Homemade Incubators

Animalover712 said:

Why of course I'm aware of temperature change and all that I was just asking around for people who have had the personal experience of hatching eggs in a styrofoam cooler the question was not specifically directed towards one person I just needed some advice on a good bulb to use, that's all that I was curious about was what kind of bulb others have used and whether or not they had a high hatching rate from such a rigged invention. I'm well aware about the necessity of having the right humidity and maintaining the right temperatures.

Click to expand...

Didn't mean no harm, you just sounded to me like you thought if you got the right size factory bulb, it would make the temp just right. All I was saying is that ain't going to happen---it is going to take more than that to keep the temp right. Maybe someone will chime in in a little with that size bulb. Good Luck

No no that was the answer I was trying to look for. Thanks for the advice. I have a couple broody hens anyways but my curiosity was getting the best of me

The SIZE bulb I use is 5 feet wide and 10 foot long!

Seriously, I think yall are referring to the wattage of the bulb. Sure there are many sizes but its the wattage that really gives off the heat.

Usually a 50-75 watt incandescent (house hold light bulb) is used in most incubators. They all get hot and will keep getting the area hot unless there is some temperature switch (thermostat) that will turn it off and on automatically when a set temperature is reached or drops.

Depending on the incubator size, make, design, etc; that which has already been asked/explained, it all factors in before you choose the wattage of the bulb. Even then it is hit and miss.

Personally, I think money and time is better spent on a good 48 quart plastic cooler bator and better design, as once they hatch your hooked on incubation for life (so it seems). Styrofoam is light, weak and easily damaged and is better used for making home made Napalm, just pour some gas on it and let it liquefy.
A hot light bulb just might do the same thing anyway as most I have seen are not that big.

So the best route is to just buy some different wattage bulbs and give it a shot! Test to see how well it works before starting incubation. They are not that expensive, and the extras....well chances are you have a lamp or other fixture that might need a new bulb some time soon.

Just my half cents worth of babble.

BobDBirdDog said:

The SIZE bulb I use is 5 feet wide and 10 foot long!

Seriously, I think yall are referring to the wattage of the bulb. Sure there are many sizes but its the wattage that really gives off the heat.

Usually a 50-75 watt incandescent (house hold light bulb) is used in most incubators. They all get hot and will keep getting the area hot unless there is some temperature switch (thermostat) that will turn it off and on automatically when a set temperature is reached or drops.

Depending on the incubator size, make, design, etc; that which has already been asked/explained, it all factors in before you choose the wattage of the bulb. Even then it is hit and miss.

Personally, I think money and time is better spent on a good 48 quart plastic cooler bator and better design, as once they hatch your hooked on incubation for life (so it seems). Styrofoam is light, weak and easily damaged and is better used for making home made Napalm, just pour some gas on it and let it liquefy.
A hot light bulb just might do the same thing anyway as most I have seen are not that big.

So the best route is to just buy some different wattage bulbs and give it a shot! Test to see how well it works before starting incubation. They are not that expensive, and the extras....well chances are you have a lamp or other fixture that might need a new bulb some time soon.

Just my half cents worth of babble.

Click to expand...

Haha. Size, wattage. I was wondering about both really. Technically size does kind of matter in this type of situation but yes wattage was what my main concern was.

Animalover712 said:

Haha. Size, wattage..

Click to expand...

Means the same thing here---what size bulb you need---or what wattage bulb you need?? I do not pick on the small things!

PD-Riverman said:

Means the same thing here---what size bulb you need---or what wattage bulb you need?? I do not pick on the small things!

Click to expand...

I heard that 50+ wattage bulbs make the temp too high and I'm not big about poking a bunch of holes in the cooler to find the right temp but I heard of someone who was doing this project used a 15 watt without putting any holes in the cooler but also making the viewing space maybe 5" wide so that there wasn't much heat loss. Made the temp just right and it stayed constant for the majority of the incubation period

This is my cooler incubator plastic not Styrofoam all components mounted in the lid I used light bulbs from Walmart sold as 40 watt that say actual usage 29 Watt. You must use a thermostat to control heat you can see I have a wafer thermostat also has a hundred and ten volt high volume fan it has two half inch vent holes in opposite corners of the cooler with my first test run of two eggs had a hundred percent hatch rate on my second run with 18 shipped eggs 80% hatch third batch is an incubator now

LLranch said:

This is my cooler incubator plastic not Styrofoam all components mounted in the lid I used light bulbs from Walmart sold as 40 watt that say actual usage 29 Watt. You must use a thermostat to control heat you can see I have a wafer thermostat also has a hundred and ten volt high volume fan it has two half inch vent holes in opposite corners of the cooler with my first test run of two eggs had a hundred percent hatch rate on my second run with 18 shipped eggs 80% hatch third batch is an incubator now

Click to expand...

I used a dimmer to maintain temp instead of a thermostat

Animalover712 said:

I use a dimmer to maintain temp instead of a thermostat

Click to expand...

It is very difficult to have a successful hatch controlling the heat with a dimmer switch. Because the dimmer switch is not capable of as you say maintaining the temp it takes a human constantly adjusting the dimmer switch day and night to maintain the temperature. Every time you open the incubator to turn eggs or add water the incubator will cool down and you will have to turn the dimmer up to get the heat back to 99.5 degrees then as it reaches 99.5 you'll have to turn it back down to level it off. On top of that you will constantly need to make small changes to account for Ambien temperature changes in the room. It's definitely possible if you don't have to go to work or or need much sleep.

LLranch said:

It is very difficult to have a successful hatch controlling the heat with a dimmer switch. Because the dimmer switch is not capable of as you say maintaining the temp it takes a human constantly adjusting the dimmer switch day and night to maintain the temperature. Every time you open the incubator to turn eggs or add water the incubator will cool down and you will have to turn the dimmer up to get the heat back to 99.5 degrees then as it reaches 99.5 you'll have to turn it back down to level it off. On top of that you will constantly need to make small changes to account for Ambien temperature changes in the room. It's definitely possible if you don't have to go to work or or need much sleep.

Click to expand...

I won't have to adjust the dimmer when I open the bator. Naturally a chicken leaves the nest to eat or take a break, the temp will go right back to normal and the eggs should be fine as the eggs can hold some of the temp already. Also, I keep the bater in a spot where the temperature in the house hardly fluctuates so there's not must adjustment that needs to be done.