Incubator Setup Comments Wanted

[lord jackel]

Hi everyone...this will be my first year breeding and I want to make sure I have everything set up right. I have a read a lot on bp.net and decided to go with the none substrate method. Let me know what you think of my setup and what errors I have made. Thanks so much.

This is the incubator. Sealed wood with 11" flex running up the sides and along the bottom. Has a fan at the bottom tied into the Helix that is controlling the flex. Helix is set to 88.



The next image are the tubs, they are 8qt, they have about 1.5" of water with peralite mixed in to keep it from sloshing around and to stablish the egg crate sitting on top.



Finally the temps the incubator has been up and running for about 3 weeks with almost zero temp fluctuation. Humidity is 23% outside the tubs and near 100% in the tubs.



Thanks for any and all comments. Just don't be too brutal

[Adam_Wysocki]

Tying the fan into the Helix isn't a good idea ... the stress of the proportional action of the stat on the motor of the fan could cause the fan to burn out (been there, done that) ... Even the Helix docs recommend that you shouldn't use the units on heaters or devices with motors ... I would also mount the fan to the top of the box blowing down (the idea is to keep the hot air from stagnating at the top as it rises) and either leaving running 24x7 or wire it into a dimmer.

I don't know anything about substrate-less incubation, but the inside of those boxes look like there is a ton of condensation ... if that drips onto the eggs, you'll be in trouble ... maybe one of the no sub guys will jump in to help.

Hope this helps.

-adam

[lord jackel]

Tying the fan into the Helix isn't a good idea ... the stress of the proportional action of the stat on the motor of the fan could cause the fan to burn out (been there, done that) ... Even the Helix docs recommend that you shouldn't use the units on heaters or devices with motors ... I would also mount the fan to the top of the box blowing down (the idea is to keep the hot air from stagnating at the top as it rises) and either leaving running 24x7 or wire it into a dimmer.

I don't know anything about substrate-less incubation, but the inside of those boxes look like there is a ton of condensation ... if that drips onto the eggs, you'll be in trouble ... maybe one of the no sub guys will jump in to help.

Hope this helps.

-adam

Thanks Adam....I will move the fan and direct wire it to a dimmer as you suggest. As for the condensation yea I was wondering the same thing...hopefully someone will chime in.

Thanks again

[Chase13]

Tying the fan into the Helix isn't a good idea ... the stress of the proportional action of the stat on the motor of the fan could cause the fan to burn out (been there, done that) ... Even the Helix docs recommend that you shouldn't use the units on heaters or devices with motors ... I would also mount the fan to the top of the box blowing down (the idea is to keep the hot air from stagnating at the top as it rises) and either leaving running 24x7 or wire it into a dimmer.

I don't know anything about substrate-less incubation, but the inside of those boxes look like there is a ton of condensation ... if that drips onto the eggs, you'll be in trouble ... maybe one of the no sub guys will jump in to help.

Hope this helps.

-adam

Is it really bad for water to drip onto the eggs? arn't the eggs sitting in peralite soaked with water?

[lord jackel]

Is it really bad for water to drip onto the eggs? arn't the eggs sitting in peralite soaked with water?

Yes excess water is very bad. In a substrate incubation the eggs sit on vermiculite or peralite that is damp but not soaking. In a non-substrate method (mine and others) the eggs sit on egg crate (stuff they use for lighting fixtures) so in theory they never get wet.

Adams comments (and my question) is my condensation normal for what I am doing...this is the part we don't know as I have never done it this way.

Hope this helps.

[West Coast Jungle]

It seems kinda dry in that incubator, you should have a water container so humidity isn't so extreme in and out of egg box. I like to put glass lids on the egg containers so you can see in without opening anything and you can check condensation better.

[kavmon]

as for the no-sub method, check with some guys at chondroweb.com alot of them use no-sub methods!


as long as you can keep 88 deg., it looks good.

from looks your bator looks around 30 in. wide and about 18 in. tall x 15-16 in. deep? you might not need all five feet of flex? doesn't hurt though. i try to use the least amount of heat as possible.

good job choosing helix


vaughn

[Adam_Wysocki]

I would also bring the temp down a little bit .. better to be too cool than too hot ... high temps lead to smaller (weight) hatchlings.

ROCK ON!

-adam

[lord jackel]

I would also bring the temp down a little bit .. better to be too cool than too hot ... high temps lead to smaller (weight) hatchlings.

ROCK ON!

-adam

I have the Helix set at 87 which produces the temps you see (about a 1-2 degree delta)...what temp to you recommend keeping? Maybe another 2 degrees down?

Thanks

[lord jackel]

as for the no-sub method, check with some guys at chondroweb.com alot of them use no-sub methods!


as long as you can keep 88 deg., it looks good.

from looks your bator looks around 30 in. wide and about 18 in. tall x 15-16 in. deep? you might not need all five feet of flex? doesn't hurt though. i try to use the least amount of heat as possible.

good job choosing helix


vaughn

Thanks I will raise the internal humidity higher which might make it better for condensation inside the box anyway? I will also check at the other forums to see what they suggest. Thanks for the suggestion

I am surprised not more of you are doing the non-substrate method...on KS it seems it is all the talk about?