Egg turner not turning, ideas? and a basic question or two

[hodor]

I just got a new incubator and it has an automatic turning tray inside. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working. I have connected the wire that goes from the lid to the little motor and nothing. The instructions noted that it doesn't turn for the first 1:59 (no more info in the basic instructions) of incubation, it has been on for 24 hours and nothing. I marked the little wheel to see if it is turning and it hasn't moved at all.

Any ideas of how to trouble shoot this? I have included a photo in case anyone is familiar with this cheap no name Chinese incubator.



As a side note temp actually seems to be holding fairly steady with 0.3 variance in the center. The corners got a little cool over night (about 1.5 cooler) which I hope I can fix by putting it back into the foam packing it came in and just cutting a small window so I can still see in.

Also I have been reading about "Dry incubation" where you just add water on day 18 (I hope I have that right). Is there a humidity that is too low to "Dry incubate"? The 29% displayed is about the same as what my hygrometer is reading.

I have eggs arriving Tuesday, this will be my second incubation, I cooked my eggs the first time in a $40 incubator after my thermometer was out. I really want to make sure I give my eggs the best shot this time and getting an incubator that turned the eggs seemed like a great way to do just that.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Some eggs are more porous than others so it depends on the egg but 29% is a little low.
The best way to verify proper humidity is to weigh the eggs the day they're set and periodically during incubation. You want the eggs to lose about 0.65% each day.

If you put Styrofoam around it, (not a bad idea) make sure you don't block off air flow to the vent holes. The eggs/embryos need to breathe.

Sorry, can't help on the turner though. Perhaps use a voltage meter and see if there is any (proper) voltage on the wire. If there is, then perhaps the motor is bad.

 

[hodor]

Thanks.

I have found a friend with a volt meter so I'll try that.

The Styrofoam kept the temp within 0.1 degrees even on the edges so a big win. I haven't added the vent holes yet so maybe cheating, hopefully will remain similar.
On that note there are 4 vent holes in the bottom and 1 on each side. They are only about 3mm each, is that about right for a 24 egg incubator?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

On many incubators, there are plugs that have to be removed toward the second half of incubation. The eggs do well with more carbon dioxide in the first week but need more oxygen as the embryos grow.

Until you figure out the motor, you'll need to turn by hand.

 

[hodor]

The wire the goes into the motor isn't in place properly, after wiggling it the turner worked! Hopefully it continues to do so. The motor is sealed so I can't open it to fix it properly. Think I will just have to use some tape or something to hold it in the position that it works.

Eggs arrive in two days if the post service is reliable. I'll keep a close eye on it.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Glad you discovered the electric issue.