incubator working funny

br0nc0

Chirping
5 Years
Jan 14, 2017
122
19
96
Slovenia
Hey guys,

I have an incubator that was working perfectly fine for the first 3 hatches, the 4th time the problem began about halfway through and then I had a couple of crazy days at the end (i managed to hatch the chicks anyway)

So I can't figure out the source of the problem. The incubator will work fine for, let's say, half a day, and then the heater will simply stop working. Sometimes it starts back after 10 minutes, sometimes i can't get it working for days. When it starts working again, it's like nothing was ever wrong. The thing that bothers me is that the alarm for low temperature goes off, the sign for working heater turns on, but the heater itself starts to cool and the temperature drops.

Has anybody had any similar issues? I'd like to start hatching in about a month, and at this moment I don't know whether to put effort into fiying this bator or finding a new one.
 
It's a generic brand chinese cheap incubator, that I decided to try out because it was the only one I could afford at the time. It's only 6 months old, and I had great hatch results, but now it's acting up. I have checked the wires, they *seem* to be okay, but I'm no expert :D
 
It sounds like something might be wrong with the temperature sensor. What does the incubator look like? Clear bottom with yellow top? White bottom with clear top? And how many eggs does it hold?
 
It's a 56 egg incubator with white bottom/clear top, they seem to be everywhere lately... I think I'm gonna get a friend check the sensor and then see what happens, thanks for the tip :)
 

That is the same one I have. It worked great all last summer but I do wonder if it will work properly when I break it out again in the spring! Keep me posted. So far I have never had issues with the temps, but the racks fall off of the turner motor periodically and its kind of a pain because you have to pull all the eggs out to fix it.
 
It's been great for me, really, so I hope to get it fixed. Never had a problem with racks though... The only thing that's not good about it is the insulation. I built a styrofoam box and put the incubator in, then i had 10/10 hatch the last time. I'll let you know what the problem was if i manage to get it fixed.
 
There's really not much to one of these incubators. You either have a failing PTC heater or a relay that is failing on the control board.

The warranty is a bit iffy so they tend to send you replacement parts that require some knowledge to install. Like most electrical items once its in fault its easy to find the problem using a volt meter. (a friend with a volt meter). The parts are cheap and with a little electrical knowledge its a $3 fix (2-3 week wait for the part to be delivered)

If its reporting the temperature on the display and calling for heat then the temperature probe is working (there's only one so it must be working to see the temperature).

If its calling for heat and the heater is not getting warm then testing with a meter will tell you if its the relay or PTC

if its calling for heat and the heater is getting luke warm but not hot enough to raise the temperature (that's the problem I had and from web search's its common) then the PTC is bad.
 
So, I just wanted to give an update - I had the incubator checked out by a local man who makes incubators. Turns out the heater malfunctioned and there was some sloppy work on the connections with the control board. He installed some new heaters that heat instantly, which should work better and cleaned up the circuts. I didn't bother with the warranty, so it cost me 20€ for the heater and 15€ for the work. It's been working fine for a couple of days now, I'll set the eggs in about two weeks.
 

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