Simple and effective incubator..

[FadedMalone]

This is an incubator I made to hatch tarantula eggs but also use it for seed germinating, spawn jars and any thing else that needs to be incubated. Like the title says simple and effective. You can make these with what ever is around the house,totes,cardboard boxes any thing you can stack.


Things you'll need.
two boxes of some type
an appliance bulb or cfl
lamp socket with cord
lamp dimmer cord
two pieces of wood
some screws
some duct tape if needed.

the pics from left to right.
The first pic is where you incubate your spawn jars.
The second is of the bottom where your bulb goes for heat.
The third is the bulb on.
The fourth pic shows just how I covered the sides to hold heat.
The fifth pic shows how I attached the bulb to the bottom.I screwed the lamp socket to a piece wood to secure it to the bottom.Notice I used another piece of wood to secure the wood I screwed the socket to.
The sixth pic is them stacked.
The seventh pic is an LC jar.

For most things you want need it to hot but if you can't keep it under 85f I would go ahead and buy a lamp dimmer cord you can get from any home improvement store. That's pretty much it.Simple and effective.I hope this is easy to understand? Any questions just ask. How ever you make one be sure to make it where the bottom where the bulb is can breath. I wouldn't set your jars on the floor cause it gets hot so use something to elevate your jars like jar lids or something. You just need the air around the jars to be warm.Mine gets to 85 degrees in the incubator and no higher.Also cover the top to hold heat.

 

[GoAuto6]

Slick tek bud thanks for sharing...Gonna have to get a socket and slap one together for sure!

 

[FadedMalone]

It's a lot easier then reptile heat mats for me and cheaper as well. The lamp dimmer cord will be something you'll need for sure no matter what size bulb you use.

 

[Arty Zan]

Hmm not sure where my post went, maybe I didn't click reply lol.
Just went and checked and you did receive my rep already.

great tute, always like to see s bit of DIY after all necessity is the mother of invention and to able to make something Mcgyver style is cool.

Thanks for sharing bro

 

[FadedMalone]

Hmm not sure where my post went, maybe I didn't click reply lol.
Just went and checked and you did receive my rep already.

great tute, always like to see s bit of DIY after all necessity is the mother of invention and to able to make something Mcgyver style is cool.

Thanks for sharing bro

Thanks Arty. I'm all about DIY man. Why spend money on some things if you don't have to, know what I mean?

 

[FadedMalone]

Here is a little some thing to think about. If you have an old lamp take the socket out and you already have a cord or ceiling fan take the sockets out. Most ceiling fans have three to four sockets and you only need one. The extra sockets can be used to add side lighting in your grow space if you need them, put a Y connector in one socket and have two bulbs in one.

 

[deadkndys]

Using incubators isn't recommended with mushroom growing anymore as keeping them above 77 degrees promotes contam growth if they are present. Mycelium also produces it's own heat.

 

[FadedMalone]

Using incubators isn't recommended with mushroom growing anymore as keeping them above 77 degrees promotes contam growth if they are present. Mycelium also produces it's own heat.

I'd never grow mushrooms in an incubator,I would imagine your sub would dry out fast. Yeah mycelium generates it's own heat but from the way I understand it they produce no more then 5 degrees. This is for incubating spawn jars and what ever else. When you incubate your jars and the air around them is at 85 f then the inside of your jar will 90 f because of the myselium generating heat.. I've tried putting jars in a room at room temps and was slow,stuck them in my incubator at 70 and 75 degrees and production of mycelium growth picked up. Incubators and fruiting chambers are two different things.

 

[deadkndys]

I never said using it as a FC I was referring to colonizing jars. Your odds of getting a contamination when using a incubator doubles if not triples. Which is why if you go on a site like the shroomery hardly anyone recommends them as they do more harm then good. You must be doing something wrong as I always keep my jars around 78 degrees and my jars always finish in 2-3 weeks. Perhaps you are not getting enough gas exchange. Which is another reason incubators are no good. Keeping the jars in a enclosed spaces restricts the airflow and all you have in there is stale air.

 

[FadedMalone]

I never said using it as a FC I was referring to colonizing jars. Your odds of getting a contamination when using a incubator doubles if not triples. Which is why if you go on a site like the shroomery hardly anyone recommends them as they do more harm then good. You must be doing something wrong as I always keep my jars around 78 degrees and my jars always finish in 2-3 weeks. Perhaps you are not getting enough gas exchange. Which is another reason incubators are no good. Keeping the jars in a enclosed spaces restricts the airflow and all you have in there is stale air.

I get what your saying about gas exchange. Really can't just leave my jars out cause it gets to cool in my room. I have to keep my room cool for other reasons. My incubator breaths from the bottom to the top, there is landscape fabric on the bottom,in the middle and the top so it can breath. I built it to incubate tarantula eggs but found I could use it for other things as well. It works for me and that's what matters right? Right!!