Bulding your on incubator

['SiQ']

Well I posted about which one to buy and couple people said they were easy to make. I looked in the uncle Henry and this one. Mini Fridge called him up offered him 40$ and he said yes. So I was wondering what is everything that you need and how much better is a homemade one from a bought one?

[MitsuMike]

Computer fan (some use, some don't)
Pros:
Circulation of heated air
Cons:
Creates heat as well causing upper tubs to get hotter (if probe is up there the temps drop causing lower tubs to be too cold but if probe in the middle then the the upper tub gets too hot causes dead/retarded babies)

I don't have one seeing my flexwatt runs the whole back wall, and with the amount of water bottles I have the temps stay nice and constant.

Flexwatt 11"
Normally for fridge applications you should use the 11" and generally around 2 feet.

3+ 6 qt tubs to hold eggs

Proportional thermostat to regulate the flexwatt

Total cost w/o thermostat or fridge is around 10 bucks


Pics:

Each shelve holds a 6 qt tub


IMG_0118 by Mitsumike, on Flickr

IMG_0119 by Mitsumike, on Flickr

['SiQ']

what kinda thermostat do u have mike? also with the water you keep that in the very bottom but u said something about water bottles.

So I will def be going the rout of building one lol

[MitsuMike]

All the water I have is in bottles. The humidity that is needed will be kept in the tubs themselves via the substrate for the eggs.
The water bottle (in the shelves and in the brown thing) are there to keep temps constant. As water bottles help the heat not dissipate when you open the door of the fridge.

I use a Herpstat Pro for everything; ball rack, incubator and Burmese tub

[SlitherinSisters]

I say build one! It's simple and very cost effective. The only thing that is going to be expensive is the thermostat, but that is the most important part! Computer fans are ideal because they don't put out much heat at all, they really shouldn't affect your temps if you get a decent one. Computer fans are almost always recommended (always recommended as far as I've heard/read). They help regulate the temps so that the top of the incubator doesn't get hotter than the bottom. Hot air rises, so it only makes sense that you would need a fan to keep the temps even throughout the bater.

The water bottles are to hold temp. If you don't have water bottles in there the only thing holding temp is the air, and that's lost with air exchange every time you open the door. It's not a have to, but highly recommended.

I use a Helix because they are reliable and proportional. Also a back up of some sort. A dimmer or a on/off therm is fine. If a proportional or on/off fails they fail in the on position which means your flexwatt is running at full power.

['SiQ']

Mike,
Looks really good. def with saving the money I think I will go adiffernt way with the thermostat. I remember one of are messages back and fourth we talked about the herpstat 2 is that the same as yours? If its not what is the difference between them also how many things can the herpstat monitor.

['SiQ']

seems like I can save going this way with the incubator but herpstat pro does seem amazing

[MitsuMike]

Mike,
Looks really good. def with saving the money I think I will go adiffernt way with the thermostat. I remember one of are messages back and fourth we talked about the herpstat 2 is that the same as yours? If its not what is the difference between them also how many things can the herpstat monitor.

Yes we talked about the herpstat 2. This is just like a regular herpstat but it has 2 individual probes and 2 sockets to allow 2 completely different temps of different things.

The herpstat pro (which I have) is the upgrade to everything. It has 4 probes/sockets allowing 4 different temp setting and has the built in night drop if you want it. You can lock it too so no one else can mess with it. I personally think if someone has the money and has different things that need to be at different temps, it doesn't get any better than this.

And to stephanie......I can see how high end computer fans won't put out too much heat but even so I would allow for a good distance from the fan and the top tub. I think I might add one to mine seeing I have a good 6-7 inches of space but i am still undecided.

[SlitherinSisters]

And to stephanie......I can see how high end computer fans won't put out too much heat but even so I would allow for a good distance from the fan and the top tub. I think I might add one to mine seeing I have a good 6-7 inches of space but i am still undecided.

Oh I see what you are saying. Definitely don't put it close to any tubs. You should be able to put it to the side or front/back of the top so it's not close to a tub, but if not you can put it on the bottom. And definitely add one to your bater, it's pretty big and there will be a difference in temps from top to bottom. Even people who are using the ice/drink coolers as baters put fans in them. There isn't a lot of space in those coolers to make a huge difference, but I've always heard it was really important to have one in anything you use. Better safe than sorry, even a good new one is only $10 give or take. I wouldn't get a used fan for two reasons, old computer stuff is shotty, and old computer stuff gets hot.