Incubator Thermometers, what's good?

[brandoncakes]

Has anyone had problems with incubator thermometers reading wrong(the ones that come with the machine)? Last year I tried hatching button quail eggs with no success (used the thermometer that came with the machine). I had a hunch that the reason was that the thermometer was reading wrong. August 2nd I set a dozen hatching eggs in the incubator, but went out and bought a reptile house thermometer. I set the temperature to the reptile house thermometer, and it has been doing well since. Today I busted out the incubator thermometer to see what it reads(for curiosity sake), and it's reading 115 degrees....while the reptile thermometer reads 100.5! Eggs feel warm to the touch, not hot at all. Maybe I should try getting another thermometer to compare the two? What thermometers are you using?

 

[Bantam Chase]

I have three thermometers in mine... a candy thermometer, a digital w/ hydrometer, and the cheapo that came with the incubator. I did calibrate the hydrometer but the thermometers all read the same so I"m ok with whatever they say... plus the digital one says the same as my house thermometer... but the more the merrier, I say!

 

[mandelaykay]

Mine never read the same!! It is sooo frustrating. I had three in there last spring and all three were different!! I put one in a glass of ice water and it read 32 deg F so I am going by that one. Just bought 2 more fish tank thermometers and those read 3-4 degrees lower then the one that I tested. But they both read the same. I do not know....

 

[jm93030]

I like this one is what I use and works good, found it at walmart around $8

 

[chicken-whisperer]

After much frustration with six differant thermometers both digital and old school; I bought one on Ebay that works so well I bought a second one. They is only .2 differance between the two ofthem . They have an egg on a wire and the readout is outside that keeps track of the high temp and low temp. they also tell the outside temp

 

[skillswife]

I like the incubator warehouse thermometer, you can get them on ebay too.

 

[Arielle]

I bought fish tank thermometers as CHookCHick suggested on her incubation page; I bought 2. THen I bought the human fake-mercury glass type with a narrow range; I put them in a warm cup of water. All 5 read the same temperature.

I don't use the one from the LG as it is too far off; the instruction manual does say to calibrate it.Does anyone calibrate theirs? I've read some instructions by LG uses that actually says to throw away the LG thermometer! I agree!

 

[GeoKan]

Quote:
Hey Brandoncakes,

I feel your pain. Although, I don't use foam incubators, I have used many different types of analog and digital thermometers. Before I vault in on my review, perhaps you should read Renee's cheat cheat regarding thermometers here. She's an expert on foam incubation.

As for my personal best thermometer — I use this with the water wiggler modification:

A little pricey, but it's on the money — give or take a tenth of a degree.

My last hatch I was using both the Brinsea (with water wiggler attachment) and the Incubator Warehouse digital thermometer (made for foam incubators dangling through the vent hole). I stood steadfast with the Incubator Warehouse brand for adjustments while disregarding the Brinsea readings. I found that the IW thermo was at least a degree — if not more — too low. I say this because my chicks hatched almost a day and a half early. A common characteristic of high temperatures. Plus my hatch rate was dismal. So, in actuality, I was running my temps around 100.5 to 101.8 degrees.

Not satisfied with the (foam vent) IW thermometer, I purchased another one with that uses a probe stuck in an egg-shape facsimile you set in along with your eggs. I'm using this currently along with another Brinsea. I found that the IW egg-shape thermo is reading almost 1 to 1.5 degrees too high compared to the Brinsea. And, the egg the thermometer is stuck in — is fabricated from wood.

I've spoken with a few other breeders who swear by this thermometer. (Brinsea Spot Check)

Currently I'm using the Brinsea thermometer for accurate readings in tandem with the $1.97 suction-cup aquarium thermometers and the Incubator Warehouse brand. The Brinsea thermo moves very slowly. I note the reading of 99.5 on the Brinsea compared with the 98.4 reading on the IW brand. The IW thermometer will react quicker to temperatures within the incubator than that of the Brinsea which emulates temps inside an egg. So, if an adjustment is needed I will look at the IW thermo for temps up or down and confirm it with the aquarium thermos which also react quicker to temp changes.

I know it sounds nuts, but it works for me and my homemade incubators.

Edit for clarification, fixed Egg Warehouse to Incubator Warehouse.