- Thread starter
- #11
The wafer is on the side top, the fan is center top..
Home built cabinet incubator question.. HELP please
- Thread starter sara
- Start date
Quote:
Wafers are a real quick and dirty solution to temp control. At best they need a large swing to work, and they deteriorate over time. Most incubator manufacturers who use them suggest replacement at least every two years.
On the plus side, they are cheap, and they work.
If you want good temperature control which is repeatable and reliable, then conside electronic controls. Relly, they aren't as expensive as you might think
Small styrofoam incubators use cheap components. Their results are plain to see in these forums. They are difficult to manage, produce unspectacular results, and the fact that they work at all is a testament to the dedication of their users.
A cabinet incubator is usually built to handle larger numbers and the investment you have in each hatch is often significant. It is wise therefore, to consider going beyond the absolute basics.
It's a frame of mind. Before you add a component to an incubator, ask not whether or not this will work, but rather ask how it will work better.
On the plus side ..... large incubators are gennerally easier to use, and produce better results, than do small ones, so you are off to a great start.
Wafers are a real quick and dirty solution to temp control. At best they need a large swing to work, and they deteriorate over time. Most incubator manufacturers who use them suggest replacement at least every two years.
On the plus side, they are cheap, and they work.
If you want good temperature control which is repeatable and reliable, then conside electronic controls. Relly, they aren't as expensive as you might think
Small styrofoam incubators use cheap components. Their results are plain to see in these forums. They are difficult to manage, produce unspectacular results, and the fact that they work at all is a testament to the dedication of their users.
A cabinet incubator is usually built to handle larger numbers and the investment you have in each hatch is often significant. It is wise therefore, to consider going beyond the absolute basics.
It's a frame of mind. Before you add a component to an incubator, ask not whether or not this will work, but rather ask how it will work better.
On the plus side ..... large incubators are gennerally easier to use, and produce better results, than do small ones, so you are off to a great start.
Quote:
The wafer reacts to temp, not air flow or anything else.
If the incubator is well designed, then there should be very few areas inside where the air is not moving, neither should there e a temperature gradient.
If the wafer reacts differently in front of the fan, then the incubator has other problems as well.
The speed of transfer of thermal energy to or from a solid to a liquid medium, (air) is directly proportional to the speed in which the solid is bombarded with the atoms of the liquid medium.
The faster the air is flowing across a thermostat the faster it will react to a change in temperature. A thermostat will work fine off to the side but it will work better right in the winds path. Just like the heat element will work fine off to the side but it will work better in the winds path. Its not a flaw but it is a proven fact.
The wafer reacts to temp, not air flow or anything else.
If the incubator is well designed, then there should be very few areas inside where the air is not moving, neither should there e a temperature gradient.
If the wafer reacts differently in front of the fan, then the incubator has other problems as well.
The speed of transfer of thermal energy to or from a solid to a liquid medium, (air) is directly proportional to the speed in which the solid is bombarded with the atoms of the liquid medium.
The faster the air is flowing across a thermostat the faster it will react to a change in temperature. A thermostat will work fine off to the side but it will work better right in the winds path. Just like the heat element will work fine off to the side but it will work better in the winds path. Its not a flaw but it is a proven fact.
That's not always true. My cabinet bator has wafers and works like a charm. Not that I don't want to upgrade, I do, but I will be getting a whole new bator hopefully (b/c everyone needs at least 2
) and the wafer is working, so why put the extra $$ in right now. So my point it, the wafer does work in a cabinet, it works in many many cabinets.
Don't give up, just keep playing with it.
Don't give up, just keep playing with it.
- Thread starter
- #15
hmm. I bought the sportsman thermostat and heat element because I thought they would be good.
Quote:
er .... I did say that they work.
OTOH, there are no manufacturers designing incubators now that use them anymore. Well, not ones that work. Even Hovabator use electronic controls now they can be sourced cheaply.
Old technology is not necessarily bad, but there is way better in this case, so why not use it?
I stand by my comments that wafers are unreliable, deteriorate without warning, and are not to be trusted.
er .... I did say that they work.
OTOH, there are no manufacturers designing incubators now that use them anymore. Well, not ones that work. Even Hovabator use electronic controls now they can be sourced cheaply.
Old technology is not necessarily bad, but there is way better in this case, so why not use it?
I stand by my comments that wafers are unreliable, deteriorate without warning, and are not to be trusted.
Quote:
The wafer reacts to temp, not air flow or anything else.
If the incubator is well designed, then there should be very few areas inside where the air is not moving, neither should there e a temperature gradient.
If the wafer reacts differently in front of the fan, then the incubator has other problems as well.
The speed of transfer of thermal energy to or from a solid to a liquid medium, (air) is directly proportional to the speed in which the solid is bombarded with the atoms of the liquid medium.
The faster the air is flowing across a thermostat the faster it will react to a change in temperature. A thermostat will work fine off to the side but it will work better right in the winds path. Just like the heat element will work fine off to the side but it will work better in the winds path. Its not a flaw but it is a proven fact.
While this effect is true, it is, at best, a very marginal factor.
If it were the case that the effect were significant, then any eggs not in the direct air-flow would incubate at a higher temp than those that were.
In a well designed cabinet, this doesn't happen ..... which suggests that air flows to all parts quickly enough to not make much difference where the wafer is placed.
In my incubator, the thermocouple is directly in the path of the air from the fan, and less than one inch from the blades. There is no significant temp difference in any part of the cabinet.
The wafer reacts to temp, not air flow or anything else.
If the incubator is well designed, then there should be very few areas inside where the air is not moving, neither should there e a temperature gradient.
If the wafer reacts differently in front of the fan, then the incubator has other problems as well.
The speed of transfer of thermal energy to or from a solid to a liquid medium, (air) is directly proportional to the speed in which the solid is bombarded with the atoms of the liquid medium.
The faster the air is flowing across a thermostat the faster it will react to a change in temperature. A thermostat will work fine off to the side but it will work better right in the winds path. Just like the heat element will work fine off to the side but it will work better in the winds path. Its not a flaw but it is a proven fact.
While this effect is true, it is, at best, a very marginal factor.
If it were the case that the effect were significant, then any eggs not in the direct air-flow would incubate at a higher temp than those that were.
In a well designed cabinet, this doesn't happen ..... which suggests that air flows to all parts quickly enough to not make much difference where the wafer is placed.
In my incubator, the thermocouple is directly in the path of the air from the fan, and less than one inch from the blades. There is no significant temp difference in any part of the cabinet.
- Thread starter
- #18
I threw a wiggler in with the probe from my gauge in it, and the temp seems great..
ps.
It's very easy to be bogged down by thermodynamic effect, heat transfer rates etc.
The real question is why use a wafer? At best you are trying to mitigate against the inherent unreliability.
They work, usually. Beyond that it is time they were pensioned off.
It's very easy to be bogged down by thermodynamic effect, heat transfer rates etc.
The real question is why use a wafer? At best you are trying to mitigate against the inherent unreliability.
They work, usually. Beyond that it is time they were pensioned off.
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