Eggs taking hours to come back to temp after turning !?

[Smeamers]

We built a homemade bator out of a styrofoam ice chest. I have two thermometers: one with a probe inside a water wiggler and one measuring the air temp. We test ran it all weekend and everytime we opened and fiddled with it, the wiggler always bounced back to temp quickly. We put the eggs in after dinner last night and by the time we went to bed the wiggler was just about up to the proper temp. Things were spot on this morning...until I turned the eggs. That was at 6:45 am. The wiggler temp just now came up to 99. This seems like a really long recover time to me, right? Too long? I have the eggs in a tray that is propped up on one side and I planned on just turning the whole tray to tip the eggs back and forth. If it is going to take this long each time I turn I was wondering if maybe it would be better if the eggs were flat and I just tipped the whole bator? I have paper towel in the bottom of the bator that I can wet with a long plastic pipette through a vent hole, so I wouldn't need to open it to add water. Anyone think this will work? At this point I don't know how much choice I have. Thanks!

 

[brendapa]

I think you might just be better off not opening the bator 3 or more times a day. Your idea of keeping the eggs flat and tipping the whole bator (left to right or front to back) is the best solution. It would stop temp swings. he only time you would have to open is to candle, since you're using a straw to add water.

 

[Bookspryte]

Quote:
This is the only way I've used my bator. I have a block of wood and I move it back and forth three times a day. I'm currently on my third hatch and it's worked fine for me. I have my eggs in an egg carton so there's no danger of the eggs rolling around and getting cracked. Sending good hatching vibes.

Denise

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

How much open space do you have? open space = hot air. When you open the incubator you lose all the hot air. Replace as much as you can with jars of water. More jars = more thermal mass = less heat floating away.


Tilting the incubator will work if it has a fan in it but not a good Idea if it does not.

 

[Smeamers]

Thanks for the advice everyone! It does have a heat sink in there and a fan, so I'm thinking that tipping the whole bator is the way to go. It has been holding a nice temp now, so in a few hours I'm going to take out the egg carton lid I'm using to prop the eggs and put one of hubby's encyclopedia's under one side of the bator to tip it.

 

[Bookspryte]

Quote:
Why not? I'm now without a fan since mine died. I don't want to further jeopardize my hatch by trying to install another one now. I did add jars of water to help stabilize the temps.

Sorry to hijack, but ebelcowboysnb's response makes me wonder if I have a different problem now.

Denise

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Here is a page on still air incubators an how thermal layers form.
http://cmfarm.us/stillair.html

Here is a pic from there.

Now thermal layers are always level so If you tilt the incubator to the left you will raise the eggs on the right up to a higher temp an lower the eggs on the left to a lower temp. If the middle eggs are at 99.5 the high eggs will be at or above 103 an the low eggs will be at or below 95. When you tilt it the other way they swap.

 

[Bookspryte]

OK, that totally makes sense. I just don't know what to do now. I have my eggs in cartons. I'm not sure how to tilt them. Should I just rock them back and forth in the egg cartons?

Why did I think hatching eggs was a good idea anyway?

Denise

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I hatch alot by laying them on there side an rolling them around every now an then.