Getting frustrated by my LG!

[TattooQ27]

So my very sweet husband took pity on me for breaking my original LG and he surprised me with a new one w/turner (after letting me order 18 ducklings from Cackle, yay!). He also salvaged another computer fan and installed that for me. We spent most of Friday night trying to get the temps stable at 99.5 on two different thermometers and finally got there Saturday morning. I waited until noon on Sunday to set my eggs (which I don't have too much faith in because they are now over 2 weeks old but my ducks are still on strike and I would rather waste free eggs). The temp did take a couple of hours to get back to 99.5 after setting the eggs but I expected that so I waited patiently...er, well lets pretend I was patient anyway.

So all last night and up until 1pm today the temp held steady at 99.5 on both thermometers. Then one of the thermometers went up to 100.9 with 20% humidity while the other went down to 98.4 with 37% humidity....now I don't know which one to believe. The incubator is set up in my office in the basement. There are no windows and I am the only person who ever goes in there (which is only to check the incubator and otherwise the door stays shut). No one played with the house thermostat so the room temp shouldn't have fluctuated. I am not sure what I should do to account for this. Both thermometers probes were in the exact same spot and both were calibrated the same so I know I am reading them correctly. do I adjust the temp up, down or just leave it alone and hope it stabilizes on it's own?

Grr!

 

[bigstack]

I got a new LG 3 weeks ago. I bought 2 extra thermo. both the glass made by LG. with the one that came with the bator that makes 3. all 3 read exactly the same. WRONG! all 3 read 3 degrees hotter than they were. I lost my first set. too cold in bator. Now I have an electronic wireless with hygro. Mine fluctuates also. 100.1-98.4 every couple hours. Dunno what wrong but i'm moving all to a new sportsman I just got. Well its used I got it for 200. Yeah Me!!!! I got lucky. The only thing you might try is to place some bottles of water that will fit inside. they will retain the heat incase of drop, with out adding moisture. I belive 103+ is the killer. 100.? should be ok. Just my opinion.

Good Luck and God Bless!

 

[srsmith69]

IMO, based on several hatches in homemade incubators, those temps are perfectly acceptable. It's frustrating that the two gauges don't agree but the temp on either one is ok. Are those air temperatures or temps within a water wiggler of some sort? Keep in mind that temps do fluctuate anytime a hen gets up to eat or poop. The temp of the liquid egg will change more slowly than the air. Don't sweat the small variations. But if the temp jumps to 101.5 or so or falls below 97.5 you'll probably want to tweak the thermostat

 

[TattooQ27]

Quote:
I had heard that the ones that came with the LG weren't any good so I bought a Brinsea Spot Check. That was fun until I broke my first LG into a million pieces last week. I thought for sure my husband would ring my neck for asking for a new LG so I sold the Spot Check and then he brought me home a new LG, lol. I am thinking I shouldn't ask if I can buy another Spot Check so I'm going to have to make due with the ones we have.

I hope you enjoy your new sportsman! If we ever decide to try hatching on a regular basis I am sure I will need to upgrade )

 

[TattooQ27]

Quote:
The temps aren't with a water wiggler. I tried to use a home made egg temp type of set up but because I couldn't rig it to where the plastic egg wasn't in the way of either the fan or the heating element. I did manage to rearrange all of the eggs in a way that my thermometer was located at about the mid point of where the eggs sit in the turner. Would the wiggler make a big difference? I might have to go get one if it would and then try rearranging the eggs again. I just don't want to handle them too often if it isn't necessary.

 

[TattooQ27]

And now the temp is reading 104 on the higher one and 101 on the lower.

How long does the temp in the incubator have to be up or down before harm is done to the eggs?

 

[sojono]

i think many worry to much about temp. some times my digital reads 97 sometimes it reads 99 mostly but i had a power outage and it dropped to 84 degrees and they are hatching now out of 42 eggs i bet that 30 or more have hatched will be tomorrow before i will know for sure but i know that hens don't keep them right on 99.5 degrees all the time.sojono.

 

[lemurchaser]

I could not get my LG regulated with the turner in it. I tried for 2 weeks of constant monitoring, moving and adding fans, etc, and the temps varied 3 degrees from one end to the other, sometimes more. And that was with a Brinsea Spot Check thermometer. So I pulled the turner and now have the incubator sitting on a towel and the temps are rock solid stable. I have the bator on a chair and just tip the chair back against the wall to tilt the eggs.

 

[srsmith69]

Quote:
The temps aren't with a water wiggler. I tried to use a home made egg temp type of set up but because I couldn't rig it to where the plastic egg wasn't in the way of either the fan or the heating element. I did manage to rearrange all of the eggs in a way that my thermometer was located at about the mid point of where the eggs sit in the turner. Would the wiggler make a big difference? I might have to go get one if it would and then try rearranging the eggs again. I just don't want to handle them too often if it isn't necessary.

you can make a wiggler with a snack size ziploc bag and duck tape. Might even fit in one of the egg cups in the turner. Put a small amount of water in the bag. Seal it. Tape the temp probe from a digital thermometer to the middle of the bag and then fold the bag in thirds around the probe. It will give you a much more consistent temp reading more realistic to what the egg temp is