In this article, we will analyze two ways to make an egg incubator with your own hands. The first - from the refrigerator - can replace professional incubators. The second - out of the box - is suitable for beginners.
Before you start making an egg incubator, you need to decide on the size of the cells and the incubator. You can use the following size chart:
| Number of eggs, pcs | Length, width, height of a suitable cell, cm |
| 45 | 45 by 25 by 28 |
| 70 | 55 by 55 by 28 |
| 100 | 60 by 60 by 28 |
The sizes of such cells are selected taking into account all the distances and temperatures between the eggs. If you are raising or planning to raise several types of eggs, put a changeable grid in the cells.
The content of the article
- Making an incubator from an old refrigerator
- egg incubator out of the box
Making an incubator from an old refrigerator
Materials and tools for creating an egg incubator from the refrigerator:
- The refrigerator itself
- 25 watt incandescent lamps and lampholders
- wires
- soldering iron
- Temperature regulator
- Cooler or small fan
- Drill
- Bolts/self-tapping screws
- Plastic tubes (arbitrary diameter)
The peculiarity of the incubator is its low, almost zero heat loss - inside the device, the temperature is constantly kept at the same mark. A refrigerator is suitable for making a homemade incubator. A working device or not - it does not matter. The main thing is that it closes and is airtight. Making an incubator from a refrigerator:
- Clean your refrigerator inside and out. Remove the freezer from it.
- Take out the shelves of the refrigerator and glue the prepared cells to them. The cells can be a metal plate with holes for the size of the eggs or an inverted egg tray.
- Drill two through holes in one of the sides according to the size of your pipes. One hole should be 10-15 centimeters from the top edge of the refrigerator, the second - at a height of 30-50 centimeters from the bottom edge.
- Insert and seal the tubes into the holes formed. These tubes will serve as ventilation in the incubator. Why insert tubing? You can also use the ventilation holes themselves. This is necessary so that the circulating air does not come into contact with the glass wool in the device case.
- Inside the refrigerator, at a distance of 15-20 centimeters from the bottom tube to the back wall of the refrigerator, install a fan / cooler on rubber cushions. Place it 10-15 centimeters lower, at an angle, while the back side (from which air is sucked in) should be in front of the tube.
- Measure 10 centimeters from the bottom edge of the side of the fan that blows air from. In this place, install one cartridge for an incandescent lamp, after 5 cm the second. Parallel to them at the top at the level of the second tube, install the second two cartridges.
- Between the bottom tube and the fan, install the prepared thermostat. Set the maximum and minimum allowable temperatures on it.
- Run the wiring - from the plug to the thermostat, from it to the fan, from the fan to the bulbs.
- Take a flat container and pour water into it. Place the jar in the bottom of the incubator under the bottom lights.
- Install the shelves-cells in place.
How does a homemade incubator from the refrigerator work:
Air enters through the bottom tube. Immediately hits the fan, which blows them on incandescent lamps.
Such lamps serve for heating and for lighting - in order for the development of chickens to pass without problems, eggs need light and high temperature, depending on the species (from 37.6 to 39). Eggs also need high humidity. To do this, there is a container with water under the lamps in the incubator. The heat from them evaporates some of the liquid, increasing the humidity. So in the refrigerator the humidity of 60-80% will be stably maintained.
The warm air rises, heating the eggs along the way, where it is heated by two more incandescent lamps. After the air exits the incubator through the top tube.
When the air temperature reaches the maximum allowable temperature, the thermostat will turn off the electricity supply to the fan and lamps, and vice versa.
Additionally, you can equip your homemade egg incubator with an automatic flip.
egg incubator out of the box
Materials for making a homemade egg incubator from a cardboard box:
- Shallow cardboard box (10 cm)
- egg tray
- 25 watt incandescent lamp and socket for it
- table lamp cover
- Scissors
- wires
- soldering iron
Making an egg incubator from a box:
- Place the upside down egg tray in the main body of the carton. If there is room left in the box, place hay or other packing material inside.
- Attach the table lamp lid to the center of the box lid. Make a hole in the cardboard the size of the lid, but so that it does not fall inside.
- Make a second hole in an arbitrary place on the box lid - under the thermometer.
- Install the cartridge in the cover of the table lamp, run the wires from it to the plug.
- Insert the lamp into the socket.
- Cover the bottom of the box with the tray with a lid, the large opening of which must be closed with a table lamp lid.
- Plug in the lamp.
How a homemade incubator works out of the box:
The eggs are heated and illuminated by an incandescent lamp. There is a small hole in the lid for air ventilation. To check, a thermometer is inserted into it and the temperature inside the incubator is measured. When it is the maximum allowed, the device turns off, and vice versa.
