Improved XM-18 Controller using Petroleum Liquid Gas-Based Automatic Heating Alternative for Egg Incubation in Developing Countries

Egg incubation is significant to modern agriculture; hence in this paper the design, implementation and integration of the Petroleum Liquid Gas (PLG) control into the existing XM-18 incubator controller will be presented. XM-18 controller is an automatic egg incubator controller, which has a reputable history of high % of hatchability and very low chick's mortality if operated on an uninterrupted AC power supply. However, the high rate of fluctuation of power supply in developing countries has resulted to the poor performance of the XM-18 controller. This hence makes it necessary to improve the XM-18 controller to suit the unique requirements of developing countries. The XM-18 circuit was improved using PIC12F683, ignition coil, spark plug, DC gas valve, and camp gas stove to accommodate the PLG and to automatically control the PLG as a heating source in the absence of the AC source. In so doing, the problem of power failure has been taking care by the standby PLG. With this improvement, the huge cost of running standby generator or setting of a power inverter plan is substituted with the low cost of the PLG control design. Furthermore, the huge labor associated with the use of kerosene source is now substituted with the autonomous control of the PLG. The improved LPG control incubator of 120 eggs capacity was compared with the Kerosene source incubator and incubator running on AC source and the hatchability of 65.3% and 72.22% respectively was obtained, while the hybrid of XM-18 & PLG gave a hatchability of 94.8%.