Need new incubator. Ideas?

The temp does hold steady most of the time but it fluctuates a lot after i turn the eggs. The temp goes low and then high and the low and then high for about an hour after.

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That is perfectly normal... The internal temp of the egg is what matters not the fluctuations in air temp... As long as the average air temp results in stable internal egg temps all is good...

I hatched over 90 eggs out of my Farm Innovators 2100 this year, with about a 95% hatch rate overall... I did add a fan and also increased the height since I needed more height for peas, but beyond that nothing was changed...

Getting it stabilized with a KNOWN good thermometer is crucial, as the dial one on top is useless, and even the cheap one they include for inside is not perfect... I did notice that every so often the temps would start to creep up or down a little bit, but nothing drastic and some very minor adjustments and a watchful eye to make sure the adjustment was good fixed that, I ran my incubator for 5 months straight this year... If you did not have a known good and accurate thermometer (as you hint) that is probably more so your problem then the incubator and even the best incubator in the world won't help until you get a good thermometer...

IMO there is nothing inherently wrong with the Farm Innovators, it it what it is and it will get the job done...

Its got the automatic egg turning, temperature control, humidity control, alarms if the temp is too low. I read the description and reviews on it and I am sold! Now to save some money up for it.

MeepBeep said:

... even the best incubator in the world won't help until you get a good thermometer...

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so true
It took me a while and ruined eggs to understand that.

chikenobsession said:

Its got the automatic egg turning, temperature control, humidity control, alarms if the temp is too low. I read the description and reviews on it and I am sold! Now to save some money up for it.

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go for it and good luck

the humidity control and alarms are great features

I put high and low alarms on my cabinet and hatcher.

I'm going to get a thermometer as soon as I can.

chikenobsession said:

I'm going to get a thermometer as soon as I can.

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I got one of these for testing earlier this year, it's surprisingly accurate for $2 and Walmarts are everywhere so it's easy to obtain... Just compare all the ones at the store and get one that averages with all the others, not the odd high or low guy out...

**NOTE this one has some 'buffering' steel balls around the bulb so it 'floats'so it doesn't react as fast to minor changes but still works fine, you just don't get that instant reading... Also don't depend on the suction cup it's useless and when it lets go you face the glass breaking and metal beads everywhere, just lay it flat on the egg tray...

Ok. I keep that in mind when I go look. Thanks!