New Incubator

[lord jackel]

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

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 ) . 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

[Royalherper]

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

[lord jackel]

Thats very sharp. Looks fairly easy to make too.

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).

[Broseph]

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..

[lord jackel]

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..

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.

[bigballs]

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

[lord jackel]

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

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.

[frankykeno]

Ohhh is that built in lighting I see in there?

[lord jackel]

Ohhh is that built in lighting I see in there?

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

[juddb]

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