working on our homemade bator!!!!!!!!

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Somewhere on the forum is where somebody drilled holes in the plastic cover of the thermostat so that air could hit the thermo disc easier/faster and thus get a quicker response from the thermostat. It looks like you have to drill the rivets out of the thermostat so that the cover will come off and then drill holes in the black plastic/bakelite cover....it appears that if you tried drilling the holes with the cover on that you would damage the disc inside. Re-attach the cover with some small screws/nuts-bolts.

FWIW,
Ed

 

[zaylinda]

Quote:
Somewhere on the forum is where somebody drilled holes in the plastic cover of the thermostat so that air could hit the thermo disc easier/faster and thus get a quicker response from the thermostat. It looks like you have to drill the rivets out of the thermostat so that the cover will come off and then drill holes in the black plastic/bakelite cover....it appears that if you tried drilling the holes with the cover on that you would damage the disc inside. Re-attach the cover with some small screws/nuts-bolts.

FWIW,
Ed

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=26580-thermostat-modification
I believe this is the page Intheswamp was referring to.
-Zay

 

[Chicken Rustler]

If you can't find a light bulb that will provide the temp you want. Use a larger bulb and put it on a dimmer switch then you can adjust to infinately. When I have chicks I put a heat lamp in the corner of my chick pen and as they get older and need less heat then I can just turn the light down rather than have to mess with moving it. This works very well and the dimmer can be bought for about $6.00. I can post drawing and pics if needed.

 

[bethandjoeync]

this is perfect!! I think we can handle a little modification and it makes total sense as well!!

 

[bethandjoeync]

modification complete!! now I need to test it to see what the fluctuations are. will report back soon

 

[trulefty]

Use a larger bulb and put it on a dimmer switch then you can adjust to infinately. When I have chicks I put a heat lamp in the corner of my chick pen and as they get older and need less heat then I can just turn the light down rather than have to mess with moving it. This works very well and the dimmer can be bought for about $6.00. I can post drawing and pics if needed.

Great idea!!!!​

 

[quailbrain]

I am always interested in the setups of incubators. Yours sounds great. Keep us posted on the temps and humidity. How exciting to have a hatch from your own work.

 

[bethandjoeync]

somehow I screwed up. i drilled some holes in it and put it back together and when it clicked to shut the bulb off it did go off all of the way, so I figured I didn't put it together right. so I took the thing apart and tried again. and now I can't even get the bulb to come on. there is power going to the thermostat and everything seems to be in the same place as I started. I even took a picture of it to remind me what it looked like as soon as I opened it. wonder what I did wrong?? I guess I'll have to go get another one. Joey is NOT going to be thrilled that I went tinkering with it.

 

[bethandjoeync]

Ok got everything running. It has been on for about 12 hrs my temp is staying from 100 to 101.3 is that temp to high or is it ok. The humidity is staying at 53 to 55 percent not sure on that part we have heard so many different numbers to keep humidity please someone give us a temp and humidity number that we can look to as a target so we can get everything dialed in.

 

[trulefty]

I shot for 99.5 temp with 30 to 35% humidity. Hatching now got 8 of 18 so far.