I've been thinking of a way to automatically turn quail eggs.
I saw a documentary about the Katrina aftermath and it involved lifting grounded barges with air bags. I thought a miniature system like this might work for a relatively cheap seesaw egg turner.
If you have two 110v lamp timers and two cheap garage sale aquarium air pumps then you could attach an airbag under each end of an egg tray and alternately lift each end of the tray every 6 hours. The low air volume of an aquarium pump should be slow enough to inflate an airbag without throwing the eggs around. Route the hoses through the side of the incubator and set the timers alternately for a 6 hour cycle, staggering for deflation time. Turn the timers off to get the egg rack back to level for lockdown.
I think this system should be able to lift quail eggs, it might even be strong enough to lift larger eggs. There aren't many moving parts either. Airbag size could be customized using vacuum sealer bags, which are pretty stout. Needle valves added to slow inflation or increase deflation rate if necessary.
Just thought I'd share the concept. I've seen many other home brew ideas here but not many for auto turners. I call the design the Chesterfield Pneumatic Egg Turner.
LOL
You might also use the same timers and pumps to actuate small air rams to move a traditional turner or as an alternative lift mechanism.
I saw a documentary about the Katrina aftermath and it involved lifting grounded barges with air bags. I thought a miniature system like this might work for a relatively cheap seesaw egg turner.
If you have two 110v lamp timers and two cheap garage sale aquarium air pumps then you could attach an airbag under each end of an egg tray and alternately lift each end of the tray every 6 hours. The low air volume of an aquarium pump should be slow enough to inflate an airbag without throwing the eggs around. Route the hoses through the side of the incubator and set the timers alternately for a 6 hour cycle, staggering for deflation time. Turn the timers off to get the egg rack back to level for lockdown.
I think this system should be able to lift quail eggs, it might even be strong enough to lift larger eggs. There aren't many moving parts either. Airbag size could be customized using vacuum sealer bags, which are pretty stout. Needle valves added to slow inflation or increase deflation rate if necessary.
Just thought I'd share the concept. I've seen many other home brew ideas here but not many for auto turners. I call the design the Chesterfield Pneumatic Egg Turner.
You might also use the same timers and pumps to actuate small air rams to move a traditional turner or as an alternative lift mechanism.
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