Hovabator wafer thermostat question about reliability

[purslanegarden]

The first year (about 5 years ago) that I bought this Hovabotor incubator, I had a good success rate. 2nd year was pretty good too.

But on the 3rd year, barely any hatches. I did get some, so I assumed that the other eggs were just bad.

4th year, pretty much no hatches so I quit. I thought all my birds were just getting old or just had a bad year.

5th year, now, I am interested to try more hatches again, especially since I have this incubator taking up space otherwise. But now that I suspected something wrong with the incubator, I did more research and I have read that the wafer thermometer should be replaced at some point.

But my question is, even if it's still not perfectly working anymore, I think I was still able to turn it to around 99.5-F and 3 thermometers are all reading around that temperature, how necessary is it to get a new wafer thermostat? It seems like even with a possibly bad wafer, I am still getting temps at the right levels.

Now having said that, I do feel like the temperatures on the eggs are a lot cooler than they should be. I recall in the first year and two that the eggs were nicely comfortably warm to the touch. Now, what I feel is that they are warmer than room temperature but I can't say it feels the same warmth as before. However, the thermometers all agree we are in the 98-100-F range, depending on when I'm looking at them.

Does anyone have additional info that I really should replace the wafer thermostat or maybe even replace it with another kind of thermostat so that I don't have to replace this thing every 2-3 years?

Bad temps would explain why the % of successful egg hatches kept decreasing year after year.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Idk I think the wafers are really reliable. I've had better luck with those thermostats then any other kind. They are all that I use anymore.
The old sportsman cabinets used two and I did replace one of those years ago when it failed. Other then that never had an issue.
I have the hovabators and run them continually. Some are 3 or 4 years old and one is 8 or 9. They are plug and play. I never have to mess with them once I got them set.
I don't think they need to be changed but they're cheap so no big deal if you just want to.
I have had simular issues as you once or twice but the solution was a good deep cleaning of the incubator.

 

[purslanegarden]

I agree, I also thought it was plug-n-play. But strangely this year, I had to adjust the thermostat quite a bit to get it back to where it should be (previous years, I just run it and boom, I got the right temps from the setting of last year).

That is partially what made me begin to think, maybe there was some other reason of hatch failure, and why now, only in year 5, did I find this kind of info about the wafer thermostat needing some possible replacement.

 

[The Moonshiner]

You could always change wafer or the whole thermostat. It isn't anything but money right?
I would try that before replace to a whole different set up but that's just because I've always had the best luck with them.
I had little junk, oops I meant little giant incubators and those thermostats suck. Had all kinds of temp spikes and unstable temps.
Was trying to figure out what was going on and used a home thermometer thing that had a probe was digital and showed temp plus high and low temp.
I don't think it was super accurate but was stunned when I ran it a day and looked at highest temp and lowest. It was like 10° difference with it going 6° high.
Thought it was a neat little way to check and see just how much that thermostat let it fluctuate.
Maybe best plan would be go out and buy a new hovabator and just box that trouble making one up and ship it to me.