Help In Selecting A Temperature Alarm For My ReptiPro 6000 Incubator

Velvet Sparrow

Songster
10 Years
Mar 2, 2013
44
93
112
I'm looking for recommendations for a temperature alarm I can use with my ReptiPro incubator. The alarm should have a probe that goes inside the incubator, and I'd *like* to get one accurate to +/- one degree, and can track drops/spikes in temperature. I see lots of charting thermometers that are upwards of $400...anyone know of a good one under $100?
I was looking for something like this: https://www.thomassci.com/Instrumen...s-Traceable-Big-Digit-Four-Alarm-Thermometers

Annoying backstory:
My little ReptiPro 6000 incubator has worked like a champ since 2013...except for the last two years. While embryo development has remained stable, my hatch rate has plummeted, and I'm getting at-term chicks dead in shell and chicks that hatch and then die. Last spring, out of 29 eggs I got 18 embryos, 6 hatched, 2 lived. I got similar results the year before. I DON'T depend on the ReptiPro controls for temperature, instead I have a seperate hygrometer and a Spot Check probe thermometer (used with a water weasel) to get accurate 'inside the egg' temperatures.
One thing--I'm hatching at a high altitude--4,751 feet--which I already know puts a ding in my hatch rate because of low air pressure and a difference in eggshell pore size. But I've been hatching here, using this same equipment, since 2013, and only in the last couple of years has my hatch/living chick rate declined so badly.
Picture of my setup below.

Any advice or help would be REALLY appreciated, thanks!
 

Attachments

  • Image002.jpg
    Image002.jpg
    614.2 KB · Views: 23
Just in case anyone else is looking for something like this, a friend pointed me to this one...it's a chef's temperature probe with a high/low alarm feature! You can set it for as little as a two degreee difference. It seems to be just what we need to 'cook' our chickens--LOL, who knew?: https://www.thermoworks.com/chefalarm/
 
Last edited:
Here is the Govee that I use to incubate eggs. It's only the Bluetooth version, they have a wifi one that allows updates and alarms while out of Bluetooth range. It's super cheap and charts as seen in the screen shot.
Screenshot_20230211_015704_Govee Home.jpg
 
Thanks for the feedback! I went ahead and ordered some equipment. Just in case anyone else is in the same boat or WILL be in the future, I'll update this thread when I find out what the heck is going on with my incubator and eggs...knowledge is power!
 
Just out of curiosity, since others have answered your questions about the tools you were looking for-
How old are the birds whose eggs you are trying to hatch?
What kind of birds?
The shells become more porous as the birds age, and more difficult to hatch.
Humidity requirements change with the age of the laying hens- and hatch rates reduce even with the best conditions
(In my experience. Admitted greenhorn. Anyone who has figured out how to compensate for hatching eggs from older hens- please speak up 😉)
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom