Dickey Incubator Problem

[RedBrush Farm]

I bought a used Dickey 300 egg Incubator. The wafers looked a little iffy so my husband replaced them. We hooked it up and everything worked. The temperature, however, is not stable. It cycles on every min. or so. I could tell from the thermometer that it wasn't staying exactly stable. I ordered a Brinsea spot check thermometer and it came today. Now I am really worried. The temperature is cycling from 96.7 - 100.7 every min. and a half. Up-down, up-down. It never stops. I am assuming that is not the proper way for the incubator to work. That's a 4 degree fluctuation every 1.5 minutes. Anyone have any ideas??

 

[Bill 101]

The incubator is made to cycle. that is how it maintains stability. I agree that the temp fluctuation is not correct, but it probably has to due to the wafers. You mention waferS so I'm assuming there are two. One would be for an overtemp safety. The other for setting temperature for incubation. Normally the overtemp one should be set first & then the incubator temp.

What you might try is change the wafers (change places) to see if the other one is more accurate. I have purchased new wafers & found that they are not any more accurate than what you describe, but I also gotten those that are dead on. I gave up on wafer thermostats & went to solid state incubators. I use the old wafers for brooders where 4 degrees won't hurt anything

 

[RedBrush Farm]

Thanks for the information. I have been working with it for over an hour and can not get it to do any better than 2 degrees. I also just learned the light should be blinking and not clicking on and off. I think I will need to check the wafers tomorrow.

 

[Bill 101]

If you have gotten it to within 2 degrees, that would actually work. You set at 99, it goes off at 101, the average is 100.
I really don't understand the "blinking". Wafer systems work by expansion & contraction. The wafer expands as it heats & presses on a button on the snap switch which turns the heat off, then it contracts (cools) lifting off the snap switch button which turns the heat back on. So you have an on/off situation where the light goes on when its heating & off when its cooling

 

[TomNY]

Thanks for the information. I have been working with it for over an hour and can not get it to do any better than 2 degrees. I also just learned the light should be blinking and not clicking on and off. I think I will need to check the wafers tomorrow.

The light only blinks with the eletronic thermostat. On and off cycle is correct with the wafer. Two degrees is OK. The eggs gain and lose temperature slower than the air so I doubt the egg temperature varies more than 1/4 degree. Fine tune the setting after the first hatch. If they hatch early set it lower. Set it higher with a late hatch. One half degree changes the hatch time by about one day. I never change the temperature between incubation and hatch. My best hatches come when chicks start popping out at 20-1/2 days and finish by 21 days. I have two identical Sportsman setting next to each other. I have to run them 1/2 degree apart to get the same hatch times. good luck, Tom

 

[enriquec]

I have a similar issue. Less extreme. I spoke with the manufacturer toddy and the issues they told me probably fit yours. Needs new fluid, ether or ethanol? Or switch is bad.

 

[Chad Cool]

I have a Dickey Incubator and it is the best I have ever had. Now I will say that when I first got it used I only got 50% hatch rate because of digital temp and humitdy gages But now I use the wet bulb and I get 90-95% hatch rate.