# Home made incubator build



## Nigel_wales (Mar 24, 2009)

Here is my home made incubator build so far. Tell me what you guys think?












This is the inside of the incubator without the shelving fitted yet. I have lined it with clear perspex and screwed in the guides for the shelving to the sides. I'm not sure whether to bother treating the hardwood I've used inside. I will be running heated wire around the sides and bottom and will put a heat mat on the back wall to give all round temperature. What are your views on this? This is also upside down at this point.










Another shot of the incubator in the same state as above. All visible screws have been filled in to be sanded down and stained over afterwards.











2/3 of the way through the shelving. We have kept large spaces between the pieces of shelving to allow for adequate ventilation.










This is what we've left it at tonight. It measures just over 3ft high by 2ft deep by 2ft wide.


----------



## monitor mad (Jun 16, 2008)

Looking good mate , once its insulated it should do the job well , 

nice work :no1:


----------



## Nigel_wales (Mar 24, 2009)

monitor mad said:


> Looking good mate , once its insulated it should do the job well ,
> 
> nice work :no1:


What do you mean by insulating it - I was hoping once the door was on and with the perspex lining inside that should hold steady temps? I will obviously been testing it thoroughly for a few days or even weeks if it takes that. 

What would you recommend to do on insulating it?


----------



## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Looks good but as the plywood is only thin i personally would insulate it (even with polystyrene tiles as this would work well).


----------



## Nigel_wales (Mar 24, 2009)

corny girl said:


> Looks good but as the plywood is only thin i personally would insulate it (even with polystyrene tiles as this would work well).


Thanks good idea with lining it with polystyrene, however would this cause a fire risk with it being in close contact to the heat emitting items?


----------



## corny girl (Aug 30, 2009)

Nigel_wales said:


> Thanks good idea with lining it with polystyrene, however would this cause a fire risk with it being in close contact to the heat emitting items?



Shouldn't do :2thumb:. Have had polystyrene tiles then a heat mat & then the RUB with no adverse effects :no1:. Also the temps will be less than our body temperature i assume!!!


----------



## Nigel_wales (Mar 24, 2009)

corny girl said:


> Shouldn't do :2thumb:. Have had polystyrene tiles then a heat mat & then the RUB with no adverse effects :no1:. Also the temps will be less than our body temperature i assume!!!


 
Ok I may line the wall with a thing layer of polystyrene.


----------



## motorhead (Dec 5, 2010)

looks well, nice build,but with the rest on insulating it with polystyrene!! :2thumb:


----------



## Nigel_wales (Mar 24, 2009)

motorhead said:


> looks well, nice build,but with the rest on insulating it with polystyrene!! :2thumb:


thanks mate


----------



## motorhead (Dec 5, 2010)

well nigel did you get any polystyrene and put it in ? if so did you run it for a few days to see how the temperature was in it,please let us all know as its a good build!!


----------



## Nigel_wales (Mar 24, 2009)

motorhead said:


> well nigel did you get any polystyrene and put it in ? if so did you run it for a few days to see how the temperature was in it,please let us all know as its a good build!!


No I didn't use polystyrene in the end I did buy some just incase but monitored the temps before adding it and they were fine. The temps are solid tbh I've come down at 5:30am and opened the back door to let the dog out and left it open for 45 mins and it literally dropped 0.2F initially, then the stat kicked in and put it back to the correct temp sharpish! I've read on various breeding articles that slight variations in temperature are witnessed and could possibly do the eggs good as I would imagine they would be subject to this in the wild but what I receive is very minimal and probaly doesnt affect the temps inside the airtight egg containers.

I think the layer of perspex sandwiched against the 3/4 ply seems to trap air which helps with the insulation. The wood has been saturated with 6 coats of yacht varnish which in turn will help with insulation. The glass window on the front it also 2 sandwiched pieces of perspex so is double glazing in effect. Lastly the seal on the door works extremely well with the locks used on the side which pull it tight.

Thanks for the good comment mate!


----------



## Nigel_wales (Mar 24, 2009)

Here is the thread with pics of the completed build should of updated this 1 really!

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/breeding/707509-my-home-made-incubator.html


----------

