Redwood Incubators - Information, help, for sale and wanted

[My Henny Hens]

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There is a flat bar that is welded to the stiff wire holders. You don't have to have the wavy wire, they just keep the eggs from moving around. If you have 4 trays you need 2 turners. You slide one out of one and push it in the other. It looks like your bottom 2 trays are either in backwards, or rebuilt where there is no gap for the turner to slide in.

Thank you! Yes, the bottom 2 trays are in backward in the pic. I realized after I posted. Mine does have the wavy wires. Do you think that it is better to use them or leave them out?

 

[Atomicfuzz]

If there is anyone in the Northeast, especially NY, that has a Humidaire incubator and/or Hatcher I am interested in purchasing them. Any help will appreciated. Thank you!

 

[bosingleton]

Thank you! Yes, the bottom 2 trays are in backward in the pic. I realized after I posted. Mine does have the wavy wires. Do you think that it is better to use them or leave them out?

I would definitely use them. The only reason you wouldn't is if you want to fit more eggs, but then they could be overcrowded and possibly not turn.

 

[My Henny Hens]

I would definitely use them. The only reason you wouldn't is if you want to fit more eggs, but then they could be overcrowded and possibly not turn.

Thanks! I've got a "test hatch" of 34 eggsin the bator now. I LOVE IT!

It holds the heat and humidity GREAT! SO much better than any other bator I've used. If everything goes well, we'll load her up with a few hundred for our 4H fundraiser hatch! With that many eggs, however, I'm hoping my hubby can create a turner.

 

[quintinp]

@ MyHennyHens, you have a beautiful unit. I may have missed the post where you mentioned the price, but I am very curious how much you spent for that beauty?!?

You won't be disappointed.

Another thing....
There should be some rails along the inside of your incubator, right above the top shelf. This is where mine are anyway... I am guessing that your water pan will go there. I made the mistake of placing my water pan above my heating element. (thinking that if I place the water pan HERE, it will get warm and therefore MORE HUMIDITY) I was WRONG. It just messed with the temperature in my incubator. I figured out that it is best to place the pan of water above the top shelf, with the fan blowing air across the pan of water. THIS method will give you much better humidity and a steady temperature!

 

[quintinp]

If you don't have the nifty egg turning rails that Bosingleton was talking about, you can use the palm of your hand to roll the eggs around in the tray. Do it 3 times a day If you like. I did it 2 times a day. Immediately when I woke up and right before I went to sleep. They spent the same amount of time on each side when I turned them. I had a great hatch rate.. 100%. You may want to build some type of egg turning rails though. They are handy, and quick!

 

[My Henny Hens]

@ MyHennyHens, you have a beautiful unit. I may have missed the post where you mentioned the price, but I am very curious how much you spent for that beauty?!?

You won't be disappointed.

Another thing....
There should be some rails along the inside of your incubator, right above the top shelf. This is where mine are anyway... I am guessing that your water pan will go there. I made the mistake of placing my water pan above my heating element. (thinking that if I place the water pan HERE, it will get warm and therefore MORE HUMIDITY) I was WRONG. It just messed with the temperature in my incubator. I figured out that it is best to place the pan of water above the top shelf, with the fan blowing air across the pan of water. THIS method will give you much better humidity and a steady temperature!

quintinp, thank you! I didn't post the price, but we paid $250. The only thing I did was wipe the outside down with Murphy's Oil Soap, and disinfect the inside before setting eggs. I currently have a test hatch batch in the bator and can see that rolling my hand over the eggs could work well. I'm still hopeful they hubby can rig something, however!

Has anyone had a spike in temp? or the temp drop dramatically? This bator has held really consistent temps until the other day when it got REALLY hot. I slowly brought the temp down and was able to regulate the temp. The temp held all day well. The next morning, the temp was down quite a bit. So, again I regulated the temp and so far so good. I was just curious if anyone had any insight? I do have little kids so I wonder if someone got curious about what the wing nuts on top were about and played with them. They all deny it, but it's a possibility. Based on others experiences, is is more likely the bator went wonky? or more likely my littles played a part?

Thanks!

 

[Chicken Rustler]

@ MyHennyHens, you have a beautiful unit. I may have missed the post where you mentioned the price, but I am very curious how much you spent for that beauty?!?

You won't be disappointed.

Another thing....
There should be some rails along the inside of your incubator, right above the top shelf. This is where mine are anyway... I am guessing that your water pan will go there. I made the mistake of placing my water pan above my heating element. (thinking that if I place the water pan HERE, it will get warm and therefore MORE HUMIDITY) I was WRONG. It just messed with the temperature in my incubator. I figured out that it is best to place the pan of water above the top shelf, with the fan blowing air across the pan of water. THIS method will give you much better humidity and a steady temperature!

This is a Leahy. They were made to have the water on the bottom. Right above the heat.

Quote: I would make sure to have a spare wafer on hand. What you described is kind of what a bad wafer acts like. Also any temp adjustments should be VERY small movement of the knob. It doesn't take much to change the temp a lot.

 

[bosingleton]

quintinp, thank you! I didn't post the price, but we paid $250. The only thing I did was wipe the outside down with Murphy's Oil Soap, and disinfect the inside before setting eggs. I currently have a test hatch batch in the bator and can see that rolling my hand over the eggs could work well. I'm still hopeful they hubby can rig something, however!

Has anyone had a spike in temp? or the temp drop dramatically? This bator has held really consistent temps until the other day when it got REALLY hot. I slowly brought the temp down and was able to regulate the temp. The temp held all day well. The next morning, the temp was down quite a bit. So, again I regulated the temp and so far so good. I was just curious if anyone had any insight? I do have little kids so I wonder if someone got curious about what the wing nuts on top were about and played with them. They all deny it, but it's a possibility. Based on others experiences, is is more likely the bator went wonky? or more likely my littles played a part?

Thanks!

When I first got mine up and running it would run perfect for about 2 weeks, then it would spike to like 120. It had new wafers so it was obviously the thermostat itself. The switch would get stuck, which can make it fluctuate both ways (stuck on and stuck off). I installed a digital thermostat and it has been perfectly consistent, hatching chicks in my ~40 degree garage. http://www.gqfmfg.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=149

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote: Actually the wafer IS the thermostat. The switch is activated by the wafer which is temperature sensitive.