Probe Hygrometer Recommedations

[AmyPaperlady]

I have a small plastic incubator (a Brinsea Octagon 10) that I bought third hand. There is no built-in hygrometer, and there isn't really room to place a hygrometer inside (I'd bought one last year, struggled with placing it so I could actually read it, and, once the first chick hatched, he kept flipping it over and/or sitting on it, so I had no way of telling what the humidity was during hatching). So I decided to get a hygrometer with a probe. I bought an Incutherm from Incubator Warehouse, which arrived today. Slight problem, though--the probe is too big to go through the ventilation holes!



Does anyone have any recommendations for a hygrometer with a probe that will fit through a pencil-sized hole (I did test with a pencil--fits through nicely, but nothing bigger would)? Barring that, are there any reliable hygrometers with a probe with a cable that plugs into the readout (I'm thinking maybe unplugging the cable, feeding it through the hole from inside, and then plugging it back in), if such a thing even exists?

 

[JetCat]

try taking the plastic housing off of the sensor and see if it will fit though the hole then and replace the housing.

 

[AmyPaperlady]

Hm... There are screws in the housing... Don't have time right this minute, but I'll think about it (I was planning on returning it, which tampering with it won't allow--but if this works, then I don't have to return it!)

 

[AmyPaperlady]

I don't have a screwdriver the right size. Also, looking through the slots in the housing, it doesn't look like it would work, anyway.

Looking around online, there don't appear to be any probe hygrometers with a probe small enough to fit through my ventilation holes--unless the probe is for temperature only.

I was thinking, though... Given a good thermostat (which the Brinsea has) does it matter that, with the wire going through the door, that the incubator doesn't close all the way? I took pics of the gap, and of it closed fully:

 

[JetCat]

IMO that's going to allow a lot of humidity to escape, i'd drill the vent hole larger before i'd leave the door at a gap like that.

 

[TJordan]

IMO that's going to allow a lot of humidity to escape, i'd drill the vent hole larger before i'd leave the door at a gap like that.

I agree. That would allow a lot of humidity escape. Now if you want to avoid drilling a bigger hole you might try getting some foam tubing that fit the gap (can find at Walmart or lowes) and filling the gap with that. Good luck.

 

[JetCat]

you could even use the point of a knife (carefully) to remove the screws, or heck a #zero Phillips isn't very expensive you could always just pick up a small jewelers screwdriver. i think you'll be much happier with the probe though the vent hole.

 

[TJordan]

If you have a screwdriver just a little to small you can take a rubber band and put over the tip. I know. Sounds weird but it works. Same tip if you have a stripped screw.

 

[AmyPaperlady]

After all the asking and thinking and planning and trying to decide what tool to use, there turned out to be a simple solution that doesn't require modifying anything

I had decided to carve a notch by the drawer opening (the Octagon 10 egg tray pulls out of the side of the unit--there is no lid, as such) because the plastic of the drawer is a little softer than the black plastic of the base, where the ventilation holes are. Plus, making a notch for the cable to lay in would require less material to be removed than tripling the width of the vent hole would.

When I went to decide where exactly to make the notch, I actually looked at the main unit after I pulled the drawer out.

Oh... Why, yes, that nice big hole *is* still there when the unit's all closed up.

So, after some experimenting, this is what we have:

That's the twist tie that was around the cable holding the probe on the thermometer.

The hygrometer is now in a baggie with a capful of salt slurry being calibrated