Incubator for a first timer?

[ali2211]

I'm a first timer too. A week ago, I ordered one of those 7 eggs one online and stupidly, I didn't read the reviews until AFTER I bought it. So before it even arrived, I decided to build my own incubator because I have a dozen eggs ready to go.

I made my incubator out of a styrofoam cooler, added a 25 watt light bulb, a pan for water, and a lot of duck tape. Today is the third day of incubation and my thermometer/hygrometer have been at a constant 100° F/50% humidity. Best of all, the whole thing was under $20.

 

[Sutherland906]

Soooo... I'm super impatient. Where can I find a digital hygrometer/thermometer in store? Tsc, runnings, petsmart? Any recommendations would be appreciated.

 

[ali2211]

I use one from Walmart. It's super cheap, around 8 dollars, and very accurate for me.

And before anyone freaks out about the temperature, I have a still air incubator and the temperature on the eggs themselves are 99.5/100

 

[Sutherland906]

I use one from Walmart. It's super cheap, around 8 dollars, and very accurate for me.

And before anyone freaks out about the temperature, I have a still air incubator and the temperature on the eggs themselves are 99.5/100

I almost bought that one... but when I read some of the negative reviews I got scared. Especially one that said "do not buy for an incubator". Still tempted to chance it, but was also considering a reptile one from petsmart. Still air temps, and an animals well being is at stake.. sounds plausible it should work accurately, I think..

 

[ali2211]

I almost bought that one... but when I read some of the negative reviews I got scared. Especially one that said "do not buy for an incubator". Still tempted to chance it, but was also considering a reptile one from petsmart. Still air temps, and an animals well being is at stake.. sounds plausible it should work accurately, I think..

Just in case, I added a normal kitchen thermometer so I can cross reference. I think there is a way to calibrate hygrometers and test their accuracy so you can be sure that the one you buy works well.

https://www.mypetchicken.com/backya...lp/How-do-I-calibrate-my-hygrometer-H283.aspx

 

[Sutherland906]

Just in case, I added a normal kitchen thermometer so I can cross reference. I think there is a way to calibrate hygrometers and test their accuracy so you can be sure that the one you buy works well.

https://www.mypetchicken.com/backya...lp/How-do-I-calibrate-my-hygrometer-H283.aspx

Thanks for the link! I'll definitely try. I did end up finding one through ace hardware, that had pretty good accuracy reviews. I'll order a backup one online also to have a spare and one to compare to. Now I just need to decide which eggs to use!

 

[Sutherland906]

Update: My $20 bator was a fail. While the auto turner works perfectly fine, the thermostat in the bator is way off. I ended up getting a flukes digital hygrometer/thermometer, and it seems to be accurate. The bator is fluctuating more than 10 degrees. So, my next question is replacement. Are parts easily found/swapped to where I could change the guts out, or just easier to pick up a new one?

 

[feedman77]

If I remember those are a wafer thermostat. I think 16.00 on eggcartons.com

That could be the issue.

On other thing you might try would be to get a computer fan wire it in to the inside of the incubator. The may help stabilize the temps.

Or you could wrap in a towel or blanket to help heat loss.

Have you set eggs yet?

If you haven't you might set some because when they heat up they create a heat sink that will help with temps. Air temps will fluctuate more than the temps in the eggs.

 

[Sutherland906]

I did set eggs. Temp was set in the evening, next morning it showed ok still.. so I popped them in before leaving for work. Min/max that evening showed 89.5/102.2. The night before it hovered between 100-102, morning it was also around 101.

I could try your suggestions, but I'm not sure there is much hope at this point. If it doesn't, I can buy another like it, or try and replace the part. The LG 9300 has pretty bad reviews, it mostly seems due to fluxuation.

 

[feedman77]

Ok I thought you had a 9200 not a 9300.

9200 has the round wire in the lid for heat.

9300 has the black wire heating element thing offset in the lid with a plastic sheet attached to the temp sensor.

I had a 9300 I could put a list of thing I didn't like.