kelseym330
In the Brooder
- Apr 8, 2024
- 2
- 1
- 11
So I'm annoyed with the clutter of incubators that I have laying around the basement and have decided to build an incubator of my own. A friend of mine does a lot of wood working and he constructed something (not sure of original purpose) that i feel might make a mighty fine & large cabinet like incubator.
Description: wood frame that pieces together like a puzzle, plexiglass windows on all 4 sides, solid top & base with 4 wooden legs. There is a door that opens upwards (plexiglass window as well)
Dimensions: 4' Tall 4.5' Long and 3' Wide *approximately
THE PLAN:
1. insulation & heat regulation: foam board insulation on 3 of the 4 sides, leaving the window on the cabinet door open for visibility. I will add in a fake wall on each side wall and install a small fan for air circulation. I will use a probe style thermometer/hygrometer (possibly 2 due to the size of the cabinet and amount of eggs I place to ensure proper regulation) I will add some sort of flexible tubing and a locking style latch to help with insulation.
2. egg placement and turning: Ideally I would like to place 2 shelves inside of the cabinet that I can set egg turners on (i currently have 4 roller style and 1 little giant style tray turner) I may only do 1 shelf to start off with and use 1 of each style turner to see which one works out best. I plan to drill thru the back portion of the cabinet to run wiring thru and have all electronics in 1 central location and seal off the hole with putty temporarily to see how this all performs - if all goes as planned I will just use a high temp waterproof silicone sealant to fill in the hole from the wiring.
3. humidity control: in the base of the cabinet would be heavy duty plastic lining or a tray of sorts that water can easily be added into and a grate over top for hatching (possibly make it a pull out drawer for easy cleaning?) i think that with 2 fans circulating heat that would be efficient, unless adding 2-3 little donut humidifiers would be better?
4. hatching: As far as hatching and brooding goes, I plan to make the shelves easily removable and have a lip over the water reservoir base so that I can place a grate over top for hatching eggs.
My Questions:
Description: wood frame that pieces together like a puzzle, plexiglass windows on all 4 sides, solid top & base with 4 wooden legs. There is a door that opens upwards (plexiglass window as well)
Dimensions: 4' Tall 4.5' Long and 3' Wide *approximately
THE PLAN:
1. insulation & heat regulation: foam board insulation on 3 of the 4 sides, leaving the window on the cabinet door open for visibility. I will add in a fake wall on each side wall and install a small fan for air circulation. I will use a probe style thermometer/hygrometer (possibly 2 due to the size of the cabinet and amount of eggs I place to ensure proper regulation) I will add some sort of flexible tubing and a locking style latch to help with insulation.
2. egg placement and turning: Ideally I would like to place 2 shelves inside of the cabinet that I can set egg turners on (i currently have 4 roller style and 1 little giant style tray turner) I may only do 1 shelf to start off with and use 1 of each style turner to see which one works out best. I plan to drill thru the back portion of the cabinet to run wiring thru and have all electronics in 1 central location and seal off the hole with putty temporarily to see how this all performs - if all goes as planned I will just use a high temp waterproof silicone sealant to fill in the hole from the wiring.
3. humidity control: in the base of the cabinet would be heavy duty plastic lining or a tray of sorts that water can easily be added into and a grate over top for hatching (possibly make it a pull out drawer for easy cleaning?) i think that with 2 fans circulating heat that would be efficient, unless adding 2-3 little donut humidifiers would be better?
4. hatching: As far as hatching and brooding goes, I plan to make the shelves easily removable and have a lip over the water reservoir base so that I can place a grate over top for hatching eggs.
My Questions:
- Do I dissect 1-2 of my existing incubators and rob them of their thermostat which is already wired up?
- Do I go the route of using a heat lamp bulb that is not temperature controlled and requires frequent attention? And if using the heat lamp method, should I go with a timer that would shut itself off every other hour so I don't cook my eggs?
- OR should I purchase a 110ac thermostat with settings? (I am no electrician or wiring specialist, but I feel like if I can install a car radio unit I can manage a thermostat right?)
- Does anyone know of a 110 thermostat that has settings and will alarm if it drops below my set temperature?
