Which way does incubator fan face - towards the eggs or the wall?

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I made a homemade incubator and currently have the fan in the corner facing the eggs (they're 4 days along now).
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=19548-homemade-incubator
I didn't think the fan would work as well blowing towards the walls/corner, but now I'm wondering if the fan will dry out the eggs if it's blowing towards them? Which way should it go and why?

 

[BirdBrain]

I think your setup looks okay. I put my fan to blow across my heat source. My fan and heat source are on the opposite side of my thermostat. One thing you can do to help the uniformity of your hatch is to rotate those trays so each tray is in the same position only every third day. That way if there are cooler spots every egg will have a chance to be there and it won't delay any one set of eggs. I am about a week ahead of you. I have this love/hate relationship with incubating. I love seeing the chicks hatch but I hate the fussing over them that I do for three weeks. We will of course require pictures...it is like the 11th commandment of BYC, that you post pics of your first hatch.

Have fun!!

 

[ronben]

Quote:
I purchased a little giant Incubator and on finding the fan blowing up and not down onto the eggs, I asked the Incubator warehouse with way it should run I didn't tell them witch way it was running the reply was it is running the right way, with it blowing up you get a better air flow through the unit and a more even temp in the incubator. I was sure it should blow onto the eggs, so was glad I asked before I changed it to run the other way.
Hopping this may be a help, Ron

 

[Doc Henry]

I just added a fan to one of my still air incubators last night and it is really loud, I bought the fan used on ebay as a used incubator fan it weighs over a pound and seems like overkill I haven't had a fan in an incubator before. are they supposed to be loud? When I say loud I mean you can hear it running outside of the house! I need help I've got eggs ready to set, but i'm worried about harming them with a fan thats too large. I was getting poor hatches and it was hard to manage the temp from all i've been told I needed a fan. Please help!

 

[bigdawg]

most computor fans are to large for small styrofoam bators. they are ok for a cabinet type. you can order one through incubator wharehouse shipped for under 30.00. thats what i did.and the air does blow to the top not at the eggs

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Thanks all - I just turned it around to face the corner - maybe all 3 thermometers will read the same temperature now. Sometimes they are all the same, but sometimes they vary up to 2 degrees.

Doc Henry - I used a computer fan that is only 3" (square) - it is quiet and seems to put out a lot of air.

 

[Mahonri]

I always thought it blew on the eggs. Makes sense that it does not.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

It's been almost 2 1/2 hours since I turned the fan around and besides having to raise the heat because it wouldn't get back up to regular temps (dimmer switch), my temps are now more varied than before (97.5, 98.6, 100.6). I think the heating was more even when facing out. I can't put my fan on the top of the lids like the regular incubators - mine is in a corner. Is there any reason that I shouldn't face it towards the eggs? Has anyone on here had a successful hatch with their fan blowing across
the eggs?

 

[Chic Chick]

Here's how I have mine in my home made bator. The fan blows across the light and blows the hot air across the water before it goes into the rest of the bator which is 34" long.

I have a semi wall to protect the eggs from the direct heat and the heat is almost the same throughout because it's bouncing off the walls before it gets to the eggs. I also rotate the eggs from front to back as I turn them 3 times a day so that way they all get the same heat evenly.