Custom made incubators

[John W Blehm]

Back during the winter of 2012-13 I built 2 setter incubators and 2 hatcher incubators.  The setters have 6 egg trays that hold 132 LF eggs each for a capacity of 792 eggs per setter.  I'm using 350 watt strip heaters along with proportional heating thermostats.  The cabinets are made from 1/2" plastic board.  Most of the fasteners are stainless steel and the racks are aluminum (fabricated at a local welding shop).  I used the same fans, latches and other parts that GQF uses in their cabinet incubators, but these are totally my design.  The window in the door design is my too.  I know that GQF now puts acrylic windows in their doors, but I've been modifying their units for many years before they started doing it.  I mounted a control box on top with the pilot light on top of it, the toggle switch on the RH side and the digital thermostat in the front so I don't have to look around the side to see the temp.  I put 2 fans in each unit.  Also, I put doors on the backs of the hatchers for easy cleaning.  The Herpstat controllers work great.  It is pretty neat that although the heat elements are 350 watts in each incubator they don't always run at full power/watts.  The Herpstat is a "proportional" temperature controller and only sends enough power to the elements to maintain the required temperature.  With most incubators (old ones anyway) the heating element is either on (100%) or off and the thermostat works as an On - Off switch.  I'm sure these proportional temperature controllers save on my electric bill as they send just enough juice to the elements...like a dimmer switch for house lights.  The plastic egg tray and hatch baskets were purchased used and are from large commercial incubators.  I designed my setters around those egg trays and my hatchers around those hatch baskets. 
More photos to follow...

[Mike Gilbert]

John, are you now building these for sale, or are you selling some of those you made in the past?

[John W Blehm]

John, are you now building these for sale, or are you selling some of those you made in the past?

Neither one...just sharing design ideas for those that may want to build their own.

[Suki]

How do you know that these are the same fans that GQF uses?  Even if you have a GQF you wouldn't know the rating or does their manual tell you that?  So how many eggs does one of the incubators hold?  Do they move or turn the eggs or is that manual?  Thanks John for the ideas.

[John W Blehm]

How do you know that these are the same fans that GQF uses?  Even if you have a GQF you wouldn't know the rating or does their manual tell you that?  So how many eggs does one of the incubators hold?  Do they move or turn the eggs or is that manual?  Thanks John for the ideas.

I bought the fans, motors, brackets, etc. thru Cutler Supply.  They are the same ones GQF and other poultry supply companies sell as replacement parts for their incubators.  The model numbers are the same, so they are the same.
The egg turning motors are also the same ones GQF uses/sells.  When possible it is best to use existing purchasable parts.  Then they are standardized, easy to replace and cheaper than reinventing.
The egg trays hold 132 eggs each, giving each setter a 792 egg capacity.  I don't know how many eggs will fit into the hatch baskets before they are too crowded, but a lot is the best answer I have on that one.  Both the egg trays and hatch baskets were purchased thru Hawkhead Hatchery Equipment. 

[John W Blehm]

Here are a couple more photos of the hatchers and a couple of carts I use in the hatchery.  I took many photos while building the incubators and can post some of specific areas if requested.

[Suki]

Thank you John for the pictures and explanation.  Have you tried them yet?

[John W Blehm]

Have you tried them yet?

Wow, I guess this is the third hatching season I've used them already.  They work as well as any I've had in the past.

[Stan Alder]

I see the buckets, so assume you have humidity control. Is that a feature of the Herpstat controller?..how does that work??

[John W Blehm]

I see the buckets, so assume you have humidity control. Is that a feature of the Herpstat controller?..how does that work??

No.  Nothing special there.  I have float valves in the water pans, in the setters, with 5 gallon pails on top so I don't have to open the doors to manually add water. 
Since the hatchers only operate for a few days at a time the water pans don't need to be refilled before the hatch is over, so the pails and valves aren't needed there.

[Cesar Villegas]

John were the foam boards you order custom cut to your specifications? Or did you cut them yourself? I assume they dont make your setters and hatchers heavy since they are made from foam

[John W Blehm]

John were the foam boards you order custom cut to your specifications? Or did you cut them yourself? I assume they dont make your setters and hatchers heavy since they are made from foam

I used 1/2" marine grade "board" that came in 5' by 8' sheets from Total Plastics.  They use it to build cabinets on boats.  There isn't any insulation value to speak of, but this was perfect for the application and I keep the hatchery close to 80 degrees anyway.  They had a small cutting charge and were very precise.  I'm sure that saved on shipping costs too, since the cut pieces could all fit onto a standard sized pallet.

[Suki]

Hi John, What made you go with plastic board and not just marine grade lumber?  Ican only think expense.  Great that you have been using it for a while, so these are in addition to your other hatchers now?

[John W Blehm]

Hi John, What made you go with plastic board and not just marine grade lumber?  Ican only think expense.  Great that you have been using it for a while, so these are in addition to your other hatchers now?

When I found the plastic board I didn't look any further.  I knew this would outlast any treated lumber. 
These four units replaced the GQF and Leahy incubators I used before and are in one of my old YouTube videos.

[Tailfeathers]

Hi John, I hope this isn't hijacking your thread but I have a question for you since you are skilled enough to build your own incubators.  Btw, I envy you!  I've watched "Alone In The Wilderness" more times than I can count and am always amazed at you folks who have that kind of resourcefulness. 

I have a Sportsman 1502 and for the past 2yrs I've had to close up most of the holes in the back to keep the humidity at 50 or slightly above.  Got to thinking and I think the problem started after I took the back off and cleaned it real good.  So, do you know if there is a way to slow the fan down?  I'm wondering what would happen if I'd put a piece of tape or something on the blades?  Would that work and, if so, would I be running the risk of burning up the engine or something?