Fan or no fan—temp setting?

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Hey there.

I just tricked out my farm innovators incubator with a heater that has a Fan. Before, I hatched without a fan.

My previous hatches, I had the temperature to 102, which made it about 99.5 on top of the eggs. (I hatch quail. So 99.5 is my goal.)

Question: do I set the temperate lower now that I have a fan? It seems like that would be “no” but I thought I read somewhere that in machines with a fan you were supposed to set the heat lower.

Thanks.

 

[R2elk]

Hey there.

I just tricked out my farm innovators incubator with a heater that has a Fan. Before, I hatched without a fan.

My previous hatches, I had the temperature to 102, which made it about 99.5 on top of the eggs. (I hatch quail. So 99.5 is my goal.)

Question: do I set the temperate lower now that I have a fan? It seems like that would be “no” but I thought I read somewhere that in machines with a fan you were supposed to set the heat lower.

Thanks.

Forced air incubators are recommended to be set at 99.5°F to 100°F. Theoretically and in an ideal incubator with ideal circulation, the temperature should be the same everywhere in the incubator.

Still air incubators are recommended to be set to 100.5°F to 101.5°F measured at the top of the eggs. Temperatures stratify in still air incubators which is why the designation of where the temperature should be measured.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Forced air incubators are recommended to be set at 99.5°F to 100°F. Theoretically and in an ideal incubator with ideal circulation, the temperature should be the same everywhere in the incubator.

Still air incubators are recommended to be set to 100.5°F to 101.5°F measured at the top of the eggs. Temperatures stratify in still air incubators which is why the designation of where the temperature should be measured.

I’m gonna be real—I dont feel like this “forced air” fan is doing much. I can barely feel it blowing.

I have three different thermometers in the incubator, and they measure as low as 94.5 degree on the floor of the ‘bator (below the egg-turning rails), as as high as 104 degrees on top of the eggs when the egg turners are all the way sideways, pushing the sensor of my digital thermometer to its highest point.

I know not to put too much stock in the digital thermometer. My normal thermometers, laying on top of the eggs, seem to stay measuring between 98 and 102.

I think...that for this hatch I’m just going to assume the fan is doing little to circulate air, and keep it set at 101 or 101.5.

102 may be a teensie high. That’s what I used with no fan. But I’ll tell ya-those eggs hatched better in a still air incubator with the heat up than they ever did in my fancy forced air incubator with a fan like a Hurricane.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Actually, I’ll split the difference and stay at 100.5. Haha

 

[RebekahTN]

I would like to hear more theories on if not using a fan is better than using a fan along with the thinking behind why.

 

[Mellowmalt]

I used still air on my very first attempt and it went surprisingly well considering I knew nothing, just used a heat lamp.
I've had 100% with forced air but I've had a few failures with forced air too.

My view is that in a forced air the fan dries the eggs more so a higher humidity is needed.
The fan can never blow directly onto the eggs - I believe this will cause worse results

I would say the main advantage of using a fan is that is can spread the heat from a small heat source.

If heat can be applied evently from the same distance to each egg then still air can achieve great results but if the incubator gets too big and the heat source too small then in a still air the eggs furthest from the heat source will be cooler then those directly below it and this would cause a bad hatch so to still be able to use a large incubator instead of adding lots more heat sources you can add a fan and distribute the heat evenly.

The only reason I do not go back to still air is because it is a bit of guesswork at what temperature to keep the incubator.

It needs to be 100.5 above the eggs, 98.5 below so that the center of the egg is roughly in between