"who's building an incubator"

[chloezoebob101]

wood and insulator.. I'm not sure yet, but i am gonna use scraps from around here!

 

[Jessshan8]

No I don't have it on paper just in my head. As much wiring goes into these it would not be easy to layout.

I think an easy hand drawn diagram or just pictures would be best as far as the wiring is concerned is best, give it a shot, nothing to loose.

 

[quintinp]

Well, I said I would post pictures of it, here they are.









(Self Adhesive) Foam tape. For keeping the warm air from escaping.









The lights are not what I am using, I was just testing to see if they would come on if I had wired it correctly.

 

[redhen689]

11+ years ago I built an incubator out of what looked like a cardboard box. My daughter who was 8 years old at the time wanted to hatch eggs for a science project.
It was a special box that we used to get at work with product in it that had to be kept refrigerated. It has a thin layer of foam built into it, and is lined with foil. (The foam is sort of like some of the foam cored poster boards)
I talked to my dad who is a tinkerer of all things electronic... and he had an old thermostat he gave me... actually 2. The first one had temperature swings that were to big, the second one was perfect. I hooked it up to a light socket and we were good to go. Oh, I forgot one important point, I thought it would make the heat more "gentle" is I put a heating pad in the bottom of the box, set on low, running continuously. (I used a 40 watt light, above the eggs, shielded with a mini lampshade.)
The box is double layer thick on the side walls, so I cut a rectangular "window" into the front, and put a piece of plexiglass between the two layers. I got a couple of old glass thermometers we were no longer using at work and used a shoelace to make a hygrometer. (I don't have that part any more.)
My daughter drew all over the outside of the box.

Her experiment: How tempertaure affects the hatching of eggs. We had the eggs divided into two groups. The one group was closer to the light and the other group was in the corner farthest from the light, with a thin sheet of foam separating the two groups. The goal was to keep one group at about 99 degrees and the other group 101 degrees. The warmer group hatched (on average) a day sooner than the cooler group. We had an excellent hatch rate. One dud, one dropped, I think the rest hatched.

My niece wants to hatch eggs now, so I dug out the incubator. It has not been treated well, so the box is a little warped, and the top doesn't close right anymore. I am presently getting it ready to give to my niece... and may post photos when I get it all straightened out.

Total cost of incubator? I think about $5. I have to go out now. Maybe I'll post photos tomorrow.

 

[Jessshan8]

wood and insulator.. I'm not sure yet, but i am gonna use scraps from around here!

I have seen some great ones out of coolers, I built mine out of an old mini fridge, works like a champ with great insulation already built in.

 

[Cpntherfan]

Well, I said I would post pictures of it, here they are.









(Self Adhesive) Foam tape. For keeping the warm air from escaping.









The lights are not what I am using, I was just testing to see if they would come on if I had wired it correctly.

wow thats an awesome set up i need that thermo stat on my next one

 

[chloezoebob101]

wow! good deal!!

 

[quintinp]

Thank ya. That thermostat is a wafer thermostat I use a water heater thermostat in my cooler incubator, it does really well. I use a Bi metal thermostat in my brower top hatch incubator. They all work really well. I didn't want to put a wafer thermostat in my top hatch, because I already have 2 incubators that have wafer thermostats in them, and I didn't like the idea of having to replace 3 wafers every year or so. I am also enjoying the water heater thermostat, It is really cheap, and lasts a long time.

 

[Cpntherfan]

Thank ya. That thermostat is a wafer thermostat I use a water heater thermostat in my cooler incubator, it does really well. I use a Bi metal thermostat in my brower top hatch incubator. They all work really well. I didn't want to put a wafer thermostat in my top hatch, because I already have 2 incubators that have wafer thermostats in them, and I didn't like the idea of having to replace 3 wafers every year or so. I am also enjoying the water heater thermostat, It is really cheap, and lasts a long time.

i have the hot water heater one now too, drilled out and all but im not liking the vary of temps i get

 

[Jessshan8]

wood and insulator.. I'm not sure yet, but i am gonna use scraps from around here!

Sweet good luck and post picks if you caan would love to see your final project