Incubators

[yoyo]

Anyone using incubators to raise queens? If so, what do you use, or can I build something? Plans?

[tarheit]

Honestly a incubator is fairly simple device. You just need a way to keep a box warm to 92 degrees (95.5 degrees ideally. I've seen 92 recommended I think simply to avoid overheating and 92 works just fine). Plus a source for humidity. The humidity level isn't critical and I've never seen an incubator (homemade or commercial) that even monitored the level.

I have a box that's basically just a 5 frame nuc so I can place the frames right in it. It's heated by two light bulbs and controlled by a Ranco thermostat. Humidity is provided by a plastic tray with a sponge and water. A cheaper poultry incubator thermostat should work just as well though you'll have to add your own thermostat and it's probably not as accurate or easy to adjust.

Pictures: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/16.32.0.0.1.0.phtml
Plans: http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/beekeeping_plans.phtml
Old discussion on incubators: http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/agriculture/entomology/beekeeping/general/management/queen.incubator.txt

I've since also made one from an old refrigerator using a fan, ceramic heater, Ranco ETC thermostat, and a large bowl of water for humidity. Works just as well and was under $100 and I now use the 5 frame nuc model mostly for transporting cells or holding brood while grafting.

I'm sure there are some previous threads on incubators here as well if you do a search.

-Tim

[Michael Bush]

I have the one tarheit has for sale. It's very nice. I use it to buy resources sometimes when I need to use a finisher as another starter or I'm running behind getting cells into mating nucs.

[yoyo]

Thanks Tim, I saw your website. The Ranco thermostat looks nice, but is more than I want to spend. I want to try to build one but I am really stretched on cash right now. Another question though, at looking at your queen rearing supplies, you have a caged queen bar that keeps the newly emerging queens from killing each other. That is nothing new as Doolittle had a similar device. Question is, if the queens hatch out and you are not there for ,say,24hrs, will the queen be inferior or even die? Doolittle recommended putting a dab of honey at the end of the cell so that she can eat right away, or can you just place a few bees in to do the job? I need a good book on queen rearing.

[peggjam]

You can purchase a waffer style thermostat from GQF for around $25, and they work nice for these setups:). I usually keep a few floating around for various projects.

[Michael Bush]

Use hair curler cages when using an incubator or when leaving them in the cell finisher until they emerge. I put a "drop" of crystallized honey on the cap before putting the cap on. If the cap has some indentations of some kind I try to get it into those. Too much honey and the queen gets covered in honey. But if you have none, she runs back up in the cell looking for food and often doesn't come back out.

[tarheit]

I pretty much do the same thing. A drop of honey on the screen is necessary if they hatch out in the incubator or the queen won't last long at all even if she doesn't go back up into the cell. They can keep ok for about 24 hours but not much longer. They do quite well though if you put the cages in a queenless hive.

An even cheaper incubator would be to just put the cells in cages and bank them in a queenless hive.

-Tim

[wayacoyote]

Anyone able to describe the wiring? I can't read a schematic, but I can join the peices if I know what I need. I'm looking for something that, like Tim said, can have other uses. wE raise chichens when need to be at 91F so the same controller should work. I just don't want chicks in my queen incubator. So I'm thinking that it will need to be modular so I can move it between incubators. Also, to get queen cells to outyards, can I run something off an 12v DC inverter? How large would the Inverter need to be?

Waya

[tarheit]

As long as you don't use too large a heater in the incubator, an inexpensive 300-400W inverter that plugs into the cigarettes lighter will work fine. My portable incubator just uses a couple light bulbs (40W I think) and it runs just fine on the incubator.

You could use something like this http://www.rancoetc.com/ranco-etc111000000-prewired-digital-temperature-controller-p-87.html
Just plug it in the wall, plug your heat source (utility light, ceramic heater, etc.) and your good to go. Easy to switch between poultry, queen incubator and honey warmer in the off season.

Still may be cheaper to get a couple wafer style thermostats depending on what you are doing.

-Tim

[Beemaninsa]

Peggjam, please feel free to slap me stoopid, but who is GQF?

[tarheit]

Q.Q.F. Manufacturing Company.

Their wafer style thermostat is here:
https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=147

I've received a few ads from them this year offering a 'Mobile Queen Nursery'
https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=292

They don't have a picture on their website, but it looks exactly like their '1588 The Genesis Hova-Bator' https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=77
The flier then sent out shows they basically added a few bars that hold JZBZ wide base cell cups.

Looks like it would work well, runs off of 12v so no inverter is needed for a car. Much, much cheaper than the caricell queen cell incubator.

-Tim

[wayacoyote]

Tim,
That's what we were considering doing. We've been budgeting our wedding gifts, etc to go toward an egg incubator and were considering a Hova-Bator due to its readily availability and parts (and entry-level price).

The wafer you showed above... So basically I'd wire the leads between the power supply and the heating element? Outside of optional power switch and perhaps an indicator light, is there anything I Must have to assemble a homebuilt incubator? (I'm thinking of the light bulbs like you're plans show).
It specifies that it's a 22 amp. My inverter has a 20 Amp fuse. So would this wafer be too big for that inverter (I need another one anyway)?

[tarheit]

22 Amps is the max the thermostat can handle. Less is just fine. The 20 Amp fuse is on the 12V input to the inverter. The inverter can handle far less on the 110V output (Less than 3 Amps on a 300W inverter actually).

