Incubator doesn't get hot enough!?!?

[singopita]

I bought a 48 egg incubator on eBay a long time ago. It appears to be from China because there is no brand name and the instruction manual is obviously translated. I have used it last spring for two hatches and they both failed. This year I am trying to hatch successfully. I bought a good incubator thermometer and compared it with my incubator that showed to be 7 degrees too cold. I calibrated the incubator to -7.0 according to the display, and now it matches with my thermometer. The incubator has been heating for 24 hours now and the highest it has gotten is 97 degrees fahrenheit. I can no longer return this or contact eBay, the window has expired. Any ideas on how to make it get hotter? Insulation might work, but I don't want to prevent ventilation. And it is plastic, so a heat lamp might melt it.

Any ideas appreciated!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

I had a problem with my first incubator except it was running too hot. I had to turn the temp right down on the dial to get 99.5.

Do you have no way of turning it up anymore? Ignore the incubator display and go just on what your thermometer reads?

 

[JetCat]

there are a few things you can do if it's not getting up to temp. first is keep it in an area that has a higher room temperature. you can also better insulate it, but don't hinder ventilation / air exchange. if that doesn't work as a last resotr you could add a small incandescent bulb (night light size) inside in series with the heating element, this will allow the thermostat to control it too and you can adjust the wattage of the bulb accordingly. start with a 5 watt and increase it if necessary. you could wire the bulb to stay on at all times but this can cause overheating if the room temperature increases as seasons change.

 

[kuchchicks]

What is the temp of the room you are incubating in? Many times with the hobby type incubators if you are in a room that is less than 70% it may be difficult for the incubator to heat properly. I have have a Hova Bator and the thing is a champ. But last month when I fired it up I could not get it to heat. The tech support guy at the manufacturer is the one who told me about the room temp messing with the thermostats. Do you have a room that holds heat really well? I moved my Bator to our downstairs bathroom. It's usually the warmest room in the house.

Also make sure that the thermometer you are using is correct. You may want to make sure that it is calibrated. Don't assumed because it is new that it is correct.

I'm not sure how much you paid for your Bator. When I started out I had a cheap incubator. It caused me nothing but stress. You may want to weigh your desire to "get your money's worth" out of this Bator vs the stress and disapointment of failed hatches. It sucks that you may have to cut your losses with this one but if you do I suggest getting something made in the USA. I LOVE getting a bargain and hate paying full price for anything. But often with bators you get what you pay for. You can get a Hova Bator 1588 for about $150. You can add a turner for about $40. So for less than $200 you will get something pretty reliable. My hatch rates are generally around 94%. There are some other good bators out there for a little less and a little more.

I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. It's very disappointing when you are so excited. Good luck!

 

[singopita]

Thanks for the suggestions. I decided to get another thermometer. Now they are all giving me drastically different readings and maybe none of them were calibrated right. Even weirder, I tried both of the two probe thermometers and they seemed to be reading different by about 3°C on the top and on the bottom. I averaged the temp and the bator can heat up enough. I have to put eggs in tomorrow because they have been sitting for 7 days. Has anyone ever got different readings on the top and the bottom? And I hear it is recommended to set fan forced incubators at 37.5°C: is this a recommendation for where the eggs are or where the display thermometer is at the top?

Thanks!

 

[Gnarley]

Same problem here. I think its because we run on 110v and the Chinese incubators run on anywhere from 180 to 220v.

 

[raingarden]

Putting the $64 chinese incubator in a styrofoam box fixed my problem.

Medical thermometers have a narrow range that brackets the hatching temperature so you get a more accurate reading. It would be weird if they sold a medical thermometer that tells a sick person their temperature is three degrees higher or lower than their actual temperature.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08B7V2RG3/ref=dp_iou_view_item?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They're inexpensive so get two.

 

[My2butterflies]

When I did my first chicken hatch last year I had to wrap a towel around my incubator to help it keep temp(it was February and the room gets drafty) Maybe give that a try if you don’t have any boxes available on hand?