Re: incubator will be built :)
Looks good...the only area of concern I would have is the flex that comes up the sides and is very close to the egg boxes this could cause hot spots inside the egg baskets. Try running the setup for a day and see what happens...or just cut a foot off the flex so is sits mainly at the bottom.
As for the egg baskets...they look great. Just a note I used PVC cut and zip tied to the grate to keep it from moving.
Re: incubator will be built :)
I also dont think you need that much flex watt to heat that little space. I have one more feet than you have in a big upright freezer. If you are going to keep it that small of an distance between your flex and the egg containers I would use some sort of deflection.. As Sean said, you could use water bottles or something so you dont have direct line of heat on the backs of the containers.
I also use water jugs in my incubator, they act like little heat storage tanks. They really help balance out your hot and cold spots in the incubator.
hope this helps
EDIT: just say the last picture.. the water bottles look great.. just cut down on the flex watt. once it is stabalized you will not need that much
Re: incubator will be built :)
Ok a couple more thoughts.
Yes, you can use 2-liters if they fit better...they would also raise the egg baskets further away from the flex.
Also, since this is the top load cooler whenever you open it you will lose a lot of heat really quickly. I recommend you cut a square hole in the lid of the cooler and silicone a piece of plexi...like a window so you don't have to take the lid off except for once a week for air exchange.
Re: incubator will be built :)
Cool.. I will trim the FW fown a foot. I am glad that I bought too much and not too little; I plan on rigging my BP rack tubs with it, so that foot will come in handy eventually :) This is after the incubation season; not running it on with the incubator for the snake tub, I did not want to confuse anyone :)
Re: incubator will be built :)
Just want it to go on record this thread was very educational for me, may have helped others, but I def found it to be VERY useful. I wont be breeding for a few more years, but until this thread, I was VERY confused on how to setup a simple yet effective incubator, this at least gives a very nice starting point.
Re: incubator will be built :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeEyes
Just want it to go on record this thread was very educational for me, may have helped others, but I def found it to be VERY useful. I wont be breeding for a few more years, but until this thread, I was VERY confused on how to setup a simple yet effective incubator, this at least gives a very nice starting point.
Snake eyes,
you really can get away with not doing much for an incubator as long a stemps dont fluctate to much.. If you ever need help dont hesitate to ask. As you can see they can be built very economically
Re: incubator will be built :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeEyes
Just want it to go on record this thread was very educational for me, may have helped others, but I def found it to be VERY useful. I wont be breeding for a few more years, but until this thread, I was VERY confused on how to setup a simple yet effective incubator, this at least gives a very nice starting point.
Its always good to have some extra FW around. I am finding uses for mine all the time:sunny:.. keep us posted on the temp when you fire her up.
You will need a small window for sure to help decrease the peek factor
Re: incubator will be built :)
Help! Call me an idiot, but i set it up with the probe on the FW; it is 88 but the inside of the tub is only 72! So do I put the probe of the t-stat right into the tub itself? Sorry if this is stupid, but I have never done this before.
Re: incubator will be built :)
Re: incubator will be built :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginevive
Help! Call me an idiot, but i set it up with the probe on the FW; it is 88 but the inside of the tub is only 72! So do I put the probe of the t-stat right into the tub itself? Sorry if this is stupid, but I have never done this before.
If you notice in my pictures my thermostat probe is hanging between the 2 eggs boxes (on the outside of the egg baskets).
You will get a lot of opinions on this aspect... mine is you place it between or near your egg baskets...this way you are warming to the ambient temperature and not the flexwatt temp. This way once stable (hence the need for the water) the flex won't need to overheat to reach a certain temp.
Also, it will take several hours for the inside and outside egg box temps to be the same.
