no idea what it is but he is bringing it in this Saturday.

I already bout a new Hovabator with turner off him for $45, so I have my fingers crossed that it's one of the very old *coffee-table* types that I can restore and upgrade.

Be nice to have one of those working.

 

[conny63malies]

good choice of heat control. I use this one in my reptile room to control my heatmats. Have you given thought of using a helix proportional thermostat? Its not a on of type of thingy. It controls how much power is used to heat and holds much more even temp. I use it in the reptile fridgeobator.

 

[MissPrissy]

I can't find my other photos right now. Sorry this one is blurry. It is an old end table with a flip top.

 

[twigg]

Quote:
I was thinking of a PID process controller. They can be bought for about $50, and can run in 3 modes. Either simple on/off thermostat, proportional burst mode, or a third mode which is proportional, but also allows for variations in ambient temperature when deciding how much heat loss to replace.

That third mode isn't strictly necessary for an incubator .... but would help enormously if ppl want to incubate in sheds or barns.

Nice pic, btw .... that's what I was looking for. I'd quite like to find one that is complete and ripe for a little judicious upgrading