How to make an incubator with your own hands at home?

Do-it-yourself assembly of the incubator is good because the owner has the opportunity to make it the way it is needed specifically for its purpose. In particular, we are talking about the size of the device. In addition, rather cheap materials are used to create such equipment, and with the current electronics market it is possible to fully automate the operation of the unit.

Varieties and dimensions

Before you make an incubator with your own hands, you need to decide which particular unit can be assembled. As the main materials can be used polystyrene, cardboard boxes, plywood or wood. It is also possible to assemble equipment based on an old refrigerator. The list of these materials applies only to the main details. That is, a body will be assembled from them, as well as a cover for equipment.

The size of the incubator, of course, will depend on the number of eggs that will be placed inside it. Another factor affecting these characteristics is the location of the lamps that heat the device.

In order to represent the desired dimensions, we can give an example. The medium-sized incubator has a length of 450-470 mm, a width of 300-400 mm. With such dimensions, the egg capacity will be approximately as follows:

• chicken up to 70 pieces;
• duck or turkey eggs up to 55;
• goose up to 40;
• quail up to 200.

What is needed for assembly

How to make an incubator with your own hands? The main part for removing chicks in this way is the housing. The selected material must necessarily retain heat well. If sharp jumps in temperature are noticed, then the probability of getting a healthy brood of chicks will drop sharply. Therefore, to make the case, you need to take plywood, polystyrene, the case from an old TV or refrigerator. The eggs themselves will be placed in trays made of wood or plastic. The bottom of such trays is assembled from slats or nets.

Today it is possible to automate the process of turning eggs. To do this, a special device is installed, which after a certain period of time indicated on the timer will reject the contents to the side.

But when assembling the incubator with your own hands, the heating system becomes the most important part. As practice shows, incandescent lamps are used quite successfully for these purposes, with a power of 25 to 10 kW, depending on the size of the equipment.

The procedure for monitoring the temperature inside can be done using a conventional thermometer. However, here you can also automate the process if you install a temperature controller with a sensor. Also inside you need to monitor the air circulation, it should not stagnate. For this, either natural or forced ventilation is equipped.

If you are going to assemble a small incubator with your own hands, then a few holes made in the lid and bottom are quite enough. If, for example, a case from an old refrigerator is used, then fans from above and below will already be needed.

Polystyrene foam aggregates

Expanded polystyrene is one of the most popular materials that is used when assembling the incubator with your own hands at home. Its advantages are that it is quite cheap, has a low weight, and also has excellent thermal insulation characteristics. In order to make such an aggregate, you will need to have at hand the following materials:

• 2 sheets of foam with a thickness of 50 mm;
• glue and tape;
• 4 incandescent lamps with a capacity of 25 kW;
• fan (you can use small models that are installed in the computer);
• temperature regulator;
• egg trays and one water tray.

Before proceeding with the assembly, it is better to make a drawing so as not to make a mistake with the dimensions. Further, the work looks like this:

1. One of the sheets of polystyrene foam is cut into 4 parts, which will be equal in size. These will be the walls for the incubator.
2. The second sheet of material is cut in half.
3. After that, one of the parts must be cut into two parts. This should be done in such a way that the width of one was 60 cm, and the other 40 cm.
4. That part of the sheet, which will have dimensions of 40 x 50 cm, is used as the bottom; the part with dimensions of 60 x 50 cm will serve as a cover. Thanks to just such an assembly with your own hands at home, the incubator will be able to assemble the unit, which will be tightly closed. And this is very important.
5. After that, you need to cut out a small viewing window in the part that is the cover. The window measures 13 x 13 cm. It is used for observation and ventilation. The window is closed with glass or transparent plastic.

Assembly of individual elements in a single unit

To assemble the frame, it is necessary to use those cuts that were made from the first sheet:

• First, the side walls are assembled. For fixing, glue is used.
• When it dries, you can proceed to gluing the bottom. The edges of the sheet (40 x 50 cm) are greased with glue, after which it is inserted into the frame from the side walls.
• To increase the stiffness of the incubator made of foam, do it yourself, wrap it with tape. For this, the first thing to do is to tighten the bottom so that there is an overlap on the walls. After which the whole structure is already wrapped.
• In order to create uniform heating and ensure good air circulation, the egg tray should be placed on two bars. They are also cut out of foam with dimensions of 4 cm in width and 6 cm in height. They are glued to the bottom along those walls that have a size of 50 cm.
• In those walls that are shorter (40 cm each), you need to drill three identical 12 mm holes at an equal distance from each other. To do this, 1 cm should deviate from the bottom. Since polystyrene foam is cut poorly enough with a knife, it is better to make holes with a soldering iron.

Completion of work

When assembling a simple incubator with your own hands, you need to make sure that the lid is held tight:

1. To do this, stick 2 x 2 cm bars on its edges or a maximum of 3 x 3 cm. The distance from the edge of the sheet should be 5 cm, then they will fit tightly inward and lie against the walls.
2. After that, you need to fix the cartridges for installing incandescent lamps. You can hang them using strips of mesh.
3. Next, on the lid of the box, a thermostat is mounted on the outside. The sensor itself must be fixed inside the incubator 1 cm higher than the eggs.
4. The hole for the wire is made using a sharp awl.
5. After that, you can install the tray. Here you need to ensure that the distance between this element and the walls is 4-5 cm, otherwise ventilation will be disturbed. If it seems that it is not enough, then you can install a fan, but it should blow on the lamps, not on the eggs, otherwise they will dry.

Manual or automatic drive

In order to successfully carry out the incubation process, it is necessary to constantly turn the eggs 180 degrees. However, doing this manually is quite problematic, as the process will take a very long time. To facilitate this procedure, craftsmen assemble automatic incubators with their own hands . Several drives can act as an automated mechanism. It can be a mobile grid, roller rotation or the inclination of the tray by 45 degrees.

The mobile grid option is most often used in simple device models, such as a foam incubator. The essence of the unit is quite simple. The net is constantly moving slowly, which is why the eggs lying on it will constantly turn over. You can rotate the grid manually or in automatic mode.

The disadvantage of using such a device is that the egg does not always roll over. It happens that it just "drags" along the grid.

It’s quite simple to make an incubator with your own hands at home, but adding roller rotation is more difficult, as many round elements and bushings are used for this. A similar device works with the help of round rollers, which are covered with a mesh, most often a mosquito. In order for the eggs not to roll in any direction, the tray is divided into many small compartments with sides. While the tape is moving, the contents will turn over.

A self-made incubator from the refrigerator (with auto-rotation) most often provides for the third option - an inclined grid. It is worth noting that such a device copes with its task better than the previous two, since each egg will necessarily turn over.

Automatic egg flipping kits include power supplies and motors. In this case, the tray is divided into several smaller compartments. The engine will rotate each of them after a certain period of time, which the user will set.

What you need to collect the incubator from the refrigerator

How to make an incubator with your own hands at home from the refrigerator? In order to assemble such equipment, you will definitely need a drawing and a diagram on which all connections will be marked. Next, you need to free the old refrigerator from all shelves, including the freezer.

The progress of work looks like this:

• On the inside, holes are drilled in the ceiling for installing incandescent lamps, as well as one through hole, for arranging ventilation.
• In order to increase the time that the refrigerator will be able to retain heat, it is recommended to decorate its walls with expanded polystyrene.
• The grilles that were installed in the refrigerator can be used as trays or used as supports for trays.
• Closer to the bottom of the refrigerator you need to drill at least three holes of 1.5 x 1.5 cm. This will be ventilation for the incubator.
• In order to improve ventilation in a self-assembled egg incubator, you can install fans on top near incandescent lamps. If fans are mounted on top, the same should be installed on the bottom.

Assembly of the device from bars and plywood

In the event that there is no possibility of assembly from the refrigerator, then you can do with materials such as wooden beams and plywood. In this case, the frame will be assembled from bars, and plywood will become the casing. It is important to note here that the sheathing must be two-layer, so that insulation can be placed between the layers.

Lamp holders will be attached to the ceiling, and in the middle of the structure two additional bars will be attached, which will be a support for the tray. In order to achieve better evaporation of water, another lamp is mounted below. It is important to remember that the distance between the tray and the lamp should be at least 15-17 cm.

In the lid for such an incubator, it is necessary to make a viewing window, which will be closed by a sliding glass. If necessary, it will be removed to create additional ventilation. In addition, closer to the floor, along the long walls of the structure, several through holes must be drilled.

About the same principle, some people assemble units from old TV cases. In this case, the dimensions of the incubator, made with your own hands, you will not adjust. They will depend on the case of the device.

This option is suitable when it is planned to grow a small number of chicks, as a large tray does not fit inside. It is also worth adding here that the process of egg revolution is not automated here. All work is carried out manually, as there are few eggs and it will not take much time. In addition, there is no need to equip ventilation, since fresh air will enter the incubator each time the lid is opened.

Incubator heating

One of the main topics is the heating system for a homemade incubator. Since there are several types of it, you need to know the general rules that must be followed in any case:

1. The basic rule concerns the placement of heating elements. They should be located under the tray, on top, side and around the perimeter, for uniform heating of the eggs.
2. If heating is carried out using a nichrome wire, then it must be at least 10 cm away from the tray. If lamps are used, they should be placed at a distance of at least 25 cm.
3. In any type of incubator, drafts must be excluded. The error of the maintained temperature should not exceed more than half a degree.
4. As a regulator, you can use electric contactors, barometric sensors or bimetal plates.
5. In addition, special attention must be paid to safety, since home-made devices are highly fire hazard. It is worth noting that the DIY assembly of an incubator from the refrigerator is perhaps the most secure.

Key recommendations for assembly

There are also general rules and recommendations that you need to follow in any case and when assembling any type of apparatus:

• Firstly, it is very important to maintain constant heat. This applies even to cases where there is no electricity. To heat the incubator when there is no electricity, a special battery must be provided in which hot water can be poured. Covering it with a blanket, it will be possible to heat the incubator for 11-12 hours.
• Secondly, it is very important to ensure that heat is distributed evenly throughout the incubator. In order not to have to constantly move the tray, it is necessary to equip two heat sources. One is installed from below, the other from above.
• Another very important point is the optimization of temperature. In order to provide a faster supply of warm air to the eggs, in the process of manufacturing the trays, their bottom is made of mesh. In addition, the tray should be movable, not stationary. In this case, problems with temperature fluctuations will not arise at all.
• Another important point is the different temperature for the eggs. In the first two days of incubation, you need to warm them well, so the heat is maintained at 38-38.7 degrees. If we talk about chicken eggs, then the temperature should constantly drop. In the early days, the regulator is set to a value of 39-38 ° C. By the end of the incubation period, it should reach 37.6 ° C. For duck eggs, a decrease is also necessary - from 37.8 to 37.1 ° C. But quail eggs throughout the entire period should be kept at a temperature of 37.5 degrees.
• It is also worth noting that you need to place the eggs horizontally. If you place them vertically, then the percentage of exit of chickens will be significantly lower.