Question about incubator temperature swings.

[smileygreen64]

My title isn't very descriptive. I didn't know how to word it in just a few words. I have an old discontinued gqf cabinet incubator. 1200 series if I remember correctly. I have it in my garage, which is not insulated or heated. I have hatched one batch successfully and have my second batch in now and they are doing good as of day 14 candle. The dilemma is that I get temperature drops in the night when the outside temperature drops. This morning it was 97. I don't think that is killing anything but I was thinking it might be delaying my hatches. I was thinking about building a box big enough to put my incubator and seperate hatcher inside that I could insulate. I can't insulate my whole garage for a two degree temperature drop in my incubator. I think the incubator will give off enough warmth in a smaller area to regulate the temperature better but I am concerned about the ventilation with this idea. If I make my vent holes too large then it defeats the purpose but too small and I don't get enough oxygen.

Has anyone done anything like this or do you have any advice? Or I might just be over thinking and I should leave it alone. Thanks for any advice or ideas.

 

[ChickenGoesRuff]

I've known some people to use styrofoam boards and duct tape to create a box around the incubator, or even use a few layers of cardboard. Just make sure that there is air escaping so heat doesn't build up and make a possible issue (of fluctuation) into a definite hazard. One design I've seen that seemed to work well was four walls, with a roof that was angled like a house. They used bamboo kebab skewers to secure the "roof" and used temperature readings as trial and error for the pitch of the roof (and how much space on the two ends are open to allow air escape. They also used duct tape to cover areas of the vents, and the kebab skewers allowed for somewhat easy removal of the roof for access.)