Random thoughts on building incubators

[tazcat70]

I use a PC fan to circulate air.

How did you wire in your cpu fan?

Tonya​

 

[arlee453]

For the PC fan - raid one out of a defunct PC.

Raid your kids toy box for an DC adapter/converter. You want one that says:

Input: 120 V AC
Output: 12 V DC

Then cut off the plug for that adapter and wire one wire to the red and the other to the black wire coming from your fan.

I used small wire nuts and electrical tape to secure the connections.

Plug in the adapter. If it comes on you're good. If it doesn't you have the wires run backward. Re-wire it with the red wire going to the OTHER wire, and vice versa.

Voila - that's it!

 

[LoneCowboy]

I actually have a dehydrator that I can turn way down. I thought about using that, but then thought that the humidity would be really hard to control since it vents all over the place.

Lots of good ideas going here. I figure after I build one and get it to finally work, then I can start thinking about improving on the idea. I just don't know enough yet to play with too much of it.

 

[tazcat70]

Thanks Susan!

 

[arlee453]

For the dehydrator... could you put tape over the holes in it? Depends on what kind of material it's made out of, but duct tape sticks pretty much to anything.

You could start by covering maybe 3/4 of the holes and then cover more as needed to get the humidity up to 50%. Then cover more as you get closer to hatch to raise it up for hatching...

Post a pic of the dehydrator if you can and maybe that would help get more ideas on converting it.

 

[eggonomist]

My next idea would be a circular incubator about 10-12 inches deep. I am thinking a converted record turntable that the eggs lie on, a disc with egg shaped slots that sits midline with the eggs on the mat so when you turn the turntable the eggs and the disc stay in the same spot and turn on the mat. You can make a lever from the turntable to outside so you don't have to open the incubator and . When day 18 rolls around you just remove the disc like you would remove a record and let them hatch onto the rubber mat, easy to clean and as it's round like the dehydrator element it would get even heat distribution. If I can't find an old turntable (an old record player would have a rubber mat AND a clear lid) I may look for/make a 'lazy susan'
However that will be for the next design, i'm still trying to find chickens at the moment.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
A lot of the round ones use a turning system like that with just a spoked wheel, like in the picture below. The old galvanized Brower incubators used a spoked wheel. They had a kit that converted their incubators with the spokes running on a shaft out the bottom. The shaft was either connected to a 1/480 RPM motor or a manual turning lever. The eggs rolled on 1/4" hardware cloth.