mulia24--Can you measure the temperature of the water before you put it in the incubator? Here is what you can do: wait until you have power and the incubator is at the right temperature. Warm the water to the SAME temp as the incubator, and place it in the jars. I think the word you were looking for is "melt" (turn to liquid)--and the plastic bottles won't melt at 99 or 100 degrees. Once you have done that, you will leave the bottles in there all the time. They will form what we call a "heat sink," which means that they will hold onto the heat even when your power goes out and help the temperature to stay at the same level regardless of what is happening outside the incubator. Combined with blankets and insulation, this can probably hold your temperature steady for a very long time without power. This will especially help you if you have to be gone from the house when the power is gone. When you are home, you can watch the thermometer and record how long the temperature stays steady, so you will know how long you can go without power before you have to use the candles or some other method to heat the inside of the incubator.
You can also use water to *raise* the temperature, if you have a way to heat the water outside of the incubator--such as in the sun or over a fire. If the temperature in your incubator is too low, you can heat the water to just *above* 99.5 degrees, and then place it in the bottles and into the incubator. This will raise your incubator temperature slightly and then help it to stay up. If the temperature has gotten VERY low, you can use hotter water to warm the incubator faster.
You can place the water bottles near the eggs, but not touching (just in case the water is too hot).
I really admire you for trying to do this with all the problems you face. We are very, very lucky here in the U.S. in so very many ways. I hope you will continue to post here and tell us how things are going. I like hearing from you and learning about what life is like for you there. There are so many things I would like to know, like, how was your community affected by the big tsunami about ten (?) years ago? Where are you located in Indonesia? I visited Thailand many years ago, and I wish I could have gone to Indonesia too. Do you have a camera, and can you post pictures of your village and where you live? How about pictures of your chickens? I am very curious about everything there.
Good luck with your eggs, and I hope you are successful!
You can also use water to *raise* the temperature, if you have a way to heat the water outside of the incubator--such as in the sun or over a fire. If the temperature in your incubator is too low, you can heat the water to just *above* 99.5 degrees, and then place it in the bottles and into the incubator. This will raise your incubator temperature slightly and then help it to stay up. If the temperature has gotten VERY low, you can use hotter water to warm the incubator faster.
You can place the water bottles near the eggs, but not touching (just in case the water is too hot).
I really admire you for trying to do this with all the problems you face. We are very, very lucky here in the U.S. in so very many ways. I hope you will continue to post here and tell us how things are going. I like hearing from you and learning about what life is like for you there. There are so many things I would like to know, like, how was your community affected by the big tsunami about ten (?) years ago? Where are you located in Indonesia? I visited Thailand many years ago, and I wish I could have gone to Indonesia too. Do you have a camera, and can you post pictures of your village and where you live? How about pictures of your chickens? I am very curious about everything there.
Good luck with your eggs, and I hope you are successful!
