Brinsea Ovation 56 EX

[enggass]

I will say the Humidity is tough to control. I have the Advanced and have been testing it prior to setting eggs this Friday. I know once eggs are in, things will behave differently, but here's what I've found with no eggs.
My basement is on the cool side but ambient Humidity is 50%+/-. With no water in the Ovation, Humidity settles at 20%. which is workable... If I add just a little amount of water - I mean little - maybe 1 tablespoon, the humidity will rise to 45-50% After a few hours however, it reduces to 20% once again. More than that and I can easily get it to 70% - Hatching should be no problem, but as far as incubation, I will just add a little from time to time to average out around 35% I would imagine the water wells are much needed in arid climates but for me they are overkill during the incubation period. All of this was tested with VENT at half...

 

[howesmr]

I will say the Humidity is tough to control. I have the Advanced and have been testing it prior to setting eggs this Friday. I know once eggs are in, things will behave differently, but here's what I've found with no eggs.
My basement is on the cool side but ambient Humidity is 50%+/-. With no water in the Ovation, Humidity settles at 20%. which is workable... If I add just a little amount of water - I mean little - maybe 1 tablespoon, the humidity will rise to 45-50% After a few hours however, it reduces to 20% once again. More than that and I can easily get it to 70% - Hatching should be no problem, but as far as incubation, I will just add a little from time to time to average out around 35% I would imagine the water wells are much needed in arid climates but for me they are overkill during the incubation period. All of this was tested with VENT at half...

I am on my first batch in a Brinsea 28 EX and have found the temp and humidity rock steady. The EX was definitely worth it. The temp range has only been .4 degrees according to my remote sensor. And humidity is fun to watch. Once it gets a couple percent low the little pump puts a drop of water in and you can see it rise then briefly settle before the next drop hits and it climbs again. Then it sits for awhile until the cycle repeats. See the pictures below. My only criticism of the 28 and 56 was no pad for the chicks tp hatch on like the mini 7 and maxi 14 have, We will use shelf liner to solve that. Day 4 down , 17 to go.

 

[greatconductor]

I am on my first batch in a Brinsea 28 EX and have found the temp and humidity rock steady. The EX was definitely worth it. The temp range has only been .4 degrees according to my remote sensor. And humidity is fun to watch. Once it gets a couple percent low the little pump puts a drop of water in and you can see it rise then briefly settle before the next drop hits and it climbs again. Then it sits for awhile until the cycle repeats. See the pictures below. My only criticism of the 28 and 56 was no pad for the chicks tp hatch on like the mini 7 and maxi 14 have, We will use shelf liner to solve that. Day 4 down , 17 to go.

That's awesome that you have a sensor that works with an app so you can monitor the temp and humidity. What is the name of this product? I'm interested in getting one.

 

[howesmr]

I got it from Amazon. Link below. Can see when we candled and then changed humidity for lockdown. Hatch tomorrow.

SensorPush Wireless Thermometer / Hygrometer for iPhone / Android - Humidity & Temperature Smart Sensor with Alerts https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AEQ9X9I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xrhZybCTV4YPZ

 

[greatconductor]

I got it from Amazon. Link below. Can see when we candled and then changed humidity for lockdown. Hatch tomorrow.

SensorPush Wireless Thermometer / Hygrometer for iPhone / Android - Humidity & Temperature Smart Sensor with Alerts https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AEQ9X9I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xrhZybCTV4YPZ

That's awesome. Thanks for the info. I am going to order one now!

 

[howesmr]

Hatch done 20 fertile. 1 early quiter then 19 of 19 hatched. Just followed Brisea recommended settings.

That sensor was interesting to watch as chicks hatched humidity climbed. At one point over 90% humidity due to all the wet chicks

Love this bator. price pays for piece of mind.

 

[sueiris]

Hatch done 20 fertile. 1 early quiter then 19 of 19 hatched. Just followed Brisea recommended settings.

That sensor was interesting to watch as chicks hatched humidity climbed. At one point over 90% humidity due to all the wet chicks

Love this bator. price pays for piece of mind.

Just going into lockdown on my first hatch with Wyandotte Bantam eggs....any words of advise? looks like you took out the two plastic well covers? did you leave humidity control button open or closed? what did you set humidity on, 65%?

TIA,

Susan

 

[howesmr]

We left well covers but used shelf liner for chicks to grip. 65% was perfect. And i left my vent open the whole time. System controled temp and humidity. Good luck.

 

[MLay]

I purchased an Ovation 56 EX and am having less that great results. I've previously hatched in a Little Giant. I'm on my first hatch with the Brinsea and all was fine until I went into lock down. Prior to lockdown, it maintained perfect temps (99.5) and humidity (40%). At lock down, after 12 hours, the unit still had not raised humidity over 43%. I started with the humidity was set at 65% initially. After a few hours, I raised it to 75%. Then later to 80% which is the max. After the 12 hour mark, still at 43%, I opened the unit and put in a small hydrometer, and display matched the hydrometer after about 20 minutes. At hour 14, I went old school and put a small tray with wet paper towels and the display is now registering 55% after 30 minutes which matches the hydrometer. I have eggs rolling around (early, I know) so I felt I needed to do something. The unit is still pumping water into the water pan so I will probably have to remove water soon. Since it's the weekend, I sent an email to Brinsea complete with a full description and pictures of everything so maybe they can see what I am doing wrong or if the unit is defective. I'll call them first thing Monday morning to see if I can get help as well.

The positive side, a much higher percentage of eggs made it to lockdown than with the Little Giant. I suspect I have a defective unit but wanted to get this out there so if anyone who is on their first hatch - carefully monitor your humidity after lockdown.

 

[howesmr]

Was your water hose pinched? That tube is soft and sticky. In earlier posts I mentioned a remote temp and humidity gauge. When out if range it sends my phone an alarm. About a week into this run i let the resevoir run dry and humidity plumetted. Been stready ever since. Lockdown was 2 days ago. I attached a screen shot of my gauge to show the change.

Hatch day tomorrow. 15 eggs. 14 fertile. 1 pulled at first candle. One was cracked and had lost the full 13% of weight by day 8. Repaired with nail polish. Seemed to do trick. At Day 18 only lost 3% more. Overall hatch weigh loss is 0.21% high. First batch was even closer.

Curious what Brinsea says. It has a 3 yr warranty.