Bator was 160 degrees yesterday!!

[daze333]

Quote:
Yep good idea, I didn't think of that but was not sure if you were working with bulbs or a heating element.

The more "on" time you can get to keep temperature the better, think of a broody she is on the eggs nearly all the time and is just off for short bits.

More smaller bulbs is better than one big one, one burns out you still have heat and given they are spaced out in the incubator the heat will be more even one egg to the next.

Thank you I will try that. I actually have 3 light sockets in the bator, I usually only use the 2 in the bottom. Should I try 2 40w or 3 25w? What t-stat do you recommend?

 

[daze333]

Quote:
Thank you for sympathizing! Doesn't it make for a horrible day?? Yes my bator is out of action for a little mourning time and until I get it set up properly again so this cannot repeat! Baky up in it?? Are you planning on having a backup t-stat or an alarm? Would love other ideas for a fix on this.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

I would go with 3 25W bulbs over 2 40w. If one 40W blows you are down to 40W if one 25 blows you still have 50W. Also having some heat above and below should help keep temperature of the eggs even top to bottom.

Something else too that can be done to even out the temperature is fill in any excess space in the incubator with mass, a chunk of metal, rocks, bricks ect. They will act as heat buffers and will help reduce cycling and temperatur spikes. If the power goes off they will help slow how quickly the incubator cools.

Forgot the link, here is one place to get the assembly used in many incubators. I am sure there are other sources that might be closer or cheaper too. http://www.berryhilllimited.com/b-cart/Product.asp?pid=TS115

 

[daze333]

Thanks again Clay Valley. So you think the wafer t-stats are better than the reptile version? Do you know how long they last? I will try the 3 25W bulbs.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

I am not really sure which would be better, not much experience with reptiles, not sure exactly which thermostat you are using either. Solid state ones may be the best bet as there are no mechanical moving parts to fail.

Trouble with the contact type thermostats is that each time they turn off and on there is an arc formed and this wears the contact surface the worse the condition of the contact surface then poorer it conducts when it does make contact which can lead to a more sustained arc and the contacts having a delay in opening or fusing completely. The more curent the contacts need to carry (higher wattage bulbs) and the more often they switch off and on the greater the likelyhood of failure. I think getting your bulb wattage down will help alot. If you find it too slow to bring to temperature then maybe a 150W could be used on a manual switch just for initial warm-up.

http://www.eggcartons.com/product-e...placement_Solid_State_Thermostat_Control_9207

The other option might be something along the line of the Helix Controls DBS 1000 witch would effectivly dim the bulbs rather than turn them off and on to control temperature, but they are a little pricey at over $100.

 

[daze333]

Thank you for the advice again! Here is the one I was using when it went out; http://www.shopping.com/Energy-Savers-ZILLA-Temperature-Controller-1000-Watt-3-Plug/info.

How do I tell if it is a contact type t-stat or not? I think what you mean is that the wafer types are better? Is it the more electronic types that are contact style?

I don't mind paying around $100 if it is going to do the job nicely and last longer. I think I used this one not even 2 months!