Home made incubators

[Greenphase]

Hi John.

Sorry i havnt replied to this earlier but i have been offline.

I have never used a CHE for heating an incubator as i would see this as a bit of overkill to be honest mate.For me you need to be able to adjust temps slowly to acclimatise eggs in the incubator rather than a CHE which would heat quickly but not cool very slowly.

The temps should be fairly static as the fridge is completely sealed and also insulated.The spray bottle is in there in case the tubs need dampening down which is rare to be honest.

I have opened the incubator once a day or once a week and found it doesnt really make much difference to the temps.

Hope this helps mate.

[Jon2ooo8]

hi im thinking about making a incubator out of my mini-fridge, its has a heating funtion on it and can get up to 42 degrees. what would be the best way of converting it/ lowering the temps. should i put it on a thermostat (if so which one)

[rugbystar55]

i was wondering i have a pollybox wit a aquerium heater but in a seperate tub there is vermiculite.
do i need to put holes in top of the tub
also how often do i need to open the pollybox and the box with the eggs in

[Greenphase]

Originally Posted by Jon2ooo8

hi im thinking about making a incubator out of my mini-fridge, its has a heating funtion on it and can get up to 42 degrees. what would be the best way of converting it/ lowering the temps. should i put it on a thermostat (if so which one)

Hello mate i have never used a mini fridge for incubating but if you can get 42 degrees from it i would set it to heat with a thermometer and set it once it reaches the desired temps.you should be able to heat it with the inbuilt stat but if not i would go for a 600 watt pulse stat as long as the fridge is not above this in wattage.

Originally Posted by rugbystar55

i was wondering i have a pollybox wit a aquerium heater but in a seperate tub there is vermiculite.
do i need to put holes in top of the tub
also how often do i need to open the pollybox and the box with the eggs in

I would assume that you are using the aquarium heater in water in the bottom of the polybox mate and if this is the case i would put holes in the lid of the box with the vermiculite in it.I would then open the poly box a couple of times a week and the same with the eggs box firstly to allow a fresh airflow and secondly just to check on the eggs.

[Joe1507]

Some awsome incubators here

[Jon2ooo8]

ok cheers for the help mate

[LauraandLee]

Read on internet bout using a poly box, 6 inches of water at the bottom, 2 bricks, wire mesh above water to place the tubs on and a tropical fish tank heater - (the site mentioned that they have internal stats in them). This would make it cheaper! As you wouldnt need a stat or heat mat!!!
Has anyone heard of doing it this way?
Or as anyone tired it?
Thanks

[snickers]

I've used an incubator similar to the first picture, and also converted 2' cube viv similar to the one pictured by Trev.

Putting water in the bottom of a polybox with eggs above is an accident waiting to happen IMO. One of the following is bound to happen sooner or later
- major leak
- eggbox falls into water
- hatchlings fall into water

If you want to use an aqarium heater and water, put the heater in a tupperware box and put the lid on. You will still get exactly the same heating effect.

[Big Red One]

Quick question - Is a pulse stat the best to use with the 2nd polybox setup (heatmat on lid..)?

Ta..

[CTI_Perrin]

This is a great thread!! Really useful!

Thanks!

Aimee