How to keep a constant temp in a room with temp fluctuation?

[EarthboundEiniosaurus]

So I have a little giant still air incubator in my room that I use to incubate my quail eggs, but now that the weather is getting colder its become much harder to keep the temperature relatively constant throughout, with the temp around the edges being around 97 but the temp under the heating element being at 101. The room it's in gets pretty cold at night but warms up a bit during the day, and the whole house is like this so moving it wouldn't help. I have the whole setup wrapped in towels to try and keep the heat in, but is there anything else I can do to keep a more even heat distribution? Would putting it in a drawer or something more inclosed help?

 

[lazy gardener]

Does the bator have a fan? With fan, your target temp should be 99.5, and w/o fan it should be 102.

Several choices:

Cull your eggs so that all are in the optimal temp range. I'd hate to do that!

Increase the insulation of the bator while not cutting down air flow. Can you put it in a closet? or put it in a styrofoam box, or even a large cardboard box? It will be an experiment, and a balancing act to be sure you have enough air flow, while keeping the temp up at night. I use wood heat, and even so, with the crazy fluctuation of that, have been able to maintain night time temps by snuggling pillows, blankets, jackets around my bator, while keeping vent holes free from obstruction.

 

[EarthboundEiniosaurus]

Does the bator have a fan? With fan, your target temp should be 99.5, and w/o fan it should be 102.

Several choices:

Cull your eggs so that all are in the optimal temp range. I'd hate to do that!

Increase the insulation of the bator while not cutting down air flow. Can you put it in a closet? or put it in a styrofoam box, or even a large cardboard box? It will be an experiment, and a balancing act to be sure you have enough air flow, while keeping the temp up at night. I use wood heat, and even so, with the crazy fluctuation of that, have been able to maintain night time temps by snuggling pillows, blankets, jackets around my bator, while keeping vent holes free from obstruction.

My incubator is a still air incubator and doesn't have a fan attachment or anything. I'll try putting more insulation around it, maybe some coats or something, right now it's just a bunch of towels. Would putting all the insulation and the incubator in a box really help? thanks for the very informational comment by the way.

 

[lazy gardener]

Has worked for me. Be sure you calibrate your thermometers. A thermometer that is not accurately calibrated is a useless piece of junk.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, I agree with everything LG said!

And I will add a couple things... set your temp at the highest point during the day and let it drift down instead of spiking. And also, when you turn your eggs put them to a different location in the incubator 1 time per day to combat the staggered temp locations. I use several thermometers and uneven temp is the norm for still air incubators.

I have had several good hatches and this despite the fact my house was actually too cold for the wafer to reach 102 before adding sweats to the outside.

 

[Parront]

You could always use an extra heater in the room, to keep the room temp steady. If it is a small room or a closet, that would be pretty simple and you would still be able to see the incubator, instead of wrapping it up.

 

[EarthboundEiniosaurus]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Another related question, how should I calibrate a thermometer? I use a digital one that was used for telling outdoor temps, I think it's accurate but how can I tell?

 

[Tavia Rose]

So I have a little giant still air incubator in my room that I use to incubate my quail eggs, but now that the weather is getting colder its become much harder to keep the temperature relatively constant throughout, with the temp around the edges being around 97 but the temp under the heating element being at 101. The room it's in gets pretty cold at night but warms up a bit during the day, and the whole house is like this so moving it wouldn't help. I have the whole setup wrapped in towels to try and keep the heat in, but is there anything else I can do to keep a more even heat distribution? Would putting it in a drawer or something more inclosed help?

I had the same problem for a long time esp with the humidity..I bump the temp up a notch on cold days. And the LG reads around 107.7 to 107.9 but it's really at 99 to 101...i just had one perfect little chick hatch and it was only 1 egg that I incubated along with some duck eggs that haven't hatched yet. I kept losing chicks at the late stages..but, I've finally figured out leaving it closed and only opening twice during incubation to check for duds and air cells; changes everything as well as covering around the bottom with a blanket just to where it covers the opening.... it keeps temp steady on this cheap incubator. The humidity is another story. I've got sponges and cloths I add hot water too when they dry out.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Another related question, how should I calibrate a thermometer? I use a digital one that was used for telling outdoor temps, I think it's accurate but how can I tell?

There might be instructions that came with it (or google). Or that salt trick might work.

I use that kind too (digital). It has an indoor and an outdoor receiver. I place them side by side to see if they agree. And then next to my house thermostat to see how they compare. Then I place both at different locations in my incubator. Of course they don't agree inside there, I am using the 1602N still air. Disagreeing inside the incubator is OK because it's real and then I know what my variables are. Both receivers also tell humidity. Where it is warmer the humidity is about 10% less. But I have really good hatches.