Brinsea Octagon 40 and humidity ....

[Sid Post]

I don't see much on this site about the Brinsea Octagon 40 so, here goes ....

http://www.brinsea.com/p-531-octagon-40-advance-ex-digital-egg-incubator-package.aspx

I have the Octagon 40 Advance EX digital egg incubator package. The "room" I have my 95 quail eggs in is ~74 degrees and 30~40% humidity. The little water chamber in the pump seems to run out every 24~36 hours.

Is this normal? Does anyone know of a larger water chamber I can get to fit the pump housing? I really would like to be able to leave for 2 or 3 days during the incubation period but, how do I keep the humidity up? The temperature is a steady 99.7~99.8 degrees. Empty, I didn't seem to have this issue so, I'm wondering if it is due to the eggs and chicks maturing and using more water.

TIA,
Sid

 

[Kelsie2290]

Do you fill the wells underneath the baskets? If you have 1 or more of them filled it should really decrease the amount your pump has to work...

 

[Denwendairy]

Agreed! There's not much on here about this particular Brinsea model. I guess it would be the same as the 20 Advance EX package-think I'll do a search for that one as well!
After a very disappointing hatch (3/19) with a new Little Giant 10300, I ordered a Brinsea Octagon 40 Adv EX package today! I have a bunch of eggs on order for early in March and I won't go through the anguish that we went through with this unproven Little Giant model. I'm sure it will work for some people but, for us, it was not a success.
I will keep an eye on this thread in the event that you have any Brinsea Octagon 40 tips for me!

 

[Sid Post]

This Sunday will be day 14 so, I'm getting close to my first hatch.

Hoping all goes well .... not sure of the egg quality though so, only time will tell. As long as some of them make it, I should be set since I can always do another batch before the chickens, ducks, guinea, and geese come in.

 

[Sid Post]

Well my hatch is done. It looks like I probably had bad eggs in my incubator.

However, the incubator itself worked out really well. I contacted Brinsea about getting a larger water chamber for the humidity pump and they told me to just put the hose in a larger container. I resorted to adding water to the chambers in addition to the humidity pump due to the higher water requirement at the end. Over all I am real happy with how this incubator performed.

I'm already scoping out a better quail egg source.

 

[Denwendairy]

I am sorry to hear that your first hatch was not a success...we have 19 chicken eggs in right now that we set last Saturday. We'll candle at 7 days to check weights and fertility. So far I am very impressed with how accurate the temperature has been in the Brinsea and how precisely it meters those drops of water to raise humidity.
Thats a good tip on using a larger water container at lockdown. I will keep that in mind!

 

[Sid Post]

I am sorry to hear that your first hatch was not a success...we have 19 chicken eggs in right now that we set last Saturday.

Thanks! Next time I will avoid the hobbyist breeder and get eggs from someone who knows what they are doing and actually CARES!

These incubators work extremely well. While not totally idiot proof, they are pretty forgiving and flexible. In my case, the only issue I had, which was really minor, was keeping the humidity up at the end with 95 quail eggs. One tank of water really wasn't enough for 24 hours. I was hoping I would get a couple, maybe three days in case I had to leave for a day or two. Next time, I will have a larger tub of water and I will be better prepared to add water to the internal channels to help the humidity pump keep up.

Best Wishes for your hatch. Be sure to let us know how things turn out.

 

[scflock]

Thanks! Next time I will avoid the hobbyist breeder and get eggs from someone who knows what they are doing and actually CARES!

These incubators work extremely well. While not totally idiot proof, they are pretty forgiving and flexible. In my case, the only issue I had, which was really minor, was keeping the humidity up at the end with 95 quail eggs. One tank of water really wasn't enough for 24 hours. I was hoping I would get a couple, maybe three days in case I had to leave for a day or two. Next time, I will have a larger tub of water and I will be better prepared to add water to the internal channels to help the humidity pump keep up.

Best Wishes for your hatch. Be sure to let us know how things turn out.

I think someone else mentioned this, and not sure if you caught it. Did you fill the wells, or use solely the pump for humididty? I know Brinsea says you don't need to fill the wells with the pump, but if you did, the pump would do a better job maintaining, instead of constantly pulling water from the jug for all of the humidity. I don't have the pump, and can barely keep 45% in my 20 Advance with both wells full. With your pump, it wouldn't raise the humidity too high, and it would take much less water from the pump tank to maintain

 

[Sid Post]

I think someone else mentioned this, and not sure if you caught it. Did you fill the wells, or use solely the pump for humididty? I know Brinsea says you don't need to fill the wells with the pump, but if you did, the pump would do a better job maintaining, instead of constantly pulling water from the jug for all of the humidity. I don't have the pump, and can barely keep 45% in my 20 Advance with both wells full. With your pump, it wouldn't raise the humidity too high, and it would take much less water from the pump tank to maintain

In the beginning, I used just the pump and it worked well. Later, the frequency of fill ups increased. During the "hatch out", I filled the water channels in addition to the pump chamber. At the very end, I would have needed to refill the pump chamber twice a day and it would probably have run constantly. The quail eggs really took a lot of water towards the end.

 

[scflock]

In the beginning, I used just the pump and it worked well. Later, the frequency of fill ups increased. During the "hatch out", I filled the water channels in addition to the pump chamber. At the very end, I would have needed to refill the pump chamber twice a day and it would probably have run constantly. The quail eggs really took a lot of water towards the end.

Wow, that's going through a lot of water. I wonder if that is more to do with location, or the 40 vs the 20