Brinsea spot check thermometer inaccurate?

[Aiden Kendall]

I incubated for the 1st time last month and about 4 days into the process I purchased the Brinsea spot check. At 1st it seemed to be working perfect. Then around day 10 I candled the eggs and upon putting it back in the bator it was reading 4 degrees(104.5) higher than the previous 5+ days. I also had Springfield and Accurite thermo/humidity combos from Walmart in the bator and they never changed. However, I freaked and trusted the SC and adjusted the temp. This was at night and the next morning my cheap thermos were reading aound 93, so I opened the bator, and sure enough it felt cool. I readjusted to the previous reading on the cheap thermos and everything turned out fine.

I did run the SC continously so maybe the battery is weak, but I was wondering if anyone else had experienced similar results with the Brinsea? Although it was always on, the battery life should've been longer than 6 days. Is it defective? Would you send it back? Thirty bucks was a lot to spend on an inacccurate thermometer.

 

[bigdawg]

i have one that i have only used for one hatching. i turned it on and off to check temps. it would range from 98.5 to 101.5 then i bought a water wiggler thingly from walmart. inserted the probe inside it and temps stayed right on 99.5 everytime i checked it. now the probe cannot touch anything and needs to be level with the top of the eggs. on all the time the batt wont last but a few weeks. try a new battery and run the bator empty and check temps again. turn it off when not in use. on only to check temps. then if it doesnt work by all means get a replacement. they are the most accurate on the mkt. also my springfield digital thermos from walmart were good at first and now they read 2 degrees hotter.