hi everyone,
i was reading about the homemade incubators. i built one last mo. i noticed that many folks were having trouble with the water heater thermometer. I found out when i was researching the topic for mine, that water heater thermometers work by conduction and not convection. that is to say, that the water heater thermometers are in direct contact with the side of the heater to sense the change in temp. the thermometer that the incubator works on would need to sense the air (convection) temperature. that is why there is so much variance. i broke down and bought one though one of the hatchery supply stores for about $20. it is the type that has the ether wafers. very accurate to about 1/2 of degree. as obsessive as i am it was worth the price. had very good results