Curious on Someting

[indigo flats]

Was wondering if you are hatching just half of what the incubator would hold egg wise would it be a good idea to put river rocks in that are egg size in the spots where no eggs are are going in to the auto turner just so it would hold heat longer if there was a power outage. Also would that help to stabilize the temperature. I know this is an off the wall question but I have been told all my life that there were no dumb questions just some strange ones.

 

[Gray Farms]

I've set many none full incubators with no problems with temp or stability of the turner. Not saying its a bad idea, just not necessary in my opinion.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

I agree with Gray Farms.

 

[Lilmissesmom]

I would be afraid that the rock's would tumble around and break the egg.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Eggs don't tumble around in incubators; the rocks wouldn't either.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

Was wondering if you are hatching just half of what the incubator would hold egg wise would it be a good idea to put river rocks in that are egg size in the spots where no eggs are are going in to the auto turner just so it would hold heat longer if there was a power outage. Also would that help to stabilize the temperature. I know this is an off the wall question but I have been told all my life that there were no dumb questions just some strange ones.

rocks make great heat sinks, though i wouldnt necessarily put them in the turner, unless attached to it
maybe taped to it or something

Good luck!!

 

[indigo flats]

They would be in the electric egg turner just like an egg. They would stay in the same spot the entire hatch.

 

[Gray Farms]

If you do be sure and boil them first to ensure you don't introduce any bacteria into the incubator that could effect the eggs.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree, no dumb questions. Not asking is the dumb thing. To me this one isn’t all that strange. Adding heat sinks to incubators is talked about one here every now and then, especially by people that experience regular power outages. Also if an event like an ice storm is forecast that can cause a power outage, you might want to do something like this as a precaution.

I don’t know what your turner looks like, can you remove some rows? A common method of adding a heat sink is to fill a zip-loc type bag with water or use a water bottle. It’s also a good way to maintain temperature in case of a power outage but you can still heat water, just don’t overheat your incubator by adding water too hot.

I don’t know how much a heat will help stabilize temperature, it certainly will not hurt and logic says it will help. In most circumstances it is probably unnecessary. I don’t completely fill my incubator and do not add a heat sink. I just hatched 23 of 28 eggs in an incubator that could hold 42 eggs.

I think one thing that is much more important in stabilizing an incubator is the relationship of the thermostat to the heat source. It needs to be close enough to the heat source to shut it down before it overheats yet far enough away to pick up on when the incubator cools down so it needs to restart the heat. This is a common problem in homemade incubators. Also put the incubator in a location where the ambient temperature stays pretty constant and not where in any breezes (doors or air vents) or sunlight (windows) hits the incubator.

You may be overthinking this but at least you are thinking.

 

[donrae]

I have a large home made cabinet incubator and I use heat sinks. Not quite like you're talking about, mine are not in the turners. I use large rocks and/or jars of water, just setting on the shelves or the floor.

I don't see what it would hurt, if you used sense on what size rocks, etc.