New Incubator

Well it is never too early to get ready for next season. Hard to believe we start cooling next month :O

Anyway I decided I wanted a new incubator. I really wanted a beverage cooler one but couldn't find one close enough to me. So I built one. It is made out of 3/4" Melamine with internal dimensions of 40" x 24" x 20" - this is enough room for about 25 clutches (way more than I need for next season but plenty of room to grow :D ) . I tore apart my old incubator and used the flex and Helix (the biggest cost) so this incubator only cost me about $100 to build.

Let me know what you think
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...s/IMG_1056.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...s/IMG_1058.jpg

Thats very sharp. Looks fairly easy to make too. Nice job. :rockon:

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Originally Posted by Royalherper

Thats very sharp. Looks fairly easy to make too.

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Thanks...it was fairly straightforward. The only time consuming part were the doors as the glass is routed into channels in the wood (which is a pain in the butt to do - each door is 5 parts which take some time to get to go together correctly).

Very nice sean, do you have anyting on the door to prevent the heat from excaping? i cant tell but it looks like you might... how long did it take to make it? I hope you get to fill it up soon with some monster clutchs..

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Originally Posted by jar2476

Very nice sean, do you have anyting on the door to prevent the heat from excaping? i cant tell but it looks like you might... how long did it take to make it? I hope you get to fill it up soon with some monster clutchs..

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Thanks Joe...yes the door has a rubber seal between the 2 doors (and they close tight so nothing is needed around the edge). It took me about 4 hours to build today...though I still have a few items (like wiring the fan, door handles and hiding the rest of the wiring)

- doing a heat test now to see where the hot/cool spots are - so I know how to wire the fan.

is that heat tape enough to heat the entire incubator up to your desired temperature range? like what 89-90 right?

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Originally Posted by bigballs

is that heat tape enough to heat the entire incubator up to your desired temperature range? like what 89-90 right?

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Yes...it has 4' of 11" tape (backed by Reflectix) and it heated to 88 degrees in about 20 minutes (from 75). Once I have the egg baskets (to take up mass) and the fan wired it should be good to go. I am planning to let it stablize for a couple of hours then shut the power off and see how long the temp holds... but so far so good.

Ohhh is that built in lighting I see in there?

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Ohhh is that built in lighting I see in there?

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Yes Mam! A 36" florescent I had laying around...provides lots of light equally from top to bottom. I wired it to a door switch so it comes on when the door is opened :)

Man thats awesome, im building my own as well. I will post pics as soon as im finished.