Thermostat placement....

[chrispbrown27]

Ok, so I am in the process of building my own incubator and today I was thinking about the placement of the thermostat. Based on the fact that heat rises, wouldn't it make more sense to put your heat source at the bottom of the incubator so that it will naturally rise toward the eggs above. Then placing your thermostat in the center at the same level as the eggs should give you the correct reading for the temp your eggs are actually in. I could also see using a convection set up where the heat sources is set to one side and vents are opened on the top over the eggs or on the opposite side and in theory when the heat rises and makes its way across the incubator it hits the falling cool air coming in through the vents and is pulled down also, therefore circulating the warm air throughout the incubator. I understand that this is the idea with thermal incubators, but the heat sources are generally placed in the top (LG, Hova, and Farm Innovators).....this just doesn't make sense to me. Am I over thinking this?
Chris

 

[gimmie birdies]

yes I make my own bators and put the heat at the bottom, eggs above, and the thermometor goes on top of the eggs.

 

[naightengale]

we make our own bators too and yes we place the heat on the bottom with a fan to cycle the air and the thermostat is right at egg level equal space from the heat sources. ( i use 2 lights for heat one on either end.)

this is my set up on my stage 1 junkubator..(day0-18) have a seperate one for 18-hatch)

 

[chrispbrown27]

Ok good I am thinking along the right lines. What I am thinking of doing is putting the bulbs in the bottom as low as I can and then putting hardware cloth mid way up all the way across. Then the thermostat will come through the lid and will hang low enough that it is on the same level as the eggs. This way the heat rising up through the eggs will hit the thermostat and the eggs and give me a true reading on the temp and regulate it better. I am considering try just thermal for starters and then deciding if a fan will change things much (trying it out without eggs...just checking temp and of course humidity) .

this is the general layout I have in mind. I am not sure if the heat sources will be more centered or to the sides. I guess I could probably put three heat sources in there but that might be overkill and cause it too get too hot. On the opposite side of that the heat sources are on will be vent holes for (hopefully) a convection effect with the heating. At this point I am not considering a turner either homemade or commercial but that may change.
Chris

 

[naightengale]

Ok good I am thinking along the right lines. What I am thinking of doing is putting the bulbs in the bottom as low as I can and then putting hardware cloth mid way up all the way across. Then the thermostat will come through the lid and will hang low enough that it is on the same level as the eggs. This way the heat rising up through the eggs will hit the thermostat and the eggs and give me a true reading on the temp and regulate it better. I am considering try just thermal for starters and then deciding if a fan will change things much (trying it out without eggs...just checking temp and of course humidity) .

this is the general layout I have in mind. I am not sure if the heat sources will be more centered or to the sides. I guess I could probably put three heat sources in there but that might be overkill and cause it too get too hot. On the opposite side of that the heat sources are on will be vent holes for (hopefully) a confection effect with the heating. At this point I am not considering a turner either homemade or commercial but that may change.
Chris

i found that without fans you get hot spots, i would advise at least one . vent holes alone wont create a convection effect. with my two fans if you add saw dust to the bottom (how i tested air flow) it will actually create eddys. and everything is constant through out.

my bator also has vent holes two above the right side light and fan and two below the left side light and fan. but ive found that the hole for the water feeder and the hole to adjust the thermostat and just one vent open keeps things just right...i just need a more a sensitive thermostat.if i wish to stay at 99.5 this one has a 5 deg range on it so ive got it at a max temp of 100 and it will have cool cycles down to 95 but is only at 95 for a few moments before it starts going back up.. and through reserch ive found out this is actually a good thing and simulates the hen getting up to turn the eggs..or go get water..
so far i am on day 10 and have 41 live bouncing babies (just did say 10 candle.) stared with 48 eggs culled several infertiles at day 5 and tonight. so as for fertile eggs so far so good.

 

[gimmie birdies]

still air like min they say 102 i keep mine just below that. chicks hatch just fine for me.

 

[chrispbrown27]

I am thinking that with the three bulb set-up I could possibly eliminate cold spots and keep the heat fairly uniform across the entire incubator. If it is too hot I can always step down the wattage on the bulbs I use. The cooler I am using is fairly large 13 inches wide by 22 inches long inside diameter, so I think that the three bulbs will work out best for total heat coverage. I have no plans to incubate eggs for a while now, so I will have plenty of time to play with it and see what holds the temp the best.
Chris

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have mine down to a science now and go off instincts. but mostly I have been hatching out of the same box
but the wood one(post #2) above is my latest experiment...

 

[chrispbrown27]

how does that cardboard hold in the heat?

 

[naightengale]

how does that cardboard hold in the heat?

it actually works really well its what my first try at a diy bator was too it held heat and humity very well. and actually ony got redone into a wooden box because in a week my 8 eggs to hatch turned into 50... and i needed a bigger one.