The Rinaest Rina
In the Brooder
- Mar 23, 2025
- 10
- 29
- 49
Hi! Awhile back I asked the more experienced folks about DIY incubators. It did not seem feasible to make one at the time, so I bought a MatixoopX off of Amazon and it's currently Day 2 for those ones. I didn't want all of my fish in one pond in case anything happened to a very sketchy DIY experiment.
However, thanks to the addition of several eggs from my dad's co-worker-s flock, I have a few extras and I'm going to try my hand, if I get his OK on the fire hazard aspect. This is what I've got so far.
The lamp fits in the cooler just barely lengthwise, with about two inches of headroom if I put it in at an angle. It heats the cooler up reaaallly fast, about a 30-degree increase in 10 minutes without the fan. That was with the lid partially up, and the plastic wrap/tinfoil on top. (The thermometer was placed in the corner opposite the ceramic puppy's feet.)
Next I added a snap circuit fan build, taped to the side of the cooler to circulate the air.
It was a bit slower to heat up, but I'm fairly sure that it would suitably solve the problem of hot spots in the bator, even if both the lamp and the fan were on one side. The heat should circulate around and warm the opposite end- though it would be better if I could get the fan into an angle in the corner where it's at.
I plan on turning the eggs manually 5-12 times daily. I figure if there's a secure sheet of plastic wrap over the top with a slit in it for my hand, it shouldn't cause a great rush of air when I open the lid. I can roll the eggs over quickly and shut the lid again without causing more disturbance than a hen causes when she moves her eggs.
However, I don't have a way of regulating the temperature at all, besides shutting it off, then back on, every ten minutes.
I did a test or two where I shut off the lamp when it was at 100 degrees, closed the lid as tightly as it would shut with the cable still sticking out, and waited. In ten minutes it was about 98 degrees, which isn't too terrible. If I had a way to automatically turn the lamp on, then shut it off, every ten minutes ad infinitum, it'd probably work. If any of you have suggestions for cheap automatic programmable light/circuit switches, I'm all ears.
Then there's the option of adding more insulation. I could blanket it up real well after it's at 100 degrees and it might stay hot enough for 15-20 minutes...
What I'm missing:
However, thanks to the addition of several eggs from my dad's co-worker-s flock, I have a few extras and I'm going to try my hand, if I get his OK on the fire hazard aspect. This is what I've got so far.
- a rather small cooler
- a puppy-shaped lamp with the shade removed
- a hygro/thermometer
- my brother's snap-circuit fan assembly
- tinfoil and plastic wrap
The lamp fits in the cooler just barely lengthwise, with about two inches of headroom if I put it in at an angle. It heats the cooler up reaaallly fast, about a 30-degree increase in 10 minutes without the fan. That was with the lid partially up, and the plastic wrap/tinfoil on top. (The thermometer was placed in the corner opposite the ceramic puppy's feet.)
Next I added a snap circuit fan build, taped to the side of the cooler to circulate the air.
It was a bit slower to heat up, but I'm fairly sure that it would suitably solve the problem of hot spots in the bator, even if both the lamp and the fan were on one side. The heat should circulate around and warm the opposite end- though it would be better if I could get the fan into an angle in the corner where it's at.
I plan on turning the eggs manually 5-12 times daily. I figure if there's a secure sheet of plastic wrap over the top with a slit in it for my hand, it shouldn't cause a great rush of air when I open the lid. I can roll the eggs over quickly and shut the lid again without causing more disturbance than a hen causes when she moves her eggs.
However, I don't have a way of regulating the temperature at all, besides shutting it off, then back on, every ten minutes.
I did a test or two where I shut off the lamp when it was at 100 degrees, closed the lid as tightly as it would shut with the cable still sticking out, and waited. In ten minutes it was about 98 degrees, which isn't too terrible. If I had a way to automatically turn the lamp on, then shut it off, every ten minutes ad infinitum, it'd probably work. If any of you have suggestions for cheap automatic programmable light/circuit switches, I'm all ears.
Then there's the option of adding more insulation. I could blanket it up real well after it's at 100 degrees and it might stay hot enough for 15-20 minutes...
What I'm missing:
- A way to keep the temperature steady for longer than 10 minutes, (high priority)
- An assembly above the lamp for the eggs to rest in, (also quite necessary)
- Humidity control (I'm not really worried about it as our ambient humidity here is around 45%, which is not bad for dry hatching. If it presents an issue I'll add a dixie cup of water on the bottom.)
