Day two and already temp probs with LG. Help from other LG users pls!

[kupi99]

I'm hatching eggs in my classroom and I just set them yesterday. Everything appeared to be going well, the temp was slowly coming back up. However, I left work before the temp was fully up. I wasn't too worried as it hadn't been a full eight hours.

This morning is raing and drizzly, and sure enough I get to work to find the bator running real low- 97.3. I check the overnight high and low on my theromater and it reads a killer spike (107) for the high, and 78 for the low (that was the reading from when the thermoter was out of bator while I set the eggs).

Here is my question for LG users:

Do I risk another possible spike by adjusting the knob? What the danger of having the temp run low again today (I know its not really a concern while the eggs are getting set), as I doubt it will get up to 99.5. Let me know ASAP. I got alot kids waiting on these eggs, and I would hate to have the hatch ruined already.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I'm sorry I'm not much help. I have a still-air LG and I'm so frustrated with it. I'm going to be putting a fan in before my next hatch. I hope your eggs are ok.

 

[kupi99]

Thanks aggieterpkatie. If there is anyone who might have suggestion, it's be helpful. I'd like to know what people suggest before it gets to much later in the school day. That way I can adjust the knob while I am here to check it. I'm not going to be here over the weekend, so I'd like to know the eggs are safe before I go. Thanks!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Here is what I do with my LG - it has a fan and egg turner.

Because the incubator is so touchy with outer room temp - I keep mine in a closet where there is very little temp change.

I would not touch the nob for now - watch thru the day to see if it should spike again - then adjust a very little.

 

[HennyJenny]

I agree with horsefeather - I had a dip in both of mine last night when the house got cold because someone left a window open. Wrap a towel around the incubator at night (don't cover up the vents). Watch today and see what the temp does - but don't adjust much.

 

[ThePamperedPullet]

Like the other have said, the key to LG bators is steady room temp with as little of air movement as possible. Find a corner or cubby where the bator can be placed to provide as little air movement as possible.

 

[Kittymomma]

I have an lg still air and hand turn the eggs. I've had good luck with it and like it. That being said, I don't think it's a good unit for a classroom application. They are very touchy and you're likely to have temp. spikes and lows depending on what the temp and drafts are like in your classroom, especially if the heat is turned down at your school overnight and on weekends. If your room has large windows and the sun comes out you can end up with massive temp spikes and if that happens on the weekend while you're home......

I don't want to discourage you or bash the lg's, but they do seem to require more attention then many of the other bators. If at all possible I'd try to borrow a more plug-n-play type of bator and transfer the eggs into it.

 

[kupi99]

Kittymomma, you're right. The large part of my troubles is difficulty in managing my classroom temp. Forunately, my school is small so I get away with setting our thermostat at a constant tempt, and then taping it up and placing a sign on it.

The LG is the incubator my school got free last year. Unforunately, we don't have money to buy a different one with an autoegg turner, so I'm doing my best with what I got.

Although, yes, I would love a Hoverbator or the like. I'm not sure where I could borrow one from.

Mine is actually kept in cabinet so it can be locked up and still run over the weekends. Unforunately, my cabinet is not good at keeping a nice stable room temp for the bator.

I blanketed the bator some last year too, when not too surprisingly, I was having some of the same problems. However, I had alot of LG users on here recommend that I not do that because it restricts air flow. Should I worry about that, or just wrap it around the bottom?

Like I said, I'm mostly worried because the weekend is coming. While I could run up here to check it, I can't sit for hours babysitting the bator over the weekend. Nor can I monitor it over the weekend for spikes.

Thanks for the help so far!

 

[Akane]

If the incubator isn't full of eggs add some more mass to it. You can use sealed containers filled with water. I refill the individual bottled water containers and use those. If you don't have a turner it's really simple to just place them along the sides. If you do have one you can remove empty rows or 1 will fit in the front next to the motor. Air temp changes faster than things in the bator so the more mass you have the slower temp changes will occur.

 

[kupi99]

Almost time to go, and bator is still running way to cool, 97ish. So I decided to bite the bullet and nicked it up a hair. I'm already distressed that its been so cool all day.

I'm hopeful it was just the weather.

Really, really hoping it doesn't spike over the weekend.