I think you are on the right track. You really just need a power supply, thermostat and heat source, wired in that order. I haven't looked closely at the wafer style thermostat, but I think it only has a single wire in and out. So one leg from the power supply would go to the thermostat, then the heat source. The other leg would go directly from the power supply to the heat source.

-Tim

[wayacoyote]

Thanks, Tim! Yes, the wafer setup has two wires, one in and one out I'm sure.
My wife will be extatic to know that she can get this sooner than she thought. And I'll be ready for the queen rearing this spring.

If you're really into electronics (I always wish I had studied it), I've got a thread on solar panels with questions under Tailgater. I'd appreciate help from you electro-gurus.

[tarheit]

My degree is actually in Electrical Engineering of all things. Never had a job in the field though.

-Tim

[yoyo]

What wattage bulbs are needed to produce a 95 degree temperature?
Does the light need to be sheilded to keep the cells in the dark?
I assume a sponge in a tray of water would be enough to give some humidity?
I really like the ranco temperature control specs. With that wide of a range, they can be used for just about anything. I will try to get me one of those.

[tarheit]

A 40W bulb gets the incubator to temperature relatively quickly. At least one the size of a 5 frame nuc. It depends on exactly how big an area you are heating and what the temperature outside the box is. I use two bulbs mainly for a failsafe in case one burns out. Less wattage would probably work.

I'd keep something between the bulb and cells, not so much to keep them in the dark, but to keep them from being directly heated by the bulb. I use a piece of heavy aluminum flashing, brown side towards the bulbs to absorb and distribute the heat more evenly.

A tray of water will give plenty of humidity. Sponge is really only necessary to keep the water from sloshing around when I move it. You do need to watch and keep it moist though. With the larger incubator I use two large bowls of water and it doesn't need refilled as often.

-Tim

[wayacoyote]

Another idea for heat came to me:
When I was a zookeeper, we had ceramic heaters that screwed into the light fixtures of our cages. This provided radiant heat without expending some energy on unnecessary light. I've seen them at pet supply places. I don't know the wattage, but I'd guess a 40 watt heater would produce more usable heat than a light bulb. What do you think?

[yoyo]

OK , I snagged a Ranco temperature control off of Ebay. Next step , is heat source and what about a muffin fan to circulate the air?

[wayacoyote]

Or can computer fan be added somehow without difficulties?

[James Dilley]

G Q F = Georgia Quail Farms, There in Ga. they make Styrofoam Incubators for poultry as well as Cabinet models. Bye the Way Farm Supply stores and feed stores sell them too. G Q F aslso has larger Wooden Incubators There are several Companies that make the Incubators!

[sierrabees]

I just use an old refrigerator, a chicken brooder thermostat wired to a couple of red light bulbs, and a small computer fan to keep air circulating. A high low thermometer in the center lets me monitor the temp range, and the double light bulb gives a backup when one burns out. I use this for hatching chicken eggs, holding an occasional queen cell when I dont have a swarm to put it in right away, and in the winter I can stick about fifty pounds of bottled, crystalized honey in it for a week or so and liquify it without overheating it.

Total cost to make one is around $100, and just about everything except the thermostat and light bulb is recycled. One important thing though. These chicken brooder thermostats should be replaced every year or at least every two years because they fail with time.

[sierrabees]

Tarhiet:

What is the range of temp variation from the set temp on that digital thermostat? (+/- degrees F)

[yoyo]

I'll answer if your talking about the Ranco model ETC-111000-000.

Single stage with 8' extended sensor
Range -30F to +220F
Differential 1F to 30F
Power 120v or 208/240v
output SPDT relay, can handle 15A resistive load
Programmable for heat or cool mode

funny thing, it says

"assembled in MEXICO
Brownsville,Texas"

[Will]

Anyone got any pics of GQF's Bee-Q-Bator??

Thanks,

Will

[TwT]

Peggjam, please feel free to slap me stoopid, but who is GQF?


https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/front.asp

I have ordered from them before when I was raising game birds... they got everything you need for incubators

[tarheit]

Somewhere I have a flier on the Bee-Q-Bator with pictures, but can't find it right now. It's the same as the Hova-Bator (https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=77 ), except that it has bars to fit JZBZ wide cell cups.

-Tim

[TwT]

Somewhere I have a flier on the Bee-Q-Bator with pictures, but can't find it right now. It's the same as the Hova-Bator (https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=77 ), except that it has bars to fit JZBZ wide cell cups.

-Tim

heres the ad for it Tim but no pic's, it looks like the Hova-Bator Pic

https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_listItems.asp?idCategory=58

[Velbert]

https://secure.thorne.co.uk/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/millhouse/thorne/shop/shania?ACTION=thispage&THISPAGE=page22.html&ORDER_ID=192752326

[JohnBeeMan]

>>>>heres the ad for it Tim but no pic's, it looks like the Hova-Bator Pic

>>>> https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersu...?idCategory=58

I tried the link and got server not found. I then saw trhat the address used https so I tried http://www.gqfmfg.com and was able to quickly navigate to table top incubators.

[Joseph Clemens]

Try this link. I think they changed the product number.

https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=292

[Velbert]

https://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=292

[Ross]

another option...
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/incubator/incubator1.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/incubator/incubator2.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/incubator/incubator3.jpg
http://www.myoldtools.com/Bees/incubator/incubator4.jpg