Power Out!!!

[Sage874]

Wow, thanks for the info! I sweated my hatch time because we too can lose power sometimes. I will have my fire pit ready and waiting under the porch just in case so I can boil water.
What did you put the water in before wrapping it? A zip lock? the water didn't melt it?
SO smart!

 

[reeder75]

Ya just a ziplock freezer bag! I also put hot water in some water bottles, put them on a sock and put it in with some newley hatched chicks to keep them warm too!

 

[princewahaj]

Dear reeder75, Thank you for helping me, and sparing a lot of your precious time to me because you took a picture of your hovabator, really appreciate it and thank you again, i will post in here again when i need more help.

Good Luck with your hatches.

 

[reeder75]

Eggs started hatching! A little early but so far so good!! One chick, one duck, and one turkey so far and more on the way!

 

[eggsellentfarms]

Thanks for the tips. We just had a snow storm followed by an ice storm. We had multiple power outages followed by a day and a half outage. Each time the power went out I would go out and start up the generator, but that is noisy, uses a lot of gas, and wouldn't be necessary otherwise. I had 3 eggs ready to hatch, actually hatched during power outage, and more in the incubator for following weeks. I also had week old chicks in the brooder, we could have just brought them in next to the wood stove though.

I'd like to avoid the constant generator next time this happens. Has anyone tried a power inverter hooked up to a car battery? I've got a 400 watt inverter and a 2 amp trickle charger, but no extra battery. I was thinking next time we get a storm if I got a battery I could plug the incubators into the inverter, the inverter into the battery, the battery into the trickle charger, and the charger into the wall or extension cord when power is out. Has anyone successfully done something similar? I figure this setup should last for days as long as I plug it into the generator whenever it is on to run freezers. And for short or intermittent outages the battery should be sufficient.

 

[sumi]

We've used a similar set-up for lights in our house when we went through a series of power-outs. It worked very well, but I'd recommend you use a deep cycle battery. One you'd use for camping trips, for example. They are designed to handle the irregular charge/drain better and will last longer. They are pricey, but they worked well for us